On June 19, the Obama Presidential Center will officially open, bringing years of planning, design, and collaboration to life. Located in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, the 19.3-acre campus reimagines what a presidential center can be—not simply a place that preserves history, but one that encourages civic engagement, learning, and community connection.
The choice to open on Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, underscores those themes. Throughout opening weekend, visitors will have opportunities to experience performances, art, storytelling, and community programming that reflect the Center’s commitment to public participation and dialogue.
Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the campus brings together a museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, athletic and wellness facilities, community gathering spaces, gardens, and expansive public open space. Rather than centering solely on the legacy of a presidency, the Center invites visitors to engage with ideas about leadership, democracy, and the role individuals can play in shaping their communities and creating a better future.
For Via Collective, contributing to the Obama Presidential Center meant helping translate that vision into a cohesive and accessible experience for everyone who enters the campus. As part of a multidisciplinary design team led by Manual, Via Collective established the strategic foundation for the campus-wide signage and graphics program, developing key planning documents that defined the project’s approach to user experience, accessibility, universal design, wayfinding, and mapping.
This work helped create an intuitive framework for navigating the Center’s diverse spaces—from the museum and public amenities to the gardens, gathering areas, and surrounding landscape—ensuring that visitors of all backgrounds could explore, engage, and connect with the campus. We are proud to have contributed to a project whose commitment to inclusion, public participation, and civic engagement closely aligns with our own approach to creating environments that welcome, inform, and inspire.
At the heart of the campus stands the landmark museum tower, home to exhibitions exploring the lives, leadership, and public service of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Through personal artifacts, interactive experiences, and commissioned artworks, the exhibits encourage visitors to reflect on both history and their own capacity to create change. Across the campus, landscapes, gathering spaces, and cultural programming work together to create an environment designed for learning, reflection, and connection.
Beyond its cultural significance, the Obama Presidential Center offers an example of how architecture, landscape, and storytelling can shape a meaningful visitor experience. The campus has been designed not only as a destination, but as a place that encourages exploration, conversation, and engagement.
Presidential centers are often viewed as places of remembrance, but the Obama Presidential Center expands that definition. It encourages visitors not only to look back at history, but also to consider how they can participate in shaping the future. As the Center begins its next chapter, it emerges as a powerful civic and cultural presence on Chicago’s South Side—inviting visitors not only to reflect on the past, but to engage with urgency, imagination, and purpose in shaping what comes next.
Photo Credit: Obama Foundation (1, 2, 4) & Via Collective (3)