Obama Center gets skin in the game with fancy new granite cladding on its tower

The museum tower on the under-construction Obama Presidential Center campus is showing a little skin these days, as workers install granite exterior cladding that will eventually cover the 235-foot structure.

“I’m just so excited,” said Billie Tsien, founding partner of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the New York City firm leading the center’s design.

“The building will probably top out in a couple of months, but they’re already cladding the bottom,” she said. “After all this time it is very, very exciting.”

The tower — which is about the height of the historic 16-story Monadnock Building at Jackson and Dearborn streets — will be the most prominent building on the 19-acre campus. Even as it rises, the structure is visible from blocks away.

And the swirl-patterned granite panels will contribute much to the visual identity of the tower — while perhaps adding color and life to a structure that appeared cold and mausoleum-like in renderings.

The renderings were made before the designers had figured out what type of stone would be used.

Mined in New Hampshire, the tower’s granite, called “Tapestry,” reads a bit darker than the cladding depicted on those widely circulated illustrations.

“Maybe in the earlier renderings it read pinker,” Tsien said. “I think it will read not so pink — but with creamy pink tones. It will be a deeper dramatic swirl of a dark gray and white and cream.”

Tsien said her firm and the Obama Foundation picked the Tapestry granite because “we wanted [stone] that has lots of movement in it. When it rains and the building gets wet, it becomes very dramatic — and [also] when it dries out.”

The granite panels are newly visible near the tower’s base, particularly on the building’s west side near 60th Street and Stony Island Avenue — although workers has been affixing the stone to the museum and the center’s forum and library buildings since November, an Obama Foundation spokesperson said.

The design team and the foundation considered other types of stone cladding before settling on the New Hampshire granite. Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects used gold Missouri limestone in their design for the 11-story Reva and David Logan Center, 915 E. 60th St., on the University of Chicago campus about a mile east of the Obama complex.

Courtesy of the Obama Foundation

“We looked at lots of stone from all over the world,” Tsien said. “But the foundation believed we should look at stone from the United States.”

Tsien says marble was ruled out due to Chicago’s climate. And not without reason. The Aon Center, 200 E. Randolph St., was famously reclad in granite during the 1990s when its original skin of Italian Carrara marble began to bow and crack.

The center’s forum and library buildings will be clad in Kitledge granite from the same New Hampshire quarry that yielded Tapestry, the Obama Foundation spokesperson said.

About 120,000 square feet of granite will cover all three buildings. The cladding is expected to be done by year’s end.

Also expected to be completed by the end of the year is a 45,000-square foot sports and wellness facility called Home Court, located on the south end of the presidential center campus.

The building’s features include an indoor NBA-size basketball court and community spaces. Designed by architecture firm Moody Nolan, the building will be heated and cooled by geothermal energy.

Built in historic Jackson Park, the center’s construction is scheduled to be completed by spring 2026.

Lee Bey is the Sun-Times architecture critic and a member of the Editorial Board.

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

1 of 7

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

2 of 7

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

3 of 7

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

4 of 7

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

5 of 7

Construction workers apply a grey marble cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Hyde Park on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Unlike the renderings that showed white or cream color, a grey marble is being installed. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

6 of 7

Construction workers apply a granite cladding to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on April 16. | Jim Vondruska/Sun-Times

7 of 7

More Obama Presidential Center Coverage

News

Obama gets first look at massive video exhibit for Obama Presidential Center: 'That was fun'

The 44-foot display at McCormick Place was just a prototype for what will be an 88-foot installation inside the museum telling the story of the “Power of Words.”

By Emmanuel Camarillo

 

Woodlawn

New playground, dog-friendly areas envisioned for Jackson Park, Midway Plaisance Park

A universally accessible playground is planned for the east end of Midway Plaisance Park. The plans still have to be approved by the park district board. Other improvements include revamped ball fields at Jackson Park, as well as a new dog-friendly area.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

 

Columnists

Obama in Chicago to see prototype of 88-foot 'Power of Words' immersive exhibit

Before heading to McCormick Place to see the prototype, former President Barack Obama will review interior designs of furniture, the retail store, the restaurant, the café and everything in between for his presidential center.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Columnists

Halfway built, the Obama Presidential Center is already a South Side landmark

The signature tower at the Obama Presidential Center, under construction in Jackson Park, already looms over the community. It will house the museum dedicated to the former president.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Politics

New details on little-known Obama Presidential Library, tucked away in Hoffman Estates

U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan, whose National Archives and Records Administration operates presidential libraries, talks about the library in an exclusive Sun-Times interview.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Other Views

Midway Plaisance is the wrong site to replace park space taken for Obama Center

The city and the park district need to replace recreational space taken from Jackson Park for the Obama Presidential Center, but the eastern end of the Midway should remain a sustainable wetland, parks advocates write.

By Bronwyn Nichols Lodato, Brenda Nelms, and 1 more

 

News

Construction resumes at Obama Presidential Center, days after noose found on site

The firm heading construction said all staff and on-site workers participated in anti-bias training and further security measures had been implemented.

By Sophie Sherry

 

News

Construction halted after noose found at Obama Presidential Center

A $100,000 reward has been offered for help in finding those responsible. Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the act ‘disturbing.’ Gov. J.B. Pritzker condemned the incident.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

 

Politics

Latest lawsuit against Obama Center rejected

Protect Our Parks sued in 2021, arguing that federal agencies failed in reviewing how the center would affect the surrounding environment.

By Jon Seidel

 

Elections

Pulse of the Heartland: South Shore voters hope Obama center brings change to believe in — but they take nothing for granted

South Shore was long seen as a “first house neighborhood” for middle-class residents, and it saw one of its favorite daughters go to the White House as first lady. Residents now hope the nearby Obama Presidential Center will make it “an area where people want to move into.”

By Elvia Malagón

 

Other Views

Reflections on the promise of the Obama Presidential Center

Projects such as the Obama Center are always about some golden future time, and they’re built on promises, wishes, and hopes.

By John Vukmirovich

 

Transportation

South Side motorists urged to brace for traffic headaches tied to roadwork for the Obama Center

The city hopes to complete the widening of Stony Island Avenue and construction of an additional lane on southbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive by late fall of 2023.

By Fran Spielman

 

Columnists

Obama Presidential Center will have space named for Hadiya Pendleton, murdered South Side teen

Pendleton was caught in gang gunfire on Jan. 29, 2013, days after traveling to Washington to celebrate President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Columnists

How Obama Center mega donors are using their naming rights

Places in the Obama Center will be named for Harold Washington, Timuel Black, Elie Wiesel, Mae Jemison, Eleanor Roosevelt and more.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Politics

Obamas break ground on presidential center, calling it way ‘to give back to Chicago and to the South Side’

The city’s first couple, who no longer live full time in the city, took a walk down memory lane, going over why they chose Jackson Park for the center. But the former president promised the center won’t just be “an exercise in nostalgia or looking backwards.”

By Rachel Hinton

 

Columnists

Obama at Presidential Center ceremonial groundbreaking: ‘We can’t wait to see this place come to life’

Michelle Obama talked about her vision for the center at the groundbreaking — and how the city needs to even the score between the North and South Sides.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Columnists

Obama at ceremonial Obama Center groundbreaking Tuesday: At museum, artifacts to tell the Obama story

The Obama Museum is collecting artifacts to illustrate Barack and Michelle Obama’s life before, during and after their eight years in the White House.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Chicago

Obamas to visit Chicago next week for official presidential center groundbreaking

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot will join Obama for the small groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Chicago

Obama Presidential Center costs detailed as groundbreaking takes place at Jackson Park

An athletic field on the Obama Center Jackson Park site was torn up Monday, while motorists near the park were warned to expect traffic delays due to construction.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Editorials

Obama Center gardens look like a winner — but more could be done to welcome us all

The Chicago garden, inspired by Michelle Obama’s White House garden, is such a nice idea that it unwittingly underscores other deficiencies in the OPC campus plan.

By CST Editorial Board

 

Politics

Obama Center prep work to kick off in Jackson Park; new lawsuit seeks to block construction

The new federal lawsuit follows an earlier failed legal battle to prevent the Obama Center from locating in Jackson Park, on the National Register of Historic Places.

By Lynn Sweet and Mitch Dudek

 

Politics

Foundation officials vow to make public their progress on Obama Center minority hiring, contracting goals

Valerie Jarrett, who has been the “interim” foundation president, told the Sun-Times she is dropping her interim status. “I’ll be the president for the foreseeable future.”

By Lynn Sweet

 

Chicago

Where to apply for Obama Center construction job training: Programs target South and West Side residents

To learn more about these programs and to apply, the link is Obama.org/opc-jobs

By Lynn Sweet

 

Columnists

Obama’s 2015 Selma speech excerpts to be chiseled on Obama Center facade

Said Obama on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march, “The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.”’

By Lynn Sweet

 

Chicago

Obama Presidential Center groundbreaking set for early fall

With a federal review complete, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “Chicago is now officially the home of the presidential center for our country’s first Black president.”

By Lynn Sweet

 

Editorials

Enough already: Time to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center

We’re ready for the South Side — and Chicago — to reap the many benefits.

By CST Editorial Board

 

News

Lawsuit seeking to block the Obama Presidential Center loses federal appeal

A three-judge appellate panel affirmed the U.S. District Court ruling, but said they couldn’t rule on some matters it considered to be under state, not federal, jurisdiction.

By Manny Ramos

 

Chicago

New ordinance aims to protect Woodlawn residents amid Obama Center construction

“We see the importance of this community in the future of Chicago and we want to make sure that we are being a partner to this community in shaping what happens here going forward,” Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

By Sam Charles

 

Columnists

Years-long federal review of the Obama Center in Jackson Park in final stages

City Hall will not insist on replacement land outside of Jackson Park to make up for the 19.3 acres the Obama complex will occupy.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Woodlawn

Residents worried about displacement by Obama Center call on Lightfoot for more affordable housing

Obama CBA Coalition wants 75% of city-owned vacant lots in Woodlawn be dedicated for construction of affordable housing.

By Manny Ramos

 

Letters to the Editor

Jackson Park should be Obama Park

And Douglas Park should be renamed for Frederick Douglass, with the extra “S.” Or maybe for Booker T. Washington or Harold Washington.

By Letters to the Editor

 

Columnists

Lightfoot on Obama Center negotiations: Under Rahm, too much ‘whatever you want, you get’

Mayor Lightfoot told the Sun-Times she will be more aggressive than former Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in negotiating final Obama Presidential Center details.

By Lynn Sweet

 

Letters to the Editor

Three ideas for an Obama Center redesign that enhances historic Jackson Park

First, preserve the iconic Frederick Law Olmsted design by keeping open Cornell Drive and its connection to Midway Plaisance,

By Letters to the Editor

 

Editorials

A federal agency’s findings don’t mean a red light for the Obama Center—but caution is warranted

The findings provide all the more reason why the Obama Presidential Foundation, its architects and the Lightfoot administration must get this project right.

By CST Editorial Board