Dubbed “Obama-like” and compared to the Star Wars spaceship and the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, the project generated quite a bit of buzz even before it opened.
The Obama Center is the latest and perhaps the most daring example of the distinctively American genre of monuments that US leaders build for themselves after their term ends.
Its main highlight is the almost windowless, 69-meter-high granite obelisk that houses the museum dedicated to the first black president of the United States.
President Donald Trump, who is no fan of either Obama or modern architecture, compared it to a trash can.
However, representatives of the Obama Presidential Center assure that, despite its brutalist appearance, the monument reflects the main ideas of his 2009-2017 presidency.
“It’s a permanent home of hope,” said Valerie Jarrett, executive director of the Obama Foundation and a former senior White House adviser during his presidency.
The monolithic museum is the main focus of a larger area of about 8 hectares on the south side of Chicago, which has long been the home of Barack and Michelle (Michelle) Obama.
There is a giant basketball hall named “Home Court” in honor of Mr. Obama’s love of the sport.
There is also a large playground and a public library. However, unlike the other 15 official US presidential libraries, this one will store the archives digitally rather than in hard copies.
Obama Burger
Local residents complained when it was announced in 2018 that the center would be built on green space, but the Obama Foundation says it needs to be in the heart of the community.
Obama was actively involved in the design — sometimes too actively, Jarrett said.
“He’s a bit of a dream architect, so he had a lot to say about how the building was designed,” she said.
Atop the building are giant stone letters that form part of a speech Obama gave in 2015 in Selma, Alabama, the birthplace of the civil rights movement.
A slightly larger-than-life sculpture of the waving Obamas greets museum guests, an AFP reporter spotted during a media preview Wednesday.
The museum itself begins in the “Hope and Change Foyer” and then escorts visitors to a colossal four-story display of images from Obama’s life and the civil rights movement.
Upstairs, the Sky Room overlooks Chicago, where visitors can look directly past the words of Obama’s speech.
The restaurant sells an “Obama burger” for $15.50 (€13.35).
The first floor displays items from Obama’s young life, including his handprint. The second floor tells about his victory in the 2008 US elections, and the third floor about his achievements as president.
One of the most impressive exhibits is an exact replica of Obama’s Oval Office, where visitors can sit at a life-size Resolute desk.
The comparison between Obama’s rather minimalist version and Trump’s maximalist, gilded Oval Office is obvious, though not particularly emphasized.
“Inspiring New Leaders”
Trump is like the invisible elephant in the room in the whole museum.
He replaced Obama in 2017 and since then has tried to destroy everything the Democrat has done. But the message of “hope and change” running throughout the center tries to look beyond the last decade of Trump’s dominance.
“We’re not focused on a certain narrow part of this moment or part of history,” Michael Strautmanis, head of corporate affairs at the Obama Foundation, told AFP.
“It has more to do with inspiring new leaders,” said Mr. Strautmanis, who worked in the first Obama administration.
Critics were divided on the architecture of the Obama Center. The New York Times called it “cold and repulsive” and The Washington Post described it as a “time loop.”
Architects Billie Tsien (Bili Cien) and Todd Williams (Tod Williams) rejected the criticism, saying that Mr. Obama himself was inspired by the large works of the modernist Romanian sculptor.
Tsien said the “tight” shape was partly due to the fact that museums often don’t have many windows.
“At the same time, it’s a sign of a building, it’s a sign of a particular presidency,” she said.
Obama himself mocked comparisons to Star Wars, appearing in a video with actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, as the museum loomed over them.
“This is not a monument to my legacy, this is a gateway to your legacy,” Obama said.
But Trump, also thinking about his own legacy, has announced plans to build his own presidential library in Miami, complete with its own Oval Office and Air Force One.
