DC Public Library: 10 Architecture Firms Shortlisted to Help Design NextGen MLK Jr. Library

From the DC Public Library:

Today, ten firms were selected to move to the next round in the search for an architect team to help design the next generation Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW.
Three firms will be selected in mid-December to move to the third and final round and be requested to submit design concepts and present the concepts to the review panel and public next spring. The selection process for an architect team began in August with 26 firms responding to a request for qualifications that identified firms that had experience working on similar projects.
No decisions have been made on the type or the extent of the renovations or additions to the library. The selected firm will aid library staff and consultants in exploring the options outlined in an assessment done by the Urban Land Institute in fall 2011. These options include renovating the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library as a stand-alone library or as a mixed-use with additional floors.
[Our emphasis] In other news, the DC Public Library today launched an online crowdsourcing platform, dclibrary.ideascale.com, to seek input from the public on what they would like to see in their newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The MLK Jr. Library Idea Community allows the public to provide input on what spaces and services should look like for teens, children, adults, people with disabilities, D.C. history, meetings and more.
The public will also have a chance to weigh in on whether the renovated library should have a cafe or the types of activities that should happen in the lobby and entrance hall areas or outside under the canopy. Anyone can view public comments, but a person must register in order to post comments. The idea community will be available for public input throughout the design process with new topics added. This summer, library staff had the opportunity to provide input.
The crowdsourcing platform is just one of many ways the library will seek public input.  Focus groups, surveys, and community meetings and presentations are also planned. The input will be shared with firms responding to request for proposal, the finalists, and the selected firm.

10 Architecture Firms  on Shortlist

• Cunningham Quill Architects/100 Architects
• Ennead Architects/Marshall Moya Architects
• Leo A. Daly/Richard Bauer
• Martinez and Johnson Architects/Mecano Architects
• OMA/Quinn Evans Architects
• Patkau Architects/Ayers Saint Gross
• REX/Davis Carter Scott Architects
• Shalom Baranes/Davis Brody Bond
• Skidmore Owings & Merrill
• Studios Architecture/The Freelon Group

See Also: Search Begins for Architect to Design New DC Public Library Building, Read the RFQ (August 21, 2013)

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