Competition is getting fierce for President Obama's future library. In September, the administration decided on four location finalists: two in Chicago, one in New York, and one in Hawaii. All four have submitted their proposals by the December 11 deadline, and details are starting to come out. And as it turns out, the Hawaiian cohort led by University of Hawaii at Honolulu, perhaps feeling like an underdog among continental U.S. contenders, has bolstered its bid with three different sample design concepts, one of which is a collaboration between Norwegian starchitecture firm Snøhetta and Honolulu-based firm WCIT Architecture. In these newly unveiled renderings, one can get a sense of what a presidential library in Hawaii might look like—to no surprise, there's a whole lot of beach.
According to the state of Hawaii's written proposal, a Honolulu-based project would focus on creating an "action-oriented, education-based" institution that can host a global youth leadership academy and an interactive visitor center, among other programs. Snøhetta and WCIT 's concept particularly finds inspiration in the coral polyps that form spectacular reefs, a phenomenon that's symbolic of how the new Obama center hopes to catalyze thought and action.
As Curbed Chicago reported last week, the University of Illinois at Chicago is envisioning an ambitious two-location project that would rejuvenate local neighborhoods with not only the new library and museum, but also expansive parks. It doesn't look like renderings for the other two bids (from the University of Chicago and Columbia University in New York City) have been made public yet. But in any case, none of these proposals are prescriptive at this point. There will be a separate process for picking an architect later, presumably after the Obamas make a final decision on the winning location. A few more looks at the Snøhetta-WCIT scheme:
· Teams unveil proposals for barack obama's hawaii presidential center [Design Boom]
· All Barack Obama coverage [Curbed National]
· All Rendering Reveals posts [Curbed National]
· UIC Releases Ambitious Obama Presidential Library Proposal [Curbed Chicago]