The new Teddy Roosevelt presidential library is a gorgeous extension of the prairie

FastCompany: Blending almost seamlessly into a butte in the rugged Badlands of North Dakota, the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is, in a number of ways, unlike any of its predecessors. The most important difference is that the library, which opens the Fourth of July in Medora, North Dakota, has been wholly conceived, designed, and built more than a century after the 26th president’s death. “We were not working for the president. And so we had to think about What is the purpose of this institution?

Because it’s not about pleasing the ego of one man,” says Charles Melcher, the museum’s executive storyteller, and founder of the studio Future of StoryTelling . [Photo: Nic Lehoux/Snøhetta] Instead of making a museum in the traditional mold of a presidential library—flattering exhibitions, robust archives, a tight focus on the time in office—the Roosevelt library was conceived from the start to be an institution where the remarkable and tragic life of a towering American figure known as “TR” is framed as a series of lessons visitors can learn from and take into the future.

“The idea was to make this place relevant for people today and have an impact on tomorrow,” Melcher says. [Photo: Nic Lehoux/Snøhetta] The library itself is a stunning building, designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta to emerge from the landscape and blur into the terrain. With a structure made primarily of rammed earth that literally brings the surrounding land into the building, the library was designed to extremely high environmental standards and in deep conversation with the surrounding landscape.

“The use of rammed earth allows you to still feel connected to the wider view of where you are, even when you enter the main door,” says Craig Dykers, cofounder of Snøhetta. “The landscape is the library and the library is the landscape.” [Photo: Nic Lehoux/Snøhetta] Covering about 95,000 square feet on a 93-acre site, the building is designed to embody Roosevelt’s passion for conservation, one of his most enduring legacies.

Snøhetta designed the building to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge , which calls for projects to be environmentally regenerative, and it checks the main sustainability boxes, including zero carbon and zero water waste. A large on-site solar array provides much of its electricity, and the rest comes from another array nearby. The library’s roof doubles as accessible green space, and there’s a mile-long boardwalk trail that brings visitors into a restored grassland with more than 60 species of native plants.

Large skylights bring controlled daylight into the galleries, providing almost all of the library’s lighting, especially in its large, central spine. This building-length hall holds a large narrative gallery that tracks Roosevelt’s life through artifacts and displays. On either side of this narrative gallery, the library includes what it calls “adventure galleries,” featuring interactive and immersive exhibitions recalling some of the most colorful chapters of Roosevelt’s life.

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The article discusses a unique approach to presidential libraries that emphasizes visitor engagement and sustainability, which could inspire brand strategy professionals to think differently about creating meaningful experiences.