Barack Obama's $850m presidential library, towering over a low-income area of Chicago, has been criticised for its soaring costs and controversial design. The 70-metre-high monolith, wrapped in a speech that's hard to decipher, has been likened to a 'Klingon prison' and a 'menacing sci-fi HQ'. The building, which is nearly windowless, rises above the 19-acre campus like a stocky, truncated obelisk.
The Obama Presidential Center, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, was conceived as a 'beacon of hope' with 'four hands coming together' to protect a flame. However, its angular, cut form and sheer granite walls have drawn comparisons to a flak tower or a defensive bunker. Architect Billie Tsien said Obama was 'very, very hands on with the design' and wanted something 'iconic'.
Tsien noted that Obama talked about his love of Romanian sculptor Brâncuși and wanted to make things more angular. 'To make a form, and then try to work out what goes inside it, is really the opposite of how we’ve worked before,' she said. The Obama Foundation wanted something 'iconic', which Tsien said isn't how they usually work.
The library is the largest and costliest presidential library ever built, continuing a tradition started by Franklin D Roosevelt in 1940. Previous libraries have reflected the values of their creators, from Lyndon B Johnson's brutalist hulk to Ronald Reagan's California hacienda and Bill Clinton's cantilevered metallic box.
