1. INTRODUCTION“The Obama Presidential Center will bring to life the vision and legacy of President Obama, including inspiring an ethic of citizenship, expanding opportunity in a global age, and promoting peace, justice, and dignity throughout the world.” (Source: Obama Foundation)

This competition challenges designers to create an exceptional presidential library for U.S. President Obama (OPL). We look for design proposals with wide reaching architectural interventions that deal with the challenging South Side of Chicago, and make a case for a sustainable urban and economic growth. There are currently two potential site locations – one on the east side and the other on the west side of the University of Chicago (see p1.jpg): The Washington Park site and Jackson Park site. You are asked to make a choice between the two sites. There were numerous alter-native site proposals, e.g. sites in New York, Hawaii, Chicago etc. The Obama Foundation has identified these two properties as the ones with the most potential, based on key assumptions, opportunities and limitations relative to their contexts.

This is a sponsored solicitation of visionary design approaches for the OPL, underwritten by Arcbazar, Builtworlds, GreenApple Campus, Forum8, and Autodesk, and seeks the expertise and creativity of the global design and planning community to bring a shared vision for the chosen site to life.

To move closer to a design solution that meets the needs of multiple stakeholders, e.g. the Obama Foundation, the City of Chicago, the University of Chicago, the citizens of the South Side of Chicago, we propose this “Design Competition” for designers all around the globe. The competition is intended to solicit design concepts for the OPL that are aesthetically pleasing, pedestrian-oriented, sensitive to neighborhood context, and attractive to the Obama Foundation and to the other stakeholders. The rough building program is provided below; however, each participant is welcome to change/adjust the program as needed based on their own research of opportunities, of comparable presidential libraries, or of customized needs and expectations of the Obama presidency itself.

2. PROGRAM“Seismic shifts in technology and communication should make the OPL the most connected, interactive Presidential Library in history. It will provide a global audience access to public records, information, and an expansive network of related knowledge and viewpoints.” (Source: RFP) Please review the Vision-Guidelines PDF document for more de-tails on the vision and guiding principles of the Obama Foundation.

Entrance Hall 7,900 sqfThe hall should be spacious and inviting, designed to draw people in from the main streets, and needs to be visually distinct from the surroundings. The entrance hall is where visitors first have contact with the OPL. The space and its functions must interact in order to create transparency and spark curiosity about what the center has to offer. The en-trance hall will serve as the central hub for public service functions. From here, visitors can access such functions as the information desk, admission counters, public toilets and the cloakroom.

Shop 2,750 sqfPlace it at an attractive and easily accessible position. There needs to be a separate back office area for staff and unpacking next to the shop. Access to storage without having to cross public spaces is desirable. The shop should be able to open/close independent of the center.

Back office 1,000 sqfIn close connection with entrance hall, back offices functions for security guards and guides, local storage for printed material, copying facilities, room for handling and counting, and emergency room.

Museum with Permanent and Temporary Exhibition Spaces 42,000sqfIt is important to design the exhibition facilities so they can be adapted to constant advances in exhibition technology. Available ceiling height should be at least 12’, with the ability to easily modify lighting and installations. Daylight is per-mitted but not required in the exhibition spaces. All exhibition spaces should have good transport connections to the loading area to facilitate receiving large exhibition items. Distribute local store rooms and equipment rooms throughout the exhibition area, while providing more significant storage needs closer to loading and logistics areas.

Public/Scholarly Library and Collections 6,800 sqfThe OPL library has to be easily accessible to visitors. The library is expected to have a wide target group and, in ad-dition to its book collection and other media, should also include study areas for concentrated reading.

Restaurant and Café 9,250 sqfRestaurantThe restaurant needs to accommodate approximately 175 seated guests. It is important that the restaurant’s location in the building both corresponds to the high quality of the range of food to be served, is commercially attractive and is well-thought out from a logistical point of view. The restaurant should be able to be opened or closed independently of the center’s other operations.

CaféA café with a more basic menu will be designed for about 100 seated guests. The café will also be used in connection with program activities related to exhibitions and this should be factored into the design. The café should also include a bar that can function as an evening venue, making the center an exciting place to visit and use until late at night. The bar is to provide direct access from the street but also connect to the central areas of the center. The café/bistro should provide a social platform for regular visitors to the center as well as an attractive environment for the visiting tourists or families.

KitchenThe restaurant and café will share a kitchen, elevator and logistical functions.

Lobby CaféA semipublic, flexible, lobby café area capable of handling 300 guests should be located in or next to the lobby of the conference area.

Public Programming Facilities 9,550 sqfThe public programming facilities consists of two small, two medium and one large meeting, storage, and workshops.

Education Facilities 3,700 sqfThe educational facilities include classrooms, studio spaces, eating area, research rooms, and storage.

Auditorium/Oval Office 5,500 sqfThe auditorium should be designed as a distinguished space, primarily for orientations, projections, speeches but also to some extent for smaller events. It should be able to accommodate up to 500 seated guests.

Foundation and administrative offices 7,500 sqfModern open office space, quite rooms, restings rooms, meeting rooms, archival offices and meeting rooms.

Private and classified archives 13,900 sqfAudio Visual lab, research and storage spaces, Document processing and storage spaces, Paint/ Storage, Cleaning and server rooms.

Private Residence 1,200 sqfLoading, logistics, Storage 5,500 sqfParking/Utilities 43,000 sqf

3. SITE DESCRIPTION AND SCOPEWashington Park is a 372-acre park between Cottage Grove Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, (originally known as “Grand Boulevard”) located at 5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr. in the Washington Park community area on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was named for President George Washington in 1880. Washington Park is the largest of four Chicago Park District parks named after persons surnamed Washington (the others are Dinah Washington Park, Harold Washington Park and Washington Square Park, Chicago). This park was the pro-posed site of the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic swimming venue for Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Washington Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 2004.

Jackson Park is a 500-acre park on Chicago’s South Side, located at 6401 South Stony Island Avenue in the Woodlawn community area. It extends into the South Shore and Hyde Park community areas, bordering Lake Michigan and several South Side neighborhoods. Named for President Andrew Jackson. (Source: Wikipedia)

See attached CAD drawing for the property borderlines of the two sites.

4. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONSDesigns shall:a. be solely the result of the design effort of the designer; andb. be unique original and not infringe upon any copyright or the rights of any person.

5. SELECTIONAll submitted design proposals shall be evaluated by a team of 3-5 renowned architects on June, 16, 2016 in Chicago. Also the public should vote on project submissions and given the opportunity to provide comment on proposed de-signs. All designs shall be evaluated based on the criteria described below:

– Sensitivity of scale, massing, and design elements to neighborhood context – 40%- Wider Urban Design of South side Chicago – 20%- Quality of publicly-accessible open space and other amenities provided for in the use program and design – 20%- Impact of design on neighborhood multimodal circulation system – 20%

6. AWARDThe total award should be $10,000 in total and be distributed as such:a. 1st Prize: $4,200b. 2nd Prize: $2,100c. 3rd Prize: $700d. Voters’ Choice Award: $3,000e. GreenApple Campus Student Awardf. Autodesk BIM Award

7. SITE VISITLocal design teams are encouraged to visit the site.

8. SCHEDULEFebruary 9, 2016 Launch of CompetitionMay 10, 2016 Deadline for Design SubmissionsJune 16, 2016 Evaluation and Prize Ceremony in Chicago

9. SUBMISSION GUIDELINESi. Participation in design competition should consist of the following:A. Registration to competition at http://www.arcbazar.com websiteB. Brief description of concept (recommended limit of 250 words)C. Deliverables:(1) Larger Urban Plan, 1:1000 (1) Siteplan, 1:400 (1) Site Section, 1:400 (x) Plan views, 1:200(2) Section, 1:200(4) Elevation, 1:200(3) Perspective/Axonometric Views: a. (1) exterior free perspective/axonometric views that best describe your design b. (2) interior free perspective/axonometric views that best describe your design D. Top submissions will be notified and will be required to submit a 3D model (*.3ds, *.fbx, *.dae, *.obj, or *.dxf ) of the library within its property lines – property lines should be included for registration purposes within larger model. Forum8 will provide Project VR technology to integrate the 3D models of Top submissions, and allow users to evaluate project through their UC-win/Road software. (You can download trial version at: http://ift.tt/1o8iL4V)E. Each participating top designer or team, will be asked to upload a video (max.90sec) describing in person/team their design approach. These will be also used by users to understand the design project in more detail. F. Top designers will be asked to be available online (through video conferencing) during award ceremony in Chicago on June 16th, 2016. Exact time will be given to top designers.

ii. All submissions should be uploaded on http://www.arcbazar.com website. Submitted images shall not identify names of individuals, firms or organizations.

10. SPONSORS+ Arcbazar Labs supports cutting-edge design research into crowdsourcing and collective design intelligence to improve built environments all around the world.+ BuiltWorlds.com is a collaborative network that fosters a smarter built environment and a better approach to creating and maintaining it. Its mission is to push the $5 trillion built industry forward.+ GreenApple Campus is an educational not-for-profit organization that runs creative, challenging STEM, Innovation and Entrepreneurial programs for kids.+ Forum8 Ltd., is a cutting-edge high-tech firm in Japan that develops interactive and web-based real-time 3D simulation and modeling technology. + Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries.

11. NOTIFICATIONAward recipients shall receive prizes on June 16, 2016. The selected designs shall be posted on Arcbazar’s website (www.arcbazar.com). All Designers shall receive direct notification.

12. QUESTIONSPhone inquiries shall not be returned. All questions will be answered on the project WALL. E-mails regarding questions that can be answered by reviewing this solicitation shall not receive a response. The sponsors shall periodically post relevant questions and answers on the project wall at http://www.arcbazar.com.

PrecedentsPlease check Precedents PDF document to have a summary on all earlier presidential libraries.

Project HistoryPlease check http://ift.tt/1FaS44o

Title: Call for Submissions: Obama Presidential Center

Type: Competition Announcement (Built Projects & Masterplans)

Website: http://ift.tt/1o8iMpw

Organizers: Arcbazar Labs, Builtworlds.com, GreenApple Campus, Forum8, Autodesk

Registration Deadline: 10/05/2016 23:30

Submission Deadline: 10/05/2016 23:30

Venue: South Side, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Price: Free

http://ift.tt/26gLKoy

© Federico Cairoli

Architects: TDA

Location: Luque, Paraguay

Project Architects: Sergio Fanego, Larissa Rojas, Miguel Duarte

Area: 180.0 m2

Project Year: 2010

Photography: Federico Cairoli

Collaborators: Alberto Martinez, Silvio Vazquez, Gizella Alvarenga, Hugo Lopez, Antonio Noguera, Alfonzo Avalos

Client: Familia D.R.

Structural Design: TDA + Enrique Granada

Structural Qnalysis: Enrique Granada

Construction: Enrique Granada+ tda

Construction Year: 2008 – 2010

© Federico Cairoli

From the architect. A young couple and the birth of their first born child trust us to propose their home. Economy and practicality are the basic concepts. South America, Paraguay.  

Here the architecture is subjected to the shade conditions ( 35 degrees celsius in the summer), to the use of the prevailing wind (north-east), and the protection of the raw winters with nearly polar winds (south). These elements give us the keys to rethink a better space for the integral development of the human beings.

© Federico Cairoli

The lack of economic resources is often the tool that drives us to reformulate solutions to problems that with a bigger budget we could not even imagine. This is the condition of our actions from here day by day. Aware of this situation almost revealing in itself, we think a house that is no longer an instrument of ego, we actually draw in a sacred chest where they will keep their laughs, cries, desires, dreams and aspirations of an even better future.

© Federico Cairoli

A horizontal concrete plane of 16mx5m. (80square meters) marks the covered gallery, grill, social welfare, also the place for automobiles, a total connection with the ground.

Minimum possible land occupation 4 pairs of pillars of 0.27m by 0.80 m ( 0.216 square meters of surface each) maximum floor space optimization 420 minus 1.728= 418.272 m2 of free surface area 99.58% of free ground.

Two suspended blocks of 11m2 each, contains the staircase and the services. these are at +0.80 meters from the ground level.

© Federico Cairoli

Cross Section

© Federico Cairoli

These slabs, suspended by metal clampings, are lined with a wall of ceramic pieces commonly used in roofs, cut and arranged in horizontal form building a hollow section, that in addition of providing thermal and acoustic insulation establishes a scaling tool in which is impossible to detect the coating material. The suspended volume hosts the house; it levitates at +2.80m. from the ground level. glass tubes connects it to the counters (ladder and bathrooms).

These blocks protects it from the cold southerly winds in winter and provides privacy. blind in their east and west elevations, this box opens entirely from north to south. the winds sweep the 16m window and provide natural lighting for 12 hours a day.

Entrance and Facilities

Family Room and Bedrooms

Terrace

A longitudinal run counter establishes the scale of the house, becoming a work desk, kitchen desk and desktop.

An external staircase splits the house and turns it onto the terrace. A place to visit with friends, especially at night. a wooden deck, built with formwork plates used in the construction process, gives the place a relationship with the environment. Also provides a powerful sun filter over the roof, which gives a pleasant comfort feeling within the volume without the need of artificial conditioning.

Dominating the views the house duplicates its scale, allowing them to establish new limits.

© Federico Cairoli

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The Atlanta Central Library by Marcel Breuer, currently slated for replacement.. Image via Docomomo

Like many Brutalist buildings in America, the Central Library in Atlanta by Marcel Breuer is facing demolition, reports The Architect’s Newspaper. Completed in 1980 with a 300-seat theater, restaurant and 1 million books, the building exemplifies Breuer’s sensibilities, with its brush-hammered concrete panels and Bauhaus-inspired forms. However, over the years the building has fallen into disrepair, with its theater closing in the mid-1990s, and the restaurant closing a few years later. In 2002, the city spent $5 million on restoration. Even so, in 2008, voters approved a $275 million bond referendum, which included a proposal to replace the library by Breuer with another. Despite protests from preservationists, the building’s future is uncertain, with voters clearly calling for a new library building.

Learn more about the building and the threats it faces in the full article here.

News via The Architect’s Newspaper

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via RIBA Competitions

Dublin-based Grafton Architects, who last year were awarded the Jane Drew Prize, have seen off competition from the likes of Herzog & de Meuron and David Chipperfield Architects to win the contest to design the London School of Economics’ (LSE) £100 million ($144 million) Paul Marshall Building. The new center will house the academic departments of Accounting, Finance and Management and research centres, including the Marshall Institute, with teaching facilities as well as new multipurpose sports and arts facilities. Grafton Architects are reportedly “absolutely delighted to be given this opportunity to build in this unique location in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, across from the wonderful Sir John Soane’s Museum, for a visionary client such as LSE.”

Professor Craig Calhoun, Director and President of LSE, chaired the jury panel which made the final decision after presentations from the six shortlisted teams. He commented that Grafton’s “creative design is formal but also fun, and I have no doubt will further enhance LSE’s status as a university with an estate that matches its global academic reputation.”

Director of Estates and jury panel member Julian Robinson believes that “Grafton’s design has the potential to provide LSE with a distinctive and seminal piece of university architecture, which expresses the values and aspirations of the School. Combining modernity and tradition we felt it would enhance Lincoln’s inn Fields and connect well with the rest of LSE. It’s an inspiring design and I look forward to working with Grafton and their team to deliver it.”

According to RIBA Competitions, the jury panel was eight strong including Jane Duncan, President of the RIBA, and Paul Marshall. Paul Marshall is a major benefactor of LSE, having recently contributed £30m—the School’s largest private philanthropic donation—for the creation of the Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship and towards the redevelopment of 44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which was purchased by LSE in 2013 from Cancer Research UK.

The six shortlisted practices included:

AL_A, London

David Chipperfield Architects, London

Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Penoyre & Prasad, New York & London

Grafton Architects, Dublin, Ireland

Herzog & de Meuron, Basel, Switzerland & London

Niall McLaughlin Architects + Scott Brownrigg, London

LSE Reveals 6 Schemes for its Paul Marshall Building

Jane Drew Prize Jointly Awarded to Grafton Co-Founders Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara

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Zhang Ke is the founder and partner of standardarchitecture, an architecture firm based in China. Still relatively new, the firm has roughly 40 staff members, half of which are from China. Despite their status as a fledgling office, standardarchitecture has already completed a varied range of projects, including urban interventions in the iconic hutongs of Beijing and tourism infrastructure in the Nepal region. In 2015, Zhang Ke and his firm were the focus of an exhibition at the AEDES Gallery in Berlin, titled “Contemplating Basics.” In this interview, Zhang Ke talks about the importance of learning at different schools, as well as his own beliefs about the duty of an architect, the importance of context and his desire to tell stories in architecture.

View some of standardarchitecture’s projects, here. 

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