Design Of George W. Bush’s Presidential Center Unveiled

Artist's rendering of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
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Former First Lady Laura Bush today unveiled the design plans for President Bush’s presidential center, to be built at Southern Methodist University near Dallas.

The center, which will include an archive, a museum and a policy institute, is “both presidential and welcoming,” according to a press release, and “includes elements that evoke both Texas and Washington.”

Visitors will enter the center via “Freedom Hall” and will be able to explore a replica of Bush’s Oval Office and a “Texas Rose Garden.” The grounds, “a low-maintenance, quintessentially Texas landscape,” will serve as a public park, hosting “performances in the outdoor amphitheater and intramural sports on the west lawn.”

The building, located on more than 23 acres, will incorporate “sustainable design strategies” like solar panels, 20 percent recycled materials and a storm-water management system that will provide half of the property’s irrigation. It will also be partially built with local Texan materials, like Texas limestone and pecan wood paneling.

It was designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern and landscape architect Matthew Urbanski, who both joined Laura Bush in the unveiling.

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