Photos reveal construction progress on granite-wrapped Obama Presidential Center museum

[Celerity]

https://www.dezeen.com/2025/04/17/obama-presidential-construction-continues/



Photos of construction at the Obama Presidential Center Museum Building in Chicago have shown an exterior wrapped in granite panels, as well as the interior of the partially completed uppermost floors. The Museum Building was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and joins a number of buildings on the 19-acre Obama Presidential Center campus, also master-planned by the studio.



Designed to resemble "four hands coming together", the building topped out in June 2024 and is currently receiving its outermost shell, as seen in images shared by the Obama Foundation. Grey granite siding largely covers the exterior, while in other areas – such as in cutaway sections on its upper and lower levels – insulating and protective layers are still exposed.



A February 2025 construction update from the Obama Presidential Center states that hardwood flooring is underway in the building's interior and that in the Sky Room, a viewing area on the building's top floors, "crews are preparing to frame the walls around the signature sloped ceiling". Windows also continue to be installed around the uppermost floors, or the Sky Room Vista, which sits beneath the Sky Room.



Elsewhere on the campus, the wedge-shaped Home Court athletics facility, designed by Moody Nolan, has received partial insulation, and framing continues through the rest of the building. At the centre of the campus, the Library and the Forum building are also receiving insulation. The library building is partially buried and will eventually contain a branch of the Chicago Public Library and feature a walkable green roof.

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