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Design Process

WED-C05: When a Library Is the Landscape: Designing the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
1:15 PM - 2:30 PM PT
1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Theodore Roosevelt was transformed by the Badlands; this library transforms visitors. This session reveals how architects, landscape designers, and storytellers turned site, ecology, and history into an immersive, living landscape. Attendees will learn how bold collaboration, ecological design, and narrative-driven planning can create civic spaces that inspire, educate, and endure.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Apply strategies for collaborative leadership that translate articulated design vision into built reality by aligning clients, architects, landscape architects, and construction teams to guide projects from concept to completion.
  • Translate site analysis into design decisions by recognizing how subtle ecological, historical, and cultural qualities can drive innovative design solutions.
  • Develop design strategies rooted in iterative, phased exploration while thinking at a systems level, moving beyond property lines and zones to create cohesive, contextually responsive landscapes that connect broader experiences.
  • Incorporate land management and ecological stewardship as integral components of site planning, restoration, and long-term landscape performance.