New York Firm to Design Obama Library in Chicago

Chicago, IL - A New York City-based architectural firm has been selected to design the Barack Obama Presidential Library.

The foundation tasked with building the library on Chicago’s South Side went with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, according to DNAinfo Chicago.

The foundation is still torn between sites in Washington Park and Jackson Park on the location of the library. Once the selection is made, the design process will take as much as two years.

A spokesperson for the foundation called it “a blank slate,” but noted the expectation is for the library to open somewhere by 2021.

Tod Williams’ work is not new to Chicago. The firm designed the nearby Logan Center for the Arts at 915 E. 60th St. in Hyde Park.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised the architectural selection of the foundation, which considered several firms, including one from Chicago.

“As the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, the City of Chicago congratulates Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Interactive Design Architects who have been chosen by the Obama Foundation to bring this legacy project to life,” he said in a statement. “These two firms have a successful track record of creating innovative civic projects across the country, including the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. When complete, the Presidential Center will offer tremendous educational, cultural, and economic benefits to the City and its residents."