Obama Library Competition

An RfQ posted on the Obama Foundation website drew 140 expressions of interest. Of those, 99 were based in the U.S., and the rest were submitted from architects in 25 countries. It should be noted that the Foundation initially sent out requests to about three dozen international architects to participate in the competition—although a specific site on Chicago’s South Side has not yet been determined. Because of the high response level, the “short-listing” of finalists has been delayed until a later date.

Among the Chicago firms initially invited were: Perkins & Will, JAHN (Helmut Jahn), SOM and Studio Gang. One can assume that other Chicago firms threw in their hats with the publication of the RfQ.

-SC