a presidential library opens in the North Dakota Badlands
Taking shape as a grassy extension of its vast and rugged Badlands North Dakota, Snow cap‘small Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening July 4, 2026. The new 95,000-square-foot library sits adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and rises subtly from the clay, grass, and open sky of a landscape closely associated with the creation of America’s public lands.
Its opening is timed in time for the United States’ 250th anniversary and commemorates a president who helped make conservation a national responsibility.
Roosevelt came to Dakota Territory in the 1880s, where he spent years ranching, hunting, writing, and living on the plains. This encounter with the West shaped his presidency. He went on to protect some 230 million acres of public land and established national forests and wildlife refuges.
As president, he codified the idea that these wild landscapes should be protected and preserved. The library — with her massive timber structure, rammed earth walls, and sweeping green terrace — takes this heritage as a starting point and invites visitors to discover his story through the country that changed him.
images © Nic Lehoux
The snøhetta is built on the ground
Located on a 93-acre site adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the library expected to welcome more than 200,000 visitors each year. THE architects at Snøhetta he served as design architect, landscape architect and interior designer, shaping the building, interiors and surrounding meadow through the guiding principle that ‘The Library is the Landscape’.
The architecture rises from a hood and carries a 121,000 square foot meadow on its roof. A nearly mile-long elevated boardwalk moves along the restored site at varying elevations, sometimes opening up to sweeping views of the Badlands and elsewhere bringing visitors closer to the ground. Outdoor classrooms, reflective spaces, and a floating net view extend the visit to the outdoors.
Snøhetta’s Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens in Medora, North Dakota
walking on the roof, meadow and sky
Craig Dykers, founding partner of Snøhetta, describes the project as a way to bring visitors into contact with the same landscape that shaped Roosevelt’s conservation ethic. ‘Every path, every view and every material decision is designed to deepen the connection between people and place,‘ says, adding that the library becomes an invitation to engage in stewardship, civic responsibility, and wonder.
The building is also the first presidential library accessible by footpath, mountain bike, horseback and car. This detail speaks volumes for the project’s attitude towards arrival. Visitors can approach the grounds before entering the institution, making the journey to the meadow part of the architectural experience.
the building rises from a hill next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park
The story of Roosevelt in light and on earth
Inside, the journey moves through darker passages and sunlit rooms, loosely following Roosevelt’s own passage through grief, reinvention and public life. Large windows frame historically significant landscapes, including views of the Elkhorn Ranch, while skylights bring daylight deep into the galleries.
The program includes climate-controlled galleries, digital collection infrastructure and an auditorium capable of hosting presidential debates. These functions are located within a building that constantly looks outwards, to the horizon and the weather, rather than turning the archive into a sealed inner world.
a 121,000-square-foot prairie roof spans the entire architecture
made from the Badlands
Building in this remote landscape required a design strategy shaped by material limits and local knowledge. ‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are,‘ says Snøhetta project manager Matt McMahon. ‘The project elevates local materials and draws on North Dakota expertise to create a building and landscape crafted from the Badlands.‘
Mass timber, blended local wood, low carbon concrete and inoculated earth walls define the material palette. The inoculated earth is made with soil of local origin, bearing color bands reminiscent of the surrounding formations. Assemblies are detailed for disassembly and long-term use, while selected materials eliminate harmful Red List chemicals as part of the Living Building Challenge project goals.
a nearly mile-long boardwalk winds through the restored Badlands site
conservation as a lived experience
Throughout the site, restoration becomes part of the visit. The library is pursuing full Living Building certification, along with high levels of LEED and SITES, through a “Four Zeros” framework that focuses on zero energy, zero water, zero emissions and zero waste. Aaron Dorf, director of Snøhetta, says the group followed Roosevelt’s call for “honesty and efficiency” to create “a library that works with the land, is based on local wisdom, and will be preserved for generations to come.”
The Native Plant Project, developed with Resource Environmental Solutions and North Dakota State University, has grown more than 200 native species across the roof and restored the grounds. Michelle Delk, partner and director of landscape discipline at Snøhetta, describes visitors as “participants in an evolving ecosystem” as grazing, thatching, controlled burns and native species management become part of the public program.
