i think dallas had a lot to do with it and the amount of support he has here. the airport, light rail that s right across the road from us. and he knew that he had a lot of support in the greater dallas area. so, mr. stern, when you were designing the building, what were you told to sort of have influence you and how do you feel like it s reflected in what we see today? well, president turner has a very strong sense of the georgian qualities of his georgian campus. he fights very hard to keep it intact. he s done a great job. so that was the context for the new building. but, of course, the bushes and myself wanted to make something that was unique to the bush library and center. so we tried to i tried to create a balance. go between the tradition of the georgian and something that was unique to the bush building. used similar materials. brick, limestone. we have a central feature that
echoes the dome on dallas hall, but is different. its own square lantern has become a landmark already here in dallas. mr. turner, it does you walk around campus, it fits in and yet it sticks out. isn t that right? what we talked about all the time was that it would be compatible with but different from. and i think bob stern really achieved that. i was so thankful when he was chosen to be the architect for it. because i knew being a university guy himself, dean of the yale law architecture school, he understood context on universities. i couldn t be happen ner wiier mark, the design inside, for instance, when you get to the 9/11 part, it s meant to be abrupt. just sort of the way the attacks themselves were. well, that s history. president bush was elected as a successful two-term texas governor. and he ran on a domestic agenda. education reform, low taxes. even talked about sort of not retreating from the world, but it was not going to be a focal point so we thought.
to help more countries overcome poverty and disease. to help more people in every part of the world. we ll work to empower women around the world to transform their countries. stand behind the courageous men and women who have stepped forward to wear the uniform of the united states. to defend our flag. and our freedoms here at home. ultimately, the success of a nation depends on the character of its citizens. as president, i had the privilege to see that character up close. i saw it in the first responders, who charged up the stairs into the flames. to save people s lives from burning towers. i saw in the virginia tech professor, who barricaded his classroom door with his body, until his students escaped to safety. i saw it in the people of new orleans who made home-made boats to rescue their neighbors from the floods. i saw it in the service members,
interactive exhibit we ve been telling you about. visitors can sort through the same intelligence the president had at the time before reaching a decision on their own about what to do about it. you have to do it all in under four minutes. mark landale is president of the george w. bush foundation. gerald turner is president of southern methodist university. and robert stern is the architect of the bush presidential center. welcome, gentlemen. i will start with you, mr.lingdale. so you took on this job. why did you pick smu? i understand baylor, texas tech. what made smu stand out when you guys decided to go here? it s a great university. it s in a great city. it s a decision that the bushes made. he likes to say it was because of the fact that it was a great university, but also laura bush is alumni. that helped a little bit. a few insider lobbyists there.
0 to this library and study this administration, they re going to find out that we stayed true to our convictions. that we raised standards in schools and lowering taxes for everybody. that we liberated nations from dictatorship and freed people from aids. and when our freedom came under attack, we made the tough decisions required to keep the american people safe. those same principles define the mission of the presidential center. i m retired from politics, happily so, i might add. but not from public service. we ll use our influence to help more children start life with a quality education. to help more americans find jobs and economic opportunity. to help more countries overcome poverty and disease. to help more people in every part of the world. we ll work to empower women around the world to transform their countries. stand behind the courageous men and women who have stepped forward to wear the uniform of the united states. to defend our flag. and our freedoms here at home. ulti