Feeling Presidential

[Image: From the Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest, sponsored by the Chronicle of Higher Education].

For the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest, for which they “asked readers to sketch their own visions for the George W. Bush Library,” Scott Carlson wrote:

Now that the George W. Bush era is almost over, the world needs a place to archive the legacy of the 43rd president. That place will be Southern Methodist University, in a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern. The building will probably cost $500 million.

We thought that Chronicle readers would have their own ideas about how that building should be designed, and we invited people to send in designs on the backs of envelopes. About 120 people sent in sketches that were good, bad, serious, humorous, abstract, or really angry. Their designs took the form of toilets, bunkers, crosses, and W’s, some crudely drawn and some very elegant.

I’ve posted a few of the designs here – but, if you want to see more, stop by the Chronicle of Higher Education, where you can vote on the best design.

[Images: From the Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest, sponsored by the Chronicle of Higher Education].

(Thanks, Alex Haw!)

5 thoughts on “Feeling Presidential”

  1. Some wag might suggest that only one small shelf is needed for a Presidency largely defined by one small book.

    Everything else will be classified for reasons of national security anyway.

  2. Speculative architecture via air mail. Love it.

    Perhaps you should publicize your snail address or your Dwell p.o. box, if you’ve got some, and ask people to send in proposals, similar to that phone number to which people can call in sounds they’ve recorded.

    You might get love letters but you might also get the blueprint to a BLDGBLOG Library made out of [DELETED – for that, you’ll have to provide a p.o. box].

  3. Don’t really need much, just a small box for crayolas. I’m sure there are some books he hasn’t colored in yet.

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