Presidential libraries in the United States have been created as archives, museums, research centers dedicated to the rule of a particular head of state since the middle of the 20th century. They preserve the legacy of contemporary presidents and are often very spectacular structures. However, nowadays there are also "retrospective" libraries - for example, Abraham Lincoln (2005).
It is to this cohort that the idea of the presidential library of Theodore Roosevelt, the president of the United States in 1901-1909, belongs. As a rule, such centers are built in cities - where the figure to whom they are dedicated was born, or where he reached an important stage in his political career. Let's say that Barack Obama's library is therefore being built in Chicago, and not in Hawaii, where he was born (although this option
also considered).
The Theodore Roosevelt library has become an exception in this regard: it will appear not in his native New York, but in the north of the Midwest, in one of the most desolate states - in North Dakota. In the valley of the Little Missouri River, in the vast
Badland in 1883 Roosevelt decided to take up cattle breeding and founded his first ranch, and in 1884, having lost his mother and wife in one day, the second - Elkhorn. He went there to recover from this tragedy, and remained there until 1887. His experience of living in very harsh climates and conditions, but among landscapes of rare beauty, influenced his politics: it was Theodore Roosevelt who created the system of national parks and laid the system of nature protection in USA. The importance for him of the years spent in North Dakota, he reflected in numerous articles and three books.
The land that once belonged to Roosevelt became part of what was created after his death.
National Park, which now bears his name, and now next to the place where the Elkhorn ranch house once stood, his presidential library will appear.
Snøhetta architects presented as the main legacy of Roosevelt not his archive, but the surrounding landscape. The library building is inscribed in the relief and covered with a gentle green roof and therefore does not violate the appearance of the landscape. Equally important are thoughtful walking routes and small pavilions from where you can admire the views or hide from the wind and reflect. The design takes into account the snowy winters and constant winds of North Dakota and is suitable for use all year round.
