Crowded: Votes pour in for Obama design finale

The people have spoken and the final results are almost in.

What some may have dismissed as a silly exercise when it was launched five months ago has now drawn enthusiastic participation from thousands of voters from all over the world, and evaluations from dozens of architecture school deans and accomplished design principals, all focused on nearly three dozen undeniably thoughtful and creative design proposals. Each has imagined what a national learning center “of the people, by the people, and for the people” — to quote an earlier U.S. President from Illinois — could, and perhaps, even should look like when it is built on Chicago’s South Side in the next five to 10 years.

• Pictured above and below are all of our entries. To see more images, and to read individual descriptions of each project, with a final chance to vote, visit Arcbazar’s OPC competition page. 

Co-sponsored by Arcbazar, BuiltWorlds, CannonDesign, AIA Chicago, Dwell on Design, GreenApple Campus, Autodesk, and Forum8, this unique, non-binding, intentionally fun architecture competition has solicited designs for the upcoming Obama Presidential Center (OPC) on Chicago’s South Side. It is distinct from, and not affiliated with, the ongoing official contest now also nearing its end, run by the Obama Foundation. (Still, nothing bars our crowd-sourced ideas from influencing the actual OPC.)

This Thursday evening, June 16, in the BuiltWorlds Studios, we will be hosting and even “live streaming” the final presentations, judging and Obama Presidential Center Competition and Awards Ceremony. Our geographically diverse contestants are vying for $10,000 in total prizes, plus two additional non-cash awards, and the opportunity to be featured and to present at subsequent national design expositions.

This week, they will be judged in-studio by an international panel of six juror practitioners:

• Andrew Balster, Executive Director, Archeworks;
• Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido, FAIA, Co-design Lead, JAHN Architects;
• Kees Kaan, Founding Principal, KAAN Architecten;
• Juan Moreno, JGMA Founding President;
• Dawn Schuette, FAIA, AIA Chicago Board President;
• Tim Swanson, CannonDesign, Office Practice Leader;
• Dana Teague, VP Design Group, Dwell On Design…

Online, a ‘digital’ panel of 28 juror academics, has helped the public to rank the entries. They are:

• Nathaniel Quincy Belcher, Professor of Architecture, Penn State University;
• Gail Peter Borden, FAIA, Associate Dean, USC School of Architecture;
• Diogo Burnay, Director, School of Architecture, Dalhousie University;
• Mahesh Daas, Dean, School of Architecture, Design & Planning, University of Kansas;
• A. Jack Davis, Dean, College of Architecture & Urban Studies, Virginia Tech;
• Jeffrey Day, Director, College of Architecture, University of Nebraska; 
• James Doerfler, Director of Architecture Programs, Philadelphia University;
• Nan Ellin, Dean, College of Architecture & Planning, University of Texas at Arlington;
• Tom Fisher, Dean, College of Design, University of Minnesota School of Architecture;
• Elie G. Haddad, Dean, School of Architecture & Design, Lebanese American University;
• Jeff Hou, Chair, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, University of Washington;
• Georges Kachaamy, Chair, Dept. of Architecture, American University in Dubai;
• Michael Lykoudis, Dean, School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame;
• Ken McCown, Chair, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University;
• Takehiko Nagakura, Director, Computation Group, MIT Architecture;
• Karen Nelson, Dean, School of Architecture, Boston Architectural College;
• Sergio Palleroni, Director, Center for Public Interest; Portland State School of Architecture;
• Alan Penn, Dean, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London;
• William Porter, Dean (emeritus), MIT Architecture;
• Brian Rex, Dean, Architecture & Urbanism, South Dakota State University;
• Luis Rico-Gutierrez, Dean, Design Administration, Iowa State University;
• Peter Russell, Dean, School of Architecture, TU Delft University of Technology;
• Linda Samuels, Assoc. Prof. of Urban Design, Washington University (St. Louis); 
• James J. Sullivan, Dean, School of Architecture, Marywood University;
• Christine Theodoropoulos, Dean, College of Architecture, CalPoly State University;
• Jim West, Dean, College of Architecture, Art & Design, Mississippi State University;
• Stephen White, Dean, School of Architecture, Roger Williams University;
• Peter Wiederspahn, Interim Director, School of Architecture, Northeastern University.

NOTE: The winning design will be turned into a Hologram (courtesy of Zebra Imaging) and presented at the massive Dwell on Design exposition in Los Angeles on June 24-26, 2016.

• To attend the June 16 event, or watch it ‘live’, click here.

Check back after the event for the results, judges’ comments, and a deeper dive into the winning designs.