The Obama Foundation and American architecture studio Moody Nolan have released images of the athletic facilities that will be built on the campus of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The building, called Home Court, will feature a regulation-sized NBA basketball court, sports facilities, community space, and serve as a wellness and gathering hub.
The athletic center, located at the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre (7.8 hectare) Obama Presidential Center under construction in Jackson Park, will be the first space to open on campus.
Lenore DeAndre Mitchell, Director of Moody Nolan's Chicago Operations “We support the Center's mission as a forum for the .
“The process of architectural design embodies these values: it is an act of hope, and the result endures as a dialogue between what is seen and how it is experienced. ”
Moody Nolan designed the 45,000 square foot (4,180 square meter) facility to reflect former U.S. President Barack Obama's two “personal passions.”
“The home court design was inspired by President Obama's two personal passions, basketball and community building, with the sleek metal and glass panel exterior serving as a metaphor for basketball netting and community connections. pattern,” the team said.
The rendering shows a building with rectangular wings, sloping so that each side meets in the middle. The façade is glazed at both ends, with a two-tiered terrace at the front and a double-height space at the rear covered by a curtain wall.
A textured metal wedge covers the exterior of the building.
The property's basketball court is located at the rear, with an expansive curtain wall overlooking the adjacent lagoon and Lake Michigan.
The court will be on the mezzanine floor on the second floor.
Visitors enter the building through a double-height lobby, and other programming includes training spaces, exercise equipment, and community spaces.
Interior renderings show various rooms marked with a gray and black palette and lined with light-colored wood paneling throughout.
The Obama Foundation is collaborating with local chapters of institutions such as the YMCA and Girls in the Games to create internal spaces where participants can request space for physical fitness activities, team sports, and career development available after school and on weekends. informing the program.
The research team says sustainable design strategies include geothermal heating and cooling, and an array of solar panels is drawn on the roof.
“Designing the Obama Foundation's home court is about more than just building a building,” said Kurt Moody, founder of Moody Nolan. “This project represents an opportunity to contribute to the story of progress and unity that defines our nation’s history.”
Moody Nolan will work with contractors Elevate Design Builders and AECOM Hunt to construct the building, which is expected to open in late 2025.
It is part of the larger Obama Presidential Center campus designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Interactive Design Architects (IDEA).
Currently under construction, with an opening date set for 2026, the campus will include a monolithic stone museum, the Obama Presidential Library, and a public forum building with an L-shaped site.
Green spaces and other works, including a recently unveiled sculpture by artist Maya Lin, fill the exterior space.
The campus design was unveiled in 2017 after President Obama invited New York studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SHoP Architects and Scandinavian firm Snøhetta to pitch the project.
During the project's presentation to the Chicago City Council in 2018, Cultural Landscape Foundation President Charles A. Birnbaum discussed the implications of the campus being built on top of a park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. .
The latest construction update states that “staff is steadily moving forward with the specific construction of the museum building” and that both the Forum and Library are in progress.
Image courtesy of the Obama Foundation
