A New York-based architecture firm was selected Tuesday to design the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
Robert A.M. Stern Architects was selected from a group of three finalists. President and Mrs. Bush met with Stern himself Thursday, Aug. 23 at their ranch in Crawford, TX. After the meeting, the Bushes decided that Stern’s firm would be awarded the project.
Despite the selection of an architect, the committee did not say when an announcement would be made regarding the site of the library.
SMU Vice President for External Affairs Brad Cheves said the school looks forward to working with Stern if the committee selects SMU. He reiterated that talks are still progressing between the school and the selection committee.
SMU was named by the selection committee as the sole finalist for the project in late December 2006 and entered into exclusive negotiations with the committee. Since then both the school and the committee have said little publicly about progress made between the two sides.
“Obviously they have selected one of the nation’s most distinguished architects,” Cheves said.
Stern’s firm has been a finalist in recent buildings constructed on campus. Cheves said that Stern is familiar with SMU and the way the campus looks.
“We believe this is important to take this step of naming the architect to allow for the design process to begin moving forward,” said Don Evans in a statement, who is leading up the library effort for Bush.
Stern’s firm was selected with the help of a five member committee that evaluated different architecture firms for the project. That committee included Laura Bush, Roland Betts, a partner with Bush in the Texas Rangers; Deedie Rose, whose husband Rusty was also a partner in the Texas Rangers, Witold Rybczynski, who Bush appointed in 2004 as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts; and Marvin Bush, the President’s brother.
The committee interviewed all three finalists before recommending Stern’s firm to the president.
“I am honored to be asked to take on the challenge of shaping this important living institution – a museum, a library, and an institute – at the edge of a major historic university campus,” said Robert A.M. Stern in a prepared statement.
One of Stern’s more notable projects was the Harvard Business School’s Baker Library. Stern’s other projects include buildings at Georgetown University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan. According to its Web site, the firm has been in business 38 years and has 300 employees.
