The new designs are out and the Obama (Center) look interesting but it is early and things usually change. The Chicago Tribune pointed out that you really can not call it the library in the digital age and so a new era in presidential centers is born.
I might not have been paying attention to the location when it was selected. I knew three locations were picked out and all were located on the south side of the city. The Obama's have chosen historic Jackson Park as their location which is great but it looks like the site is were historic buildings once stood for the 1893 Worlds Fair. With that in mind, shouldn't the building have more of a classical approach to be more in line with the near by Museum of Science and Industry ( the only building left from the Worlds Fair) ?
Another concern is that the tree buildings that make up the Obama campus face west with no views of the park and the main building that is about six stories tall has very few windows that overlook the park and its beautiful lagoons. The location of the Obama Center is being wasted by the architects failure to understand the setting. Its kind of like the Lucus Museum on the lake front with no windows at all facing the lake.