The Chicago Architectural Club (CAC) has revealed the winners of its fourteenth annual Chicago Prize Competition - The Barack Obama Presidential Library - following Chicago's recent selection as one of three cities being considered to host the presidential library.
Inspiring designs across the United States, the winning entries aimed to envision a library that could both recognize the President by displaying a collection of mementos from his life and provide the basis for community programs. Contestants were asked to consider the building's context within the city of Chicago to generate a speculative proposal that not only fosters learning and exploration, but also inspires public discussion. To further encourage creativity, the library's program was unspecified, allowing participants to decide how to incorporate these civic and educational elements in their designs.
Ultimately, a distinguished panel selected two winners and three honorable mentions emerged from the competition. The winning proposals and honorable mentions are as follows:
Winner - Design Team: Zhu Wenyi, Fu Junsheng, and Liang Yiang
Winner - Design Team: Aras Burak Sen
Honorable Mention - Design Team: Dániel Palotai
Honorable Mention - Design Team: Drew Cowdrey and Trey Kirk
Honorable Mention - Design Team: Ann Lui and Craig Reschke
The jury consisted of the following:
- Andy Metter (Epstein)
- Brian Lee (SOM)
- Dan Wheeler (Wheeler Kearns Architects)
- Elva Rubio (Rubio Studio)
- Geoffrey Goldberg (G. Goldberg + Associates)
- Stanley Tigerman (Tigerman McCurry Architects)
The proposals will be on display through April, 2015 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation's (CAF) gallery. For full competition and project descriptions, visit chicagoarchitecturalclub.org
