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Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago
The Obama Presidential Center opened to the public on Juneteenth in Chicago’s Jackson Park on the South Side. The culmination of years of work to offer the public a glance inside Pres. Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House, the project is also home to community resources like a Chicago Public Library.
Mark Richey Woodworking was honored to support project builder Lakeside Alliance and architect Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s vision for many of those community spaces, including the public library; presidential reading room; forum, restaurant and auditorium spaces; as well as outdoor spaces.
The Mark Richey team carefully constructed library and presidential reading room shelving; interior and exterior benches; forum, auditorium and restaurant walls and ceilings; restaurant banquettes and counters; and many other various desks, doors, ceilings, paneling, and casework. Materials primarily included white oak and walnut solid wood and veneer, fabric and faux leather, Corian solid surfacing, and bronze and stainless steel in interior spaces, and ipe outside.
Among more challenging components were a solid walnut, three-panel security gate operating on a single floor channel and auditorium ceiling and walls. Auditorium paneling took on complex shapes; integrated significant HVAC, lighting, and AV; was built for acoustics; and, in some cases, moved to allow access to windows and technology.
The project, which the Mark Richey team first began building in 2022 and has been collaborating with locals to install since 2024, has garnered significant media attention as well as inspiring promotion from the Obama Foundation and Pres. Obama himself.
Listen to Pres. Obama talk about the library
Enjoy an early look from the TODAY show
Visit the museum and learn more
See more landmark architectural woodwork projects
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