By Lucy Wyndham
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library — now under construction in North Dakota’s Badlands near Medora — will be “among the most sustainable cultural institutions in the world”, project organizers say. During his presidency, Roosevelt helped establish America’s national park and forestry services and protected 230 million acres of public lands. In turn, the new library will honor Roosevelt’s commitment to environmental preservation as it’s made from sustainable mass timber and designed to be “zero energy, zero water, zero emissions and zero waste”. With construction now well underway, the library’s scheduled to open on July 4, 2026 in celebration of the country’s 250th birthday.
Sustainable timber for an eco-friendly build
1,800 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam) have been provided by Mercer Mass Timber (MMT), a “low-carbon advanced manufacturer of bio-based building materials”, and subsidiary of Mercer International. The timber (which is sustainably harvested) will be used to build the library’s 93,000 square-foot structure, which includes the roof, during the project’s first phase. The CLT and glulam will also be used to construct the exterior in phase two — this includes a footbridge and canopies with solar arrays.
“The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library project represents a transition we now see in modern building and architectural design, where community spaces are constructed with long-term sustainability in mind,” said Nick Milestone, Vice President of Projects and Construction at MMT. “Mass timber is the perfect material fit. Our team will work closely with other project partners to bring this important new landmark to life, on schedule, on budget, and in line with its sustainability goals.”
Construction to cost $180 million
Given the size and scope of its design, the library will cost a staggering $180 million to build in total. In the wider U.S., total construction spending peaked at $1.98 trillion in 2023, which represents a 7.3% increase from the year prior as the industry continues to grow. To fund the library’s construction, a $50 million operations endowment was approved by the state of North Dakota in 2019, which was available to use only once $100 million in private donations had also been secured by project leaders. Over $200 million has now been raised to fund the construction, with more donations expected to soon follow. “Fundraising doesn’t really ever end,” said library CEO, Ed O’Keefe.
Green roof to restore native vegetation
The library will also have a walkable green roof that makes up for any vegetation loss that may occur due to the building’s construction. It will be seeded with indigenous plants as part of the Native Plant Project — sponsored by the library, Resource Environmental Solutions, and North Dakota State University. Over the last few decades, numerous native North Dakota Badlands prairie plant species have rapidly dwindled. Fortunately, the Native Plant Project now plans to restore these indigenous plants to the area, which also includes rare and endangered plants. The library’s green roof will therefore help “restore ecological balance and increase biodiversity in this striking grassland landscape”.
The library exterior itself (designed by Norwegian architecture firm, Snohetta) will also blend in with its surroundings — “the library is the landscape,” as O’Keefe recently noted. A one-mile-long boardwalk will be installed along the front of the library to provide pedestrians with panoramic views of the grasslands. It’s also set to be the only presidential library in the country that can be accessed via horseback or mountain bike as the site connects to the nearby 150-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail.
“I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota,” Roosevelt once wrote after he had lived in the area for around three years. “It was here that the romance of my life began”. This is why North Dakota is the perfect location for the library. “Roosevelt— if he was alive today— he would want to build it in a place that respects the land, that celebrates some of his biggest accomplishments like the expansion of the national parks system, like the growth in the American West”, said Robbie Lauf, Director of Programming and Partnerships.