The Obama Foundation has recently given the first look at the design for the Obama Presidential Center. The new campus, designed by Todd Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is made up of three main buildings that surround a public plaza that extends into the landscape.
The three buildings will be a multi-story museum, a library, and a forum. The library and the forum will both be one story and their roofs will be covered with plantings to create new parkland. Pathways will lead to the roofs of these buildings and provide views of Lake Michigan, the new public plaza, and the lagoon.
The museum will stand on the northern end of the campus and is meant to serve as the Center’s beacon and mark a visitor’s arrival. Classrooms, labs, and outdoor spaces are all included in the design. Additionally, the campus will be open to the public and provides spaces for events, trainings, and other gatherings. The goal of the new campus is to provide a space for “doing and making, as well as looking and learning,” the Obama Foundation website says.
Image courtesy of the Obama Foundation.
Early renderings show each of the three buildings clad in a light-colored stone. Each building has large swaths of glass incorporated into the design, as well. The campus will act as a transition space between the city, landscape, lagoon, and lake, and allow visitors to flow through the plaza and architecture and into the park beyond.
The project will be, at minimum, LEED v4 Platinum but the architects and planners are looking into the possibility of surpassing those qualifications.
Related Stories
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 16, 2014
6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts
A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”
| Jun 13, 2014
First look: BIG's spiraling museum for watchmaker Audemars Piguet
The glass-and-steel pavilion's spiral structure acts as a storytelling device for the company's history.
| Jun 12, 2014
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects' design selected for new UCSC facility
The planned site is a natural landscape among redwood trees with views over Monterey Bay, a site that the architects have called “one of the most beautiful they have ever worked on.”
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 11, 2014
David Adjaye’s housing project in Sugar Hill nears completion
A new development in New York's historic Sugar Hill district nears completion, designed to be an icon for the neighborhood's rich history.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| Jun 4, 2014
Want to design a Guggenheim? Foundation launches open competition for proposed Helsinki museum
This is the first time the Guggenheim Foundation has sought a design through an open competition. Anonymous submissions for stage one of the competition are due September 10, 2014.
| Jun 4, 2014
Construction team named for Atlanta Braves ballpark
A joint venture between Barton Malow, Brasfield & Gorrie, Mortenson Construction, and New South Construction will build the Atlanta Braves ballpark, which is scheduled to open in early 2017. Check out the latest renderings of the plan.
| May 30, 2014
Riding high: L.A., Chicago working on their version of the High Line elevated park
Cities around the U.S. are taking notice of New York's highly popular High Line elevated park system. Both Chicago and Los Angeles are currently working on High Line-like projects.