--- title: Obama Library: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Selected description: The New York-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) will design President Barack Obama's Presidential library. canonical: https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-30T17:56:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T00:02:45.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Architects Announced for Obama's Presidential Library og:description: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects will design the center in Chicago. og:url: https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6d903a5f45a319/69889a41f887dc8289e96786/tod-williams-billie-tsien-library.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pratt Legends 2015 Gala og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Architects Announced for Obama's Presidential Library twitter:description: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects will design the center in Chicago. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6d903a5f45a319/69889a41f887dc8289e96786/tod-williams-billie-tsien-library.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's Presidential Library in Chicago Will Be Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:02 AM UTCPublished: Jun 30, 2016 5:56 PM UTC  Billie Tsien and Tod Williams in 2015. Billie Tsien and Tod Williams in 2015.Randy Brooke—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:02 AM UTCPublished: Jun 30, 2016 5:56 PM UTC The New York-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) [will design President Barack Obama’s presidential library ](http://www.barackobamafoundation.org/meet-the-architects)on the mid-South Side of Chicago, the Obama Foundation announced Thursday afternoon. The foundation chose the husband-wife team’s firm from a short list of seven that was released in December. The firm has built for Chicago before, designing the Logan Center for the Arts that opened in 2012 on the University of Chicago campus. TWBTA will work with local Chicago firm Interactive Design Architects on the project. The Obamas chose Williams and Tsien for their previous work on civic projects and for the attention they paid to Chicago’s history and architecture in their proposal, Obama Foundation chair Marty Nesbitt told reporters Thursday. Architectural critic Paul Goldberger, who served as a consultant during the selection process, told reporters that Williams and Tsien’s architecture embodies aspects of Obama’s presidency. “If there’s anything that characterizes their work, it’s a combination of dignity, beauty and understatement,” Goldberger said. “All of those things will be needed in this challenging project.” Goldberger also emphasized that the Foundation used the selection process to choose the architects, not the design — so Williams and Tsien are starting with “a blank slate.” The firm could take one or two years to submit their design to the Foundation. Along with the library and the presidential archives, [the presidential center will house](http://www.barackobamafoundation.org/chicago/architect-selection) the Obama museum, performance spaces, meeting areas, dining facilities, innovation “labs” and outdoor gardens. The center aims to open by the end of 2021, though more precise timing for the project and its stages has yet to be determined. Williams and Tsien will begin designing once the the firm and foundation choose between the potential Jackson Park and Washington Park sites. Nesbitt said there are “a lot of factors” that go into building in Chicago — most prominently, the weather. “We are deeply moved by the mission of the Obama Foundation and the role the Center can play in empowering that mission. It is a joy, an honor, and a responsibility to create a place that reflects the optimism and integrity of the President and the First Lady,” Williams and Tsien said in a statement. Obama presented Tsien and Williams with the National Medal of Arts in 2013. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/"},"headline":"Obama's Presidential Library in Chicago Will Be Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien","datePublished":"2016-06-30T17:56:58.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T00:02:45.000Z","description":"The firm was chosen from a short list of seven architects to build the center","url":"https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6d903a5f45a319/69889a41f887dc8289e96786/tod-williams-billie-tsien-library.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6d903a5f45a319/69889a41f887dc8289e96786/tod-williams-billie-tsien-library.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pratt Legends 2015 Gala","caption":"Billie Tsien and Tod Williams attend the Pratt Legends 2015 Gala at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City on Oct. 29, 2015.","creditText":"Randy Brooke—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4389990/twbta-obama-presidential-library-architects-chicago/","name":"Obama's Presidential Library in Chicago Will Be Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien"}}]}] ```