The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will open to the public on June 19, 2026, coinciding with US Independence Day. Located in Jackson Park on the city’s South Side, the 7.7-hectare campus was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with Interactive Design Architects, with landscaping by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.
The announcement was made by Barack Obama in a video message posted on March 7, the anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. A phrase from his 2015 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of those marches, which begins with “You are America,” has been incorporated into the architecture of the museum tower through letters cut out of the façade that allow light to pass through the building into the interior spaces.
Image courtesy of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Want to know more? It’s on Archdaily!
