In the North Dakotan Badlands, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) overlooks a stunning expanse of canyons and buttes, honoring the 26th president of the United States – known for his love for nature and preservation. The library will be a single-story, large footprint museum building with 93,000-square-feet of interior space that includes interactive galleries, community spaces, a café, and an auditorium.

The roof structure features glulam beams arranged in a triangular pattern that follows the curvature of the roof. Exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels form the ceiling, providing structural support for a landscaped roof over a concrete topping. The curved design required intricate glulam connection details at the beam intersections. To achieve precise connections, our team employed parametric modeling to meet the bi-angular requirements at each location. These connections utilized concealed steel hangers embedded within the glulam members’ ends. Additionally, the glulam beams rest on steel columns and girders, which are wrapped in glulam for a consistent all-wood appearance.

Click here to read more from Mercer about the project.