A view of the Obama
Presidential Center campus experienced from the south (rendering published by
the Obama Foundation).
The
Obama Foundation unveiled the much-anticipated
initial design concept by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) for the Obama
Presidential Center this past week. The foundation envisions the project being
much more than a building on Chicago's South Side; its hope is the Center will be a place that inspires
people globally to be citizens of a democratic world. That ambition imposes a
substantial burden of expectations upon the Center’s architecture. Whether the
TWBTA design meets those expectations remains to be seen, certainly not until
long after it opens sometime in 2021.
A
presidential library
is, to a degree, a shrine to the president’s ego. Over time, the libraries have
progressed from primarily being repositories for presidential documents to serving
as monuments to each retired POTUS. Most visitors do not arrive to conduct archival
research but rather to tour immersive museum exhibits. They come as tourists
rather than scholars. Undeniably, the de
facto purpose of the libraries is primarily to commemorate each president’s
achievements (while most often engaging in spin by whitewashing or downplaying
controversies).
Not
surprisingly, each library manifests something of the president’s persona in built
form; after all, the president is actively involved in its creation (the John F. Kennedy Library being a
noteworthy exception, in which instance the president's widow, Jackie, worked with architect I.M. Pei). This includes selecting architects whose work is
sympathetic to and consistent with the public’s perception of those personas. The
Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California by Hugh Stubbins and Associates,
despite its large size, features a relaxed, Mission-style design. The William J. Clinton Presidential Library
in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, is unashamedly modernist; by contrast, the George W. Bush Library in
Dallas, Texas is a conservative, historicizing composition by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. It’s not a
stretch to imagine that any enthusiast of the presidency might be able to guess
which library is associated with which president simply by viewing photographs
of the buildings.(1)
John F. Kennedy
Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (photo by Fcb981, CC-BY-SA-3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons). This is the only presidential library I've actually visited.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA
William Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, AR (photo by Archipreneur [CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
George W. Bush
Presidential Center (photo by J. P. Fagerback [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons)
Despite
its pretensions to being in the words of the Obama Foundation “an ongoing
project for us to shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen in the 21st
century,” the Obama Presidential Center will inevitably be regarded as a
reflection of Barack Obama and his tenure in office. How can it not? Architecture
can be many things, but it most certainly is a vehicle for the conveyance of
meaning and allusion. For many, despite the challenges and frustrations of his
two terms in office in the face of intransigent political opposition, Obama
remains a symbol of hope, transcendence, and progressivism.
So,
what are my impressions of the proposed design and what it says about the Obama
presidency and its legacy? Will it be a “transformative” building in the same
way Barack Obama views himself as a transformative figure?
My
answer to these questions is it’s too early to know. It’s premature to pass
judgment solely based on a preliminary model and renderings. Architects know
too well how their designs can evolve profoundly through the course of the
design process. Sometimes changes are a consequence of forces beyond the
architects’ control, such as when the client modifies the functional brief or simply
wants to do something different. On other occasions, they’re the outcome of the
architects’ own reflection and iterative analysis. The most successful projects
are the products of constant improvement from the start until they’re occupied
and beyond. Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall is a case in point; Gehry
radically altered its design during the lengthy period that transpired between
the 1988 design competition and its completion in 2003.
Top: Frank Gehry in 1988 with a model of his competition-winning design for the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Bottom: The finished building in 2003, a completely different design.
I was pleased when the President and First Lady
announced the selection of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (along with Interactive Design Architects)
for the Obama Presidential Center project. While I have yet to visit a TWBTA design
in person, I am impressed with the obvious display of craft, thoughtfulness,
and deference to site and program evident in photographs. I’ve long believed it
is perilous to evaluate the merits of buildings and places without visiting
them but my understanding of TWBTA’s approach to its work and the accolades for
the firm’s oeuvre bolster my
confidence in their abilities. Their work displays an obvious maturity, expressing
principles that emphasize the values of experience, perception, and slowness of
method. They are architects of sensitivity and subtlety rather than bombast and
posturing.
A favorite TWBTA project: The Scripps Neurosciences Institute
Immediate reactions from others(2) to the Obama Presidential Center design have mostly
focused upon how it melds landscape and building (a common TWBTA theme), or the
curious museum tower, which calls to mind (as Chicago Tribune columnist Blair
Kamin said)
nothing if not a portly Pharaonic monolith. Regarding the 180-foot-tall tower—the
Center’s focal point—some have reported TWBTA designed it in response to
President Obama’s entreaty upon seeing earlier, understated concepts for
something more impressive. I fully expect the architects will variously
reconsider and revise their design, and would not be surprised in the least if
it ultimately looks much different than what the current model and renderings
suggest.
A model view of the Obama Presidential Center showing its Jackson Park context in Chicago.
Ultimately, the architecture of any
presidential library cannot by itself redeem the shortcomings of a presidency,
nor does the architecture possess the power to extend and polish its legacy. That
being said, I do look forward to seeing if the architecture of the new Obama
Presidential Center will help the Obama Foundation realize its lofty goals. Will
the 44th president of the United States, a sophisticated politician whose soaring rhetoric, power to inspire, and appeal on the world stage are unrivaled, likewise be rewarded with an appropriate built homage? Time will tell.
It was during a luncheon for the 2009 National
Design Awards that Michelle Obama described how “great designers design with
mankind in mind, building on the innovations of the past to shape a better
future.” Today, as she and her husband work with Tod Williams Billie Tsien
Architects, I look forward to seeing how the Obama Presidential Center will
fulfill that ideal.
(1)
I can only imagine what a Donald J. Trump Presidential
Library/Museum might look like. Undoubtedly, it would be another extension of
the Trump brand, perhaps a preposterously gilded exercise in “Dictator Chic.”
(2)
A lot of
press accompanied the unveiling of the proposed design. Here’s a sampling:
- The Architects Newspaper: https://archpaper.com/2017/05/obama-presidential-center/#gallery-0-slide-0Chicago
2 comments:
Thanks for a well-researched and thoughtful treatise on Presidential Libraries. While it appears the purpose of these facilities is often to re-frame history and polish the reputation of their namesakes, the Obama facility has the potential to create a new paradigm for this unique building type. In my opinion, Obama's presidency reflected the values and societal aspirations of this former community organizer: inclusion, kindness, gentility, empowerment, good health. It appears the design program for the Obama facility reflects many of these values. But community engagement opportunities need not come only after substantial completion of the project. Its very location in Southside Chicago provides an opportunity to train unemployed residents for construction-related jobs. The technical training could be a part of the project funding, conducted in conjunction with local trade unions and could begin well before the first shovel is turned. The Obama facility would give these new apprentices many months to hone their skills before joining the workforce. Am I being too idealistic?
Matthew: Too idealistic? Not at all. You may be spot on with your belief that the Obama Center may presage a new type of presidential library. I'm optimistic the project's design, its mission, and what it heralds for Chicago's South Side will indeed surpass the high hopes the Obama Foundation have for it. Thanks for your well-considered comment.
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