Creators of Architectural Milestones: Polshek Partnership
“Their many outstanding architectural achievements have enriched all our lives, and I am especially grateful for their work on my presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas.” -- President William J. Clinton Polshek Partnership Design Team
Architect: Polshek Partnership Architects Design Principals: Richard M. Olcott FAIA, James S. Polshek FAIA Since 1963, the Polshek Partnership has been responsible for designing highly recognized cultural, educational and governmental organizations. In 1999, the firm was bestowed the honor of creating a design statement indicative of President William Clinton’s legacy. “This kind of commission only happens once in a lifetime,” said James S. Polshek, founder Polshek Partnership. “I've always been interested in working on projects that have an implication or aspect of satisfying the public good.” The Center is located on a 28-acre site on the south bank of the Arkansas River, directly east of downtown Little Rock. Its selection was intended to rehabilitate a derelict area of abandoned warehouses, as well as to catalyze the revitalization and eastward development of Little Rock, providing a new anchor for the city. Central to this concept was the creation of a riverfront park, which will link to and extend the existing chain of parks along the river. Included within it are a variety of areas ranging from active zones, including a grass amphitheater, playground and seasonal festival grove on the western side, to quieter, more natural spaces closer to the city to the east. According to the Clinton Foundation, the presence of both the Center and Park has revitalized the community and has helped spur more than $1 billion in economic development in both downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.
The firm’s principal design goals were to create an inviting, inspiring and memorable place, as well as a visually and intellectually accessible destination. The main building’s unique bridge-like form is both a reference to Little Rock’s distinctive "Six Bridges" landscape and a metaphor for President Clinton’s commitment to build a “bridge to the 21st Century.” Constructed with glass and metal, the elevated body of the Center allows the new park to flow uninterrupted underneath. I nside, is a naturally-lit 240-foot long, 40-foot high exhibition space, boasting beautiful views of the complex. In traversing this space, the visitor learns about the initiatives and goals of the Clinton administration by means of a series of interactive exhibits. To preserve the nearly 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of records and documents, 79,000 gifts and artifacts and 21 million email messages housed at the Center, the architects also designed an “earthbound” archive building, clad in stone and concrete to contrast the suspended form of the “bridge building.” While the millions of documents and artifacts of the presidential archive are located in a secure, below-grade environment, the archivists occupy the light-filled glass and steel structure above. In its interactive presentation of the ideas and initiatives of the eight years of the Clinton Administration, the new Presidential Center represents a radical departure from previous presidential libraries. In its unprecedented design, it is an awe-inspiring architectural milestone, that will inspire this generation, and those that will follow. For more information on the Polshek Partnership’s work on the Presidential Center, visit, http://www.polshek.com/mus_clinton.htm.
About Polshek PartnershipLocated in New York City since the founding of the practice in 1963, Polshek Partnership is a 150-person firm known for architectural excellence and for its longstanding commitment to cultural, educational, governmental and scientific institutions. Projects have been published internationally and recognized with numerous awards for design excellence, for their important contributions to the cultural life of their cities and for the stabilization of their precincts. The principals proceed from the shared belief that the most elegant architectural responses are both technically and socially relevant to their time and place. Characterized by a collaborative process, the architectural solutions are rooted in extensive research involving the analysis of context, program, public image and environmental and construction technologies. This commitment and the resulting approach have led to the completion of hundreds of projects that in their typological, geographical and formal diversity authentically express the individual client's mission. Fact About the Clinton Presidential Center The Clinton Presidential Center is a“green” building, having recently received silver LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the United States Green Building Council in recognition of the many environmentally sustainable and energy efficient design elements incorporated into the structure and operation of the buildings and the presidential park.
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