Obama’s hulking new presidential library likened to Star Wars’ villain’s lair as it rises ominously over streets of Chicago
Barack Obama is facing the wrath of the internet over the design of his non-traditional presidential library in Chicago.
Internet users likened the looming, concrete and granite building to something seen in the Star Wars cinematic universe, a cartoon lair – and even a trash can.
An X thread making fun of the building’s unusual façade was started by none other than Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
‘Locating the Death Star to Chicago was a bold move,’ he joked, referring to Darth Vader’s space lair.
In response, people quickly photoshopped Star Wars X-wing fighters around the building and AT-AT robots with the library edited onto their bodies.
Others superimposed the structure in space to give it a true interplanetary feel.
Social media users joked that the interior may even resemble the trash compactor that attempted to swallow Leia, Hans Solo and Luke in the first Star Wars film.
The building is currently under construction and stands 225 feet tall near Chicago’s iconic Jackson Park.
Barack Obama’s presidential library is facing the wrath of the internet over its design
Critics, including Senator Ted Cruz, have likened it to structures seen in Star wars films
Some have even said it resembles the evil lair of a cartoon villain
Others even brutally compared it to gray, plastic trash cans
The design for the building was initially unveiled ten years ago and the scrutiny hasn’t died down since.
Some people online suggested that the building is in the style of brutalist architecture, which became popular due to its practicality in the UK and parts of Europe after the Second World War.
‘Forms are as simple as can be and materials are stripped to be as bare and raw as possible,’ architect Geddes Ulinskas, explaining the style, told Architecture Digest.
The apparent inspiration behind the building’s design didn’t stop people from making fun of it.
‘Super villain lair from a comic book. Actually it’s on brand,’ said one commenter.
‘I have one in my neighborhood too,’ said another, adding a picture of a concrete trash can.
‘I will never see that without thinking this,’ added another, referring to Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s evil hideaway from the popular children’s cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
Obama’s library deviates from the design of other presidential libraries including Ronald Reagan’s, pictured, which takes a Mission architecture approach in Simi Valley, California
George H W Bush’s library in College Station, Texas, is a slightly more traditional style
JFK’s library in Boston most resembles the towering, brutalist characteristics of Obama’s
Several presidents have had libraries erected in their honor and many have taken a more traditional approach with the architecture.
George H W Bush’s Library, for example, takes a more classic architectural approach. The short building in College Station, Texas, is made with tan stones and lined with American flags.
Ronald Reagan’s presidential library adopted mission architecture in line with the Latin influences of its California home.
However, John F Kennedy’s library most resembles Obama’s brutalist inspired architecture. The towering building in Boston uses modern windows and simple stones.
Barack Obama’s library will feature only digital files from his presidency
Two of the exterior walls feature words from a speech the former president gave
According to the website, the architecture of Obama’s library ‘echoes movement upward from the grassroots.’
Two of the building’s exterior walls feature words from the former president’s speech on the 50th anniversary of the march on Selma in 2015.
Another non-traditional feature of Obama’s library is its contents.
Most presidential libraries contain files from the subject’s presidency. In Obama’s case, everything will instead be digitalized to reflect the digital age during which he was in office.
The sprawling campus will have a fruit and vegetable garden, athletics programs, a museum and a Chicago Public Library.
With construction well under way, it is slated to open next spring.
