Obama Presidential Library Concept Designs Revealed

The world just got its first look at the Obama Presidential Library.

Barack and Michelle Obama shared the concept designs for the multi-purpose center in Jackson Park on the Chicago’s South Side on Wednesday.

The Obama Presidential Center will consist of an art museum as well as spaces for education and recreation—spread over 225,000 square feet, with plans to increase the park’s net green space too.

Aside from its future as a tourist attraction, the former President and First Lady have designed the center to be a hub for civic engagement. The plans include an art museum, classrooms, labs, and outdoor spaces to provide visitors with “real tools to create change in their own communities,” according to an Obama Foundation press release.

The Center consists of three main buildings that integrate into Jackson Park to create a campus with a public plaza at its center. The museum, the largest of three, will hold office, education, and meeting spaces. Both the forum and library buildings will host the Obama Foundation events and serve as community resources.

Concept designs for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois were released on May 3, 2017. (Obama Foundation)

It will include a state of the art museum, classrooms, labs, and outdoor spaces. (Obama Foundation)

The Center will be integrated into Jackson Park, a historic park in the heart of the South Side of Chicago. (Obama Foundation)

The design concept released today envisions three buildings – the Museum, Forum, and Library – forming a campus surrounding a public plaza. (Obama Foundation)

The total size of the Center will range between 200-225,000 gross square feet, but the concept site plan imagines a re-shaping of the Park that will result in a total net increase in green space for Jackson Park. (Obama Foundation)