TMCnet News

Larger policy center among changes for Bush's presidential library
[February 18, 2009]

Larger policy center among changes for Bush's presidential library


(Dallas Morning News, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON _ George W. Bush's presidential library is taking shape in early designs, evolving from separate buildings at SMU into a single, multi-story complex with a policy institute nearly two-thirds bigger than first proposed.



The overall structure has grown to an estimated 207,000 square feet _ akin to an average Wal-Mart Super Center _ making it more than twice as large as his father's, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University.

Just last week, engineers for the younger Bush's library toured the A&M site, looking for design tips. And the National Archives, which has been meeting regularly with Bush architects, is preparing soon for its first major review of the library's preliminary plans.


In interviews, federal archivists and Bush officials provided the most details yet about the size of the library and policy center, which mostly will be separated by an internal wall. The building at Southern Methodist University will anchor the north part of a 32-acre tract along North Central Expressway at Mockingbird Lane.

Blueprints have yet to be drawn, and other revisions are likely before the expected ground breaking next year, said Mark Langdale, president of the nonprofit George W. Bush Foundation, which wants to raise $300 million for construction and endowment of the library.

"It's like a cake being baked in the oven. It's still changing," he said.

The most significant change from the library's May 2007 architect search application involves having a larger Bush policy center.

Some faculty and church members have opposed what they say will be a highly partisan think tank on campus. Bush, who has referred to the center as the Freedom Institute, says it will focus on a broad range of topics, including the promotion of democracy abroad and education reforms.

Library organizers first proposed a 40,000-square-foot policy center and a separate 145,000-square-foot building for the library, museum and storage of Bush documents and artifacts. The National Archives will operate those areas and the Bush Foundation will be housed in and run the policy center.

Langdale said architects recommended last summer pairing it all under the same roof to maximize space and increase aesthetics, flow and building efficiency among a "laundry list" of reasons. Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York is designing the complex.

The policy institute area now figures at about 66,000 square feet, chiefly because of a larger auditorium and more conference and service space.

Langdale said the overall increase is not significant, only about 10 percent more than originally anticipated _ at a time when there were no formal plans, only conceptual ideas. It is, he said, "an evolution of the design." As for the policy center changes, he said, "We believe the SMU community will view the institute as enriching the open exchange of ideas on campus." Among other details: The library will sit on a hill, shifting from a two- to a three-story building as the incline slopes downwards.

The library and museum's size has decreased slightly, by about 5,000 square feet.

The policy center will include a 400-seat auditorium. Previously, Bush has talked of bringing world leaders to speak at his center as well as trying to host a presidential debate.

The separately run library and policy institute _ which have different missions _ will be divided by a wall, like a townhouse, Langdale said, but will share a lobby.

Putting the two facilities so close is not unprecedented; Jimmy Carter's library and center in Atlanta are attached by a passageway.

The National Archives, responsible at key stages for ensuring that the designs meet federal rules, has been working with the foundation and their architects.

"You don't want to have the building all built and then say, 'Oh, you forgot this,' " said Sharon Fawcett, assistant archivist for presidential libraries.

The Ronald Reagan's library in California remains the largest presidential complex of the 13 in the federal system. Its archives, museum, foundation and the Air Force One Pavilion added in 2005 total more than 265,000 square feet.

It went up before Congress gave strong financial incentives to build presidential archives within certain size limits.

___ (c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News.

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Copyright ? 2009 The Dallas Morning News

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]