Barack Obama's $850m presidential library opens on Chicago's South Side

The Barack Obama Presidential Center, a $850 million complex on Chicago's South Side, is set to open as the largest and most expensive presidential library in U.S. history. Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the near-windowless monolith is wrapped in a speech by Obama that is difficult to decipher. Critics have described it as feeling like a 'Klingon prison' or a 'menacing sci-fi HQ,' questioning whether it is a monument or a mausoleum. The structure looms over a low-income area, drawing comparisons to Egyptian pyramids and Anglo-Saxon barrows, and is seen as part of a tradition of presidential libraries that venerate living leaders. The complex includes a museum, public spaces, and a foundation, reflecting the transformation of the U.S. presidency into a national personality cult.