The countdown to our nation’s 250th Anniversary and the July 4th grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) in Medora, North Dakota, has officially begun. Before TRPL stood poised to welcome leaders and visitors from around the globe, the project’s local Architect of Record, JLG Architects, defined the regenerative systems, materials, and construction practices narrating a bold new chapter in conservation.
Wild West Wonders
A hallmark of the project is TRPL’s immersion into the Badlands, which includes dramatic buttes, steep canyons, colorful clay formations, and striking rock outcrops. These wild west wonders have made construction on the 93-acre site as challenging as it is beautiful. In fact, the June 15, 2023, groundbreaking didn’t take place until l complex site grading, soils engineering, water management, and landscape materials were considered for both environmental responsibility and durability in the harsh climate. The 96,000-square-foot Library needed to blend seamlessly with its surroundings while safeguarding the land’s natural beauty and ecological integrity — a true test of creativity, technical detailing, and thoroughly integrated sustainability systems.
As the Architect of Record, JLG Architects, a national firm with its roots in North Dakota, brought nearly four decades of experience designing within this windy northern climate and rugged, remote site — drawing on the Badlands’ extremes to set a new standard in conservation strategies.
A Living Library
With its architectural form emulating the landscape’s naturally derived contours, the Library is designed to be the only carbon-neutral presidential library in the world. TRPL’s design embraces the Badlands, restores ecological systems, and demonstrates sustainable living by operating on a Four Zeros framework, including zero energy, zero carbon, zero water, and zero waste. Additionally, its energy systems include 216 geothermal wells on-site and nearby, totaling 105% of the building’s annual electricity needs.
JLG Architects’ Sustainability Studio spearheaded strategy for several legendary firsts, including full Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification — the first in North Dakota and a first amongst presidential libraries nationwide.
In adherence with the TRPL Foundation’s three Pillar Principles of Conservation, Leadership, and Citizenship, the team’s growing list of firsts, include:
• First presidential library pursuing three concurrent certifications at the highest level: LBC Full certification, LEED Platinum, and SITES Platinum
• First new commercial building LBC registered in ND
• First of its kind soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration approach in the region
• First total carbon positive building project in ND
• First museum pursuing full LBC
“TRPL is set to achieve three concurrent certifications at the highest level, including LBC, LEED Platinum, and SITES Platinum,” said JLG Architects’ Sustainability Manager Chayna Claeys, AIA, LEED AP, LFA. “Once the doors open and the LBC performance period has commenced, TRPL will be a ‘living’ building and brilliant example of energy independence, making more energy than it consumes.”
With JLG Architects working alongside international Design Architect and Design Landscape Architect Snøhetta, Landscape Architect-of-Record Confluence, and Construction Manager JE Dunn, the team is honoring the historic conservation ideals Roosevelt first articulated in the 1880s — ideals that, by 1903, had evolved into the country’s first federal wildlife refuge.
Innovation in Sustainable Integration
The unique integration of regenerative construction practices was one of the project’s most impressive endeavors, achieving what had never been done before. Many of the systems and construction methods necessary to realize the original design vision did not exist at the start of the Library’s construction.
As a notable example, North Dakota’s Winn Construction visited case studies across the country, brought on specialized collaborators to educate their team, and worked directly with technicians at Beton to develop a new low-carbon concrete mix aligned with TRPL’s total embodied carbon plan. Winn’s and Dickinson Ready Mix’s cutting-edge concrete is now helping meet the region’s increasing demand for sustainable materials, making this material more affordable and available in other rural Midwestern areas.
“This project asked us to solve problems that had no established playbook,” said Claeys. “That is exactly the kind of challenge North Dakota’s celebrated work ethic was built for.”
Another beautiful example is TRPL’s rammed earth walls, a collaboration by Winn Construction, Earth Wall Builders, Snøhetta, and JLG Architects. These walls, constructed with a stabilized earth mix strengthened with low-carbon concrete, are designed to echo the layered hues and geology of the Badlands while providing a lower embodied carbon compared to conventional wall systems. The natural compaction and minimum maintenance of rammed earth walls also provide lasting durability, with thermal mass that stabilizes indoor temperatures, reducing both heating and cooling demands.
Pivotal to both the project’s sustainable integration and its connection to the landscape is the Library’s mass timber hybrid system of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam (glue-laminated timber) by Mercer Mass Timber. In this context, mass timber was used to add visual warmth and reduce reliance on more carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel. The timber is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, sourced from sustainably managed forests, with much of it fabricated off-site to reduce material waste. By utilizing this renewable, carbon-sequestering material throughout its primary structural system, TRPL is now considered one of the largest mass-timber institutional structures in the United States.
Advocating for Industry Change
According to Claeys, Living Building Challenge (LBC) sustainability certification required JLG Architects to vet at least 90% of all products used against the Red List – a list containing thousands of chemicals that are “worst in class,” which negatively impact human health and the environment.
When product types didn’t have proper documentation or ingredients, JLG Architects needed to advocate to manufacturers to improve their products or invent new processes. “I was amazed at the number of manufacturers willing to change and just needed to be asked and given guidance,” she said. “JLG now has a robust list of healthy products, and we have a process where we advocate regularly – and we’re continuously met by positive responses. The process at TRPL is continuing throughout our work and impacting the entire industry.”
“If I could tell my family and friends one thing on their first visit to TRPL, it would be to breathe deep,” said Claeys. “As of early June 2026, we have reviewed the ingredients of 29,776 building products to verify that they are healthy – for the building occupants and for everyone along the products’ lifespan, from extraction to the end-of-life.”
The Native Plant Project
TRPL’s 93-acre site presented both opportunity and obstacles, impacted by climate change, droughts, fires, and overgrazing. A prairie wildfire swept through the site in the spring of 2021, leaving behind a blackened carpet of grass and brush. In this circumstance, fire is considered less destructive and more restorative, providing a reset for natural prairie ecology.
To kick-start nature’s evolution, teams of volunteers, ecologists, and landscape architects devoted the last four years to restoring the native prairie through germinated seeds, along with managed grazing plans and increased native plant diversity for the development of healthy natural soils, carbon sequestration, and resilient landscapes. From this local genotype, TRPL has created a seed bank to help others restore their prairies.
On the hillside behind the Library, Claeys had the opportunity to help hand-collect seeds for the Native Plant Project. “As an architect, we have a direct influence on material selection for the building and can use embodied carbon as one of the determining factors,” she explained. “TRPL has an FSC mass timber structure and low carbon concrete, which reduced the carbon inherent in building materials due to extraction, manufacturing, and transportation. The efforts put in by landscape architects, ecologists, operations, volunteers, and many more are what will turn that low embodied carbon into a project that will be carbon positive. Once the prairie has been restored to a healthy grassland, calculations expect that it will sequester more carbon in the roots of the plants and soil than what was put into the construction of the project.”
Nature’s Walk
Resulting from The Native Plant Project’s efforts, led by Resource Environmental Solutions, the Library’s 121,000-square-foot walkable and ADA-accessible rooftop now invites visitors to follow the growth of more than 140,000 native prairie plugs. These seeds were hand-collected from sites near Roosevelt’s own historic ranches, germinated at North Dakota State University Extension’s research center, and returned to Medora to be planted on the TRPL roof and bioswales. The mass timber and concrete roof is topped with insulation, roofing, and 15 inches of soil to support its native grass plantings, echoing the natural landforms of the area.
The prairie boardwalk is also designed to connect to the Library’s landscape and scenic views, with a plaza and seating lawn, a bridge, a sunken path, a grassland pause, a sweeping overlook, and a shaded trailhead. From this perspective, visitors will see more hand-planted work from the Native Plant Project, all 400,000 native plant plugs from over sixty regional species. To manage stormwater, a closed-loop water system captures, treats, and reuses 100% of rainfall on site.
Verified Craftsmanship
To further align the Library with the values Roosevelt championed—Conservation, Leadership, and Citizenship—every partner and subcontractor was required to align with the TRPL Foundation’s parameters for high-performance sustainable design, construction, and material practices throughout every project phase.
TRPL’s finishes and furniture were no exception. To ensure alignment, JLG Architects partnered with Snøhetta on design, research, coordination, and the orchestration of two large-scale furniture fairs. Nearly 40 furniture samples were sourced for the fairs — everything from stage seating and task chairs to outdoor rockers and indoor occasional tables.
From the time furniture design and selection efforts kicked off in the fall of 2024 to installation on May 18, 2026, the project team continually pursued Living Certification — one of the most rigorous sustainability standards in the world, achieved by fewer than 35 buildings worldwide. While every building material used on-site was required to meet LBC review, the only furniture that was required to be compliant is systems furniture and task seating. However, in the spirit of T.R., the team took a bold approach to apply LBC principles to all furniture selections.
“The furniture industry is still catching up to the building sector in terms of sustainability and transparency, but we were able to identify products that meet both LBC requirements and the design vision,” explained JLG Architects’ Senior Interior Designer Jessi Larson, NCIDQ, LEED AP, WELL AP. True to Roosevelt’s spirit, much of the furniture is proudly manufactured in the U.S., with just a small selection of Scandinavian classics. In TRPL’s café, Salt & Scoria, the team chose highly sustainable Danish-designed pieces by OEO Studio, made from a patented Matek material that blends coffee shell waste and upcycled e-waste.
Within the broader furniture landscape, are two truly special pieces that were designed and handcrafted by master woodworker Marco Bogazzi, who operates a small studio in Portland, Oregon.
Bogazzi’s Onda rocker, which was originally designed in 2021, is described as a ‘modern, contemporary outdoor chair intended to be warm, cozy, and timeless.’ This chair started as a sample debuted at last summer’s furniture fair and quickly became a favorite. Larson requested an initial sample, then asked Bogazzi to produce several rounds of prototyping.
The final design of Bogazzi’s solid wood Onda rockers now rests in the Library’s open-air Breezeway overlooking the majestic Badlands. “They are built using thermally treated ash, a chemical-free innovation that allows domestic USA lumber to endure outdoor environments,” explained Bogazzi. “Unlike teak, thermo-ash is sustainably harvested and significantly more cost-effective. The wood is a beautiful natural brown with no stain or finish; over time, UV exposure will turn it a maintenance-free silvery-gray.” JLG and Snøhetta also worked with Bogazzi to design an extraordinary solid-wood lounge chair that resides throughout the Library.
Reclaiming History
To make history while preserving it, the team integrated reclaimed Red Oak for the auditorium floor, reclaimed Heart Pine floors in exhibit spaces, and Copper Beech elements from a tree Roosevelt planted in the 1890s on his family’s estate at Sagamore Hill. The tree lived 125 years on Long Island, NY, before its required removal in 2019. Today, 15-foot slabs of the salvaged wood have a new home in the Badlands, where its Copper Beech is on display in the entrance, as donor walls, and artfully crafted by North Dakota’s Grain Designs into podiums and tables throughout the “living library.”
A tree Roosevelt’s great-grandson once described as a “guardian” of the house, has now become the guardian of the Library, rooted in the next generation of a conservation movement catalyzed nearly 140 years earlier.
Additionally, site and interior furnishings, as well as retaining walls and curbs were constructed with reclaimed and deconstructed timber mats. Crushed brick aggregate paths continue the project’s repurposing of materials, utilizing reject bricks from the Hebron Brick plant in Hebron, ND.
Real-Time Restoration
Envisioning the landscape as the library enables TRPL to be a teaching tool for sustainable living, embracing advanced digital technology within a dynamic environment of rammed earth walls, low-carbon concrete, and mass timber construction. Sustainability integration will be visible to guests upon arrival and throughout the tour’s educational and outdoor aspects. Tours include custom signage and TR20 biophilic strategies, with visible dashboards showing the real-time building status via on-site locations and TRPL’s website.
Collectively, the Library experience is designed to be a progressive expression of our environment that cultivates healthy, active citizens who celebrate the outdoors, value conservation, and enter their own arena of community action with an evolved sense of indoor and outdoor systems.
“TRPL isn’t constructed to commemorate our 26th President, its very construction communicates the value of global conservation and hometown talent unearthed in Western North Dakota,” said JLG Architects’ Jennifer Burke Jackson, AIA, LEED AP, Principal Architect. “We’re not just designing a Presidential Library, we’re planting a seed; transforming the way we work, learn, and live – both today and into the next century.”
