On July 4, 2026, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is scheduled to open on 93 acres in Medora, a town in North Dakota with under 130 permanent residents, but which nonetheless has become synonymous with the 26th President of the United States, who lived there for several years in the 1880s.
The under-construction $333 million library, situated on a Badlands butte near the Burning Hills Amphitheater, will not be a repository for Roosevelt’s papers or archives (which are mostly housed at Harvard University). Instead, the library’s goal is to honor the President’s legacy as a conservationist. Its design is informed by Roosevelt’s interest in environmental stewardship and his reflections about the landscape.
The single-story, 93,000-sf library/museum “is a journey preserving the existing landscape of diverse habitats punctuated with small pavilions allowing for reflection and activity,” according to the project’s website. “The main building’s gently sloping roof looks to the northeast, gazing out to the [70,447-acre] National Park, historical settings in the Little Missouri River valley, and the Elkhorn Ranch far in the distance, further connecting the Library of tomorrow with its origins of the past.”
“The Library is the landscape,” Edward O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, told the New York Times.
Mass timber complements construction
Mass timber is a significant component in the construction of the Library. The Mercer Mass Timber subsidiary of Mercer International is providing nearly 1,800 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber and glulam––harvested from sustainably managed forests––which are being used for the building’s structure that includes a green walkable roof, as well as a one-mile-long boardwalk loop in front of the Library that aligns with the roof’s curvature.
The green roof aims to restore the vegetation disrupted within the building’s footprint, and to create a habitat for native plants. The Library is sponsoring this Native Plant Project in partnership with Resource Environmental Solutions, the nation’s largest ecological restoration company; and North Dakota State University.
Within the Library there will be “narrative galleries,” as well as community spaces, a café, and an auditorium, which the Times pointed out would be large enough to host candidate debates during presidential election campaigns.
The Library “represents a transition we’re seeing in modern library and architectural design, where community spaces are being constructed with long-term sustainability in mind,” said Nick Milestone, Mercer’s Vice President of Projects and Construction, in a prepared statement.
In partnership with the project’s general contractor JE Dunn Construction, Mercer is providing mass timber design assistance, materials, and coordination and logistics. Other AEC firms involved in this project: Snøhetta (design and landscape architect), JLG Architects (AOR), Seagate (mass timber installation), Magnusson Klemencic Associates (Engineer of Record), and Command Industires (steel subcontractor).
The Library––which is four and a half hours north of Mount Rushmore and seven hours northeast of Yellowstone National Park––is targeting LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge certifications. Its goal is to be net-zero energy, emissions, water, and waste.
Related Stories
| Apr 16, 2014
Upgrading windows: repair, refurbish, or retrofit [AIA course]
Building Teams must focus on a number of key decisions in order to arrive at the optimal solution: repair the windows in place, remove and refurbish them, or opt for full replacement.
| Apr 9, 2014
Steel decks: 11 tips for their proper use | BD+C
Building Teams have been using steel decks with proven success for 75 years. Building Design+Construction consulted with technical experts from the Steel Deck Institute and the deck manufacturing industry for their advice on how best to use steel decking.
| Apr 2, 2014
8 tips for avoiding thermal bridges in window applications
Aligning thermal breaks and applying air barriers are among the top design and installation tricks recommended by building enclosure experts.
| Mar 31, 2014
Extreme conversion: Soaring Canadian church transformed into contemporary library
Even before the St. Denys-du-Plateau Church was converted into a library, it was an unusual building, with a towering nave designed to mimic a huge tent inflated by the wind.
| Mar 26, 2014
Callison launches sustainable design tool with 84 proven strategies
Hybrid ventilation, nighttime cooling, and fuel cell technology are among the dozens of sustainable design techniques profiled by Callison on its new website, Matrix.Callison.com.
| Mar 20, 2014
Common EIFS failures, and how to prevent them
Poor workmanship, impact damage, building movement, and incompatible or unsound substrate are among the major culprits of EIFS problems.
| Mar 13, 2014
Do you really 'always turn right'?
The first visitor center we designed was the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center for the Everglades National Park in 1993. I remember it well for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the ongoing dialogue we had with our retail consultant. He insisted that the gift shop be located on the right as one exited the visitor center because people “always turn right.”
| Mar 12, 2014
14 new ideas for doors and door hardware
From a high-tech classroom lockdown system to an impact-resistant wide-stile door line, BD+C editors present a collection of door and door hardware innovations.
| Feb 14, 2014
Crowdsourced Placemaking: How people will help shape architecture
The rise of mobile devices and social media, coupled with the use of advanced survey tools and interactive mapping apps, has created a powerful conduit through which Building Teams can capture real-time data on the public. For the first time, the masses can have a real say in how the built environment around them is formed—that is, if Building Teams are willing to listen.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
