When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus.
Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan. Elevate Design Builders, a joint firm led by Bowa Construction and AECOM Hunt, is the builder.
The Home Court features a regulation-size NBA basketball court with intersecting practice courts, flexible seating, fitness equipment, and training spaces. A mezzanine level provides additional seating for an intimate spectator experience. Home Court also offers multipurpose spaces for community activities.
The Home Court’s design is inspired by two of President Obama’s passions: basketball and community building. The sleek metal and glass panel exterior has been patterned to evoke a basketball net and community connection. The expansive, east-facing glass façade—fritted to protect birds by keeping them from striking it—will offer views of the campus.
“From the outset, President Obama knew he wanted our Home Court to be a place where people could come for fun, inspiration, and learning—the kind of community spaces we need in an inclusive democracy,” Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said in a statement. “We intend for it to be an extraordinary resource to our community that will allow families to improve their health and wellness, and participate in educational and career readiness programming all in hopes of building a brighter, healthier future.”
The design aligns with the Obama Foundation’s sustainability goals for the campus. The two-story lobby will provide natural light for many of the building’s interior spaces. Like the rest of the campus, the Home Court will be heated and cooled mostly with geothermal energy, part of the campus-wide strategy to avoid using fossil fuels.
Related Stories
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 8, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous gas station opens in Buffalo
Eighty-seven years after Frank Lloyd Wright designed an ornamental gas station for the city of Buffalo, the structure has been built and opened to the public—inside an auto museum.
| Jul 8, 2014
Lost in the Museum: Bjarke Ingels' maze will make you look up and around
The maze, located in the National Building Museum, is a precursor to an exhibit showcasing some of BIG's projects. To navigate the maze, people must look up.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 7, 2014
'Solar orchid' pods will serve as floating restaurants, retail shops in Singapore's harbor [slideshow]
In an attempt to reunite the nation of Singapore with its harbor, SPARK Architects has designed the "solar orchid"—self-contained, solar-powered pods that mimic traditional hawkers.
| Jul 7, 2014
A climate-controlled city is Dubai's newest colossal project
To add to Dubai's already impressive portfolio of world's tallest tower and world's largest natural flower garden, Dubai Holding has plans to build the world's largest climate-controlled city.
| Jul 3, 2014
Gehry edits Canadian skyscraper plan to be 'more Toronto'
After being criticized for the original tower complex, architect Frank Gehry unveils a new design that is more subtle, and "more Toronto."
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jul 1, 2014
Peter Zumthor's LA art museum plan modified with bridge-like section across main thoroughfare
After his design drew concerns about potential damage to LA's La Brea Tar Pits, Peter Zumthor has dramatically revised his concept for the Los Angeles Museum of Art.
| Jul 1, 2014
Zaha Hadid's flowing Heydar Aliyev Center named Design of the Year for 2014
The Design Museum's Design of the Year award has been awarded to Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center. Hadid is not only the first woman to win the top prize, but the center is the first architectural project to win the overall competition.
