Now We Know Why the Obama Center Is So Ugly

[rangerrebew]

Now We Know Why the Obama Center Is So Ugly
Matt Margolis  | 11:20 PM on June 20, 2026
   
 
The Obama Presidential Center finally opened to the public on Friday (not that you care), and the verdict from the internet was swift and brutal. People are calling it a "monstrous insult to architecture," a "concrete nightmare," and simply a "monstrosity." Social media has spent the week comparing the thing to a trash can and a dystopian movie set, which, having seen the photos, feels generous.
 

It’s hideous.

Naturally, the man who helped design the building's most mocked feature has a different take. Chris Bird, the Washington structural engineer who designed the upper portion of the center's towering centerpiece, sat down with Fox News Digital just before the doors opened and insisted the design is not a monstrosity at all. It's a "grand gesture." A "bold statement." Something with "no architectural precedent."

“The architects knew with the client that they wanted to do something bold at the top of the tower, and the vision of the speech came to life,” Bird told Fox News Digital.

I’d blame Obama, too.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/06/20/now-we-know-why-the-obama-center-is-so-ugly-n4954198#google_vignette

[rangerrebew]

I wouldn't on any day of the week at any time of the day, without and armed guard, walk in S. Chicago to see that thing.  Though I believe the media would rant about its beauty if he put a new ballroom in it.

[Free Vulcan]

It's a "grand gesture." A "bold statement".

AKA high speed turd polishing right there.