Martin Nesbitt, chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation, declined to identity the firms or say how many are receiving the request. But at least 90 percent of the invited firms are American, the officials said, and of that group, Chicago architects are heavily represented.

If a foreign architect wins the job of shaping the 44th president's library and museum, it would mark the first time a non-American has designed an American presidential library, historians said. While such a move could draw criticism from those who think such a prestigious project should go to Americans, it also would open the door to wider range of design ideas.

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On the foundation's website, officials released new details about the scope of the presidential center, saying it would include community gardens and "quiet spots for reflection," places to convene "activists, thinkers, and leaders," a "healthy dining" spot and "labs" where people can showcase innovative ideas. The core features of the center will be a presidential archives, a museum and offices for the foundation. ... The Obama center will be the first presidential library built in the heart of a low-income, predominantly African-American community. It also will be built in a public park, a choice that has sparked controversy in Chicago.

Open space advocates have opposed the library being built in Jackson Park or Washington Park, which were designed by the great 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. But Mayor Rahm Emanuel and many South Side residents countered that the library would bring much-needed jobs and businesses to the surrounding areas.

Construction of the library, which is expected to cost at least $500 million, is not scheduled to begin until after Obama leaves office in January 2017. The project is expected to be completed in 2020 or 2021.