Mrs. Laura W. Bush and Architects Unveil Design of George W. Bush Presidential Center
For Immediate Release
November 18, 2009
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Sherzer, 214/692-4306
DALLAS—Mrs. Laura W. Bush, Architect Robert A. M.
Stern and Landscape Architect Matthew Urbanski today unveiled the
design of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a modern brick and
limestone structure that complements the American Georgian character of
the SMU campus, set within a low-maintenance, quintessentially Texas
landscape. The light-filled building is both presidential and
welcoming, includes elements that evoke both Texas and Washington, and
will house the three components of the George W. Bush Presidential
Center: an Archive, a Museum and a policy Institute.
"I applaud the work of Robert Stern and Michael Van
Valkenburgh in designing a building and landscape that will capture the
dignity of the office of the Presidency, while at the same time being
warm and welcoming to visitors," President George W. Bush
said. "Laura and I are thrilled with the
plans."
"The building and landscape evoke elements of the
full span of George and Laura Bush's life and service, from their ranch
in Crawford to the White House, and help us share the story of a couple
committed to public service based on the core principles of freedom,
opportunity, responsibility and compassion," said Mark
Langdale, President of the George W. Bush Foundation.
"The George W. Bush Presidential Center reflects a
unique design that is appropriate in representing the first U.S.
President of the 21st Century," said R. Gerald Turner,
President of Southern Methodist University. "At the same time,
it reflects major components of SMU's Collegiate Georgian architectural
tradition of nearly 100 years. As a modern expression of our heritage,
this facility will be a welcome addition to the stately buildings and
grounds that make the SMU campus a special place for
learning," Turner said.
The building and landscape are designed to achieve LEED
platinum certification and include numerous sustainable design
strategies, including locally sourced building materials (several types
of Texas limestone, stained pecan interior paneling), 20 percent
recycled materials, solar hot water panels, native landscaping to
reduce irrigation and a storm-water management system that conveys,
cleanses and collects surface runoff and roof rainwater, and will
provide 50 percent of the irrigation needed for the site.
The building and landscape are integrated, with numerous links
between indoor and outdoor spaces. Visitors to the museum will enter
the building through Freedom Hall, a large, light-filled open space
that will tie the different aspects of the museum experience together.
On one side of Freedom Hall, visitors will be able to tour the Museum's
permanent exhibit, which will include a replica of the Oval Office as
it was during President Bush's tenure, complete with an outdoor Texas
Rose Garden that mimics the proportion and scale of the White House
Rose Garden. The Museum will tell the story of the presidency by
examining key decisions and the core principles that defined President
Bush's service: freedom, opportunity, responsibility and
compassion.
The opposite side of Freedom Hall will house the temporary
exhibit space, a ceremonial courtyard and a café. The Institute portion
of the building will include a conference center with a 364-seat
auditorium with simultaneous translation and broadcast capabilities,
along with numerous offices for scholars and a presidential suite for
receptions and other functions. The Institute will have its own
entrance on axis with Binkley Avenue. The Archives will be the home for
the official documents and artifacts of the Bush administration, where
they will be presented to the public for study and discussion.
The landscape will be an attraction in and of itself, with
seasonable displays in the wildflower meadow, large tree-shaded lawns
for sitting, picnicking or playing, numerous gardens and courtyards,
tall grass prairie with seasonal wildflowers, and savannah and woodland
clearings that provide a range of native habitat for butterflies, birds
and other wildlife species.
The landscape will function as an urban park that will engage
a broad range of users, including library and special event visitors,
SMU students, faculty and staff and the University Park community. It
provides numerous spaces for events and gatherings, including
performances in the outdoor amphitheater and intramural sports on the
west lawn.
Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP, is a 220-person firm of
architects, interior designers, and supporting staff. The firm is
dedicated to the idea that architecture must engage in a conversation
across time, connecting the present and future with the past. Robert
A.M. Stern Architects brings to the design of the George W. Bush
Presidential Center significant experience with the planning and design
of museums that present a contemporary architectural response to the
legacy of an important American cultural figure, including the Norman
Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Massachusetts; the Roger Tory Peterson
Institute in Jamestown, New York; and the Museum Center at the Mark
Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. Stern,
practicing architect, teacher, and writer, is Dean of the Yale School
of Architecture. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of
Architects, and received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal from the
Municipal Art Society of New York in 2009 and the tenth Vincent Scully
Prize from the National Building Museum in 2008. In 2007 he received
both the Athena Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism and the
Board of Directors' Honor from the Institute of Classical Architecture
and Classical America. Joining Mr. Stern in the design effort were
partners Augusta Barone, Alexander P. Lamis, and Graham S. Wyatt, and
project architect Jim Pearson.
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects
(MVVA) is known across North America and internationally for innovative
landscapes that address contemporary social and environmental issues
while also achieving, as with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a
timeless style that appeals to a broad range of the American public.
Founded in 1982, MVVA has received numerous awards and previously
worked with First Lady Laura Bush on the redesign of Pennsylvania
Avenue in front of the White House. Michael Van Valkenburgh was the
2003 recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National
Design Award for Environmental Design and is a 1988 winner of the
prestigious American Academy in Rome Prize. He has taught both full and
part time at Harvard's Graduate School of Design since 1982. The key
senior staff members working on the Library with Michael are firm
Principals, Laura Solano and Matthew Urbanski, and Herb Sweeney,
Associate and Project Manager.
Mrs. Laura W. Bush chaired the design committee for the Bush
Presidential Center. Members of the committee included: Roland Betts,
Founder and Chairman of Chelsea Piers, L.P.; The Honorable Mark
Langdale, President, George W. Bush Foundation; Deedie Rose,
Philanthropist; Witold Rybczynski, Martin & Margy Meyerson
Professor of Urbanism and Professor of Real Estate, University of
Pennsylvania; Sidney J. Sanders, Vice President, Facilities and
Construction, The Methodist Hospital System; and R. Gerald Turner,
President, Southern Methodist University.
The Presidential Center will be located at Southern Methodist
University, five miles north of downtown Dallas. It will occupy a
23.11-acre site on the main campus, near the corner of SMU Boulevard
and North Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75). The site is near a
light rail station.
For more information about the George W. Bush Presidential
Center, please visit: www.georgewbushcenter.com |
