Tastefull modern architecture. The 1970ies are finally over.
from Wikipedia: The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013,[1] is a complex that includes former President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation. It is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. SMU insisted the land for the condos may or may not be needed for the library, yet space was still an issue. Many in University Park, an upscale enclave next to the campus, were also displeased with the prospect of thousands of people and tour buses going through their neighborhood to visit the library. Despite that, the University Park town council agreed to put up for a vote a plan to sell parkland to SMU for the library. Baylor published sections of their proposal on their website,[4] but no new information was revealed, and Baylor announced that it would not publish the complete proposal until after the final site selection was announced.
Fundraisin

The nonprofit George W. Bush Foundation in early 2009 had a goal to raise $300 million for construction and endowment of the library, according to its president Mark Langdale.[11]

Construction[edit]

The architect Robert A.M. Stern, dean of the architecture school at Yale University, was picked to design the library.[12]

Groundbreaking took place on November 16, 2010.[13][14] In tandem with the publication of his memoir Decision Points, President Bush hosted a November 16, 2010 groundbreaking ceremony for the center.[15] At the event, Cheney commented that "this may be the only shovel-ready project in America," using a term prominently and ultimately ruefully associated with President Obama's 2009 fiscal stimulus package.[14][16] The construction company chosen was Manhattan Construction Company, which had also built the George Bush Presidential Library.

The construction of the center has been projected to cost $250 million.[17] In April 2013, the building earned a platinum certification as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building.[18]

Completion and dedication ceremony[edit]

The completion and dedication of the facility took place on April 25, 2013. All living former U.S. presidents and the incumbent U.S. president, Barack Obama, were in attendance. (The last meeting of President Obama, former President Bush, former President Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush and former President Carter took place in the White House in 2009, just ahead of President Obama's first inauguration.[19])

Presidential library[edit]

At a planned 207,000 square feet (19,200 m2), on completion it will become the second-largest presidential library, behind only the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.[11]

Policy Institute[edit]

Ambassador James K. Glassman, a former State Department official, was selected in September 2009 to serve as founding executive director of the Center's George W. Bush Institute, which will function as an "action-oriented think tank" independent of SMU.[20]

The institute is planned "to advance four causes he adopted as his own while in office: human freedom, global health, economic growth and education reform.[citation needed] He has also started a women's initiative led by his wife, Laura Bush." At the November, 2010, groundbreaking, the former president said to attendees, "The decisions of governing are on another president's desk, and he deserves to make them without criticism from me. But staying out of current affairs and politics does not mean staying out of policy."[14] Laura Bush addressed the crowd "to promote the importance of fighting for women's rights around the world."[16]

In 2012, it published, The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs (Crown Business, 2012), a collection of essays by Brendan Minister, W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm, Robert Lucas, Jr., Edward C. Prescott, Steven Gjerstad and Vernon L. Smith, Kevin Hassett, David Malpass, Myron Scholes, Peter G. Klein, Peter G. Klein, Robert Litan, Nick Schulz, Maria Minniti, Carlos Guttierez, Steven F. Hayward and Kenneth P. Green, Charles Blahous and Jason T. Fichtner, Eric Hanushek, Gary Becker, Pia M. Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny, E. Floyd Kvamme, Amity Shlaes, and Michael Novak, including five Nobel Prize winners.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] The book contains a foreword by George W. Bush and an introduction by James K. Glassman.[21][22][28][30] The book covers such varied topics as immigration, Social Security and the policies of President Calvin Coolidge.[28][30] It suggests policies for the US gross domestic product to reach 4%, thus focusing on growth contrary to Mitt Romney and Rick Perry's stated goals to cut the deficit during the 2012 presidential campaign.