Inside the Bush Center

Inside the Bush Center GRAPHICS BY TROY OXFORD

EXTERIOR With its red brick and limestone facade, the Bush Center is designed to complement the neighboring SMU campus buildings. The center has several energy-efficient features.

FREEDOM PLAZA serves as the main visitor entrance with a colonnade and fountain

FREEDOM HALL

SOLAR PANELS convert sunlight into electricity

CEREMONIAL COURTYARD includes a sculpture of George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush

SOLAR CELLS heat water for the building

SUN SHADES reduce heat and energy costs

TEXAS ROSE GARDEN with native trees and wildflowers

CEREMONIAL COURTYARD CAFE

READING ROOM TERRACE

GROUND LEVEL TERRACE

OVAL OFFICE

FLOOR BY FLOOR TOP FLOOR

MAIN FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

The top floor houses the presidential suite, which includes the offices of George W. and Laura Bush, a living room, a dining room and a reception area. The George W. Bush Foundation also has offices there.

Bush Center visitors can access the museum, research room, classrooms, gift shop and dining areas through the north entrance off SMU Boulevard. The main floor also has office space for the National Archives and Records Administration and the George W. Bush Institute.

The Bush Institute’s main entrance is on the building’s west side. This floor features a 360-seat auditorium and conference areas. The floor also has storage and preservation space for the massive archive of documents and artifacts.

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1. Institute offices 2. Temporary gallery 3. Cafe 43 4. Entry hall 5. Main lobby 6. Freedom Plaza 7. Classrooms 8. Research room 9. Museum store

FREEDOM HALL

10. National Archives offices 11. Texas Rose Garden 12. Oval Office 13. Permanent gallery 14. Freedom Hall 15. Courtyard cafe 16. Ceremonial courtyard 17. Institute library

Volunteer tree

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Entry to temporary exhibit gallery

1. Seminar room 2. Institute lobby 3. Auditorium 4. Archive area 5. Seminar room

6. Hall of State 7. Cross Hall 8. Presidential seminar room 9. Staff offices

The 14,000-square-foot museum space highlights principles that guided the Bushes in public life. Visitors will see the exhibits in this sequence:

Closing film theater

A 20-foot-tall, 360-degree high-definition video wall

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PERMANENT GALLERY

The 50-by-50-foot tower rises above the center and will be illuminated at night.

The signature architectural feature of the Bush Center

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5. Living room 6. Library 7. Presidential reception hall terrace

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1. Offices 2. Reception 3. Family dining room 4. East dining room

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1 Freedom Hall

6 The Oval Office

2 “A Charge to Keep”

7 Texas Rose Garden

3 “Empowering Americans”

8 “Living in the White House”

4 “September 11”

9 “Acting with Compassion”

5 “Defending Freedom”

10 Decision Points Theater 11 “Leading on the Issues” 12 “A New Call to Service”

Stone from Tunisia

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13 Exit to Freedom Hall

11 Permanent exhibit gallery

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White House theater

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DETAIL AREA Introductory theater

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Steel from World Trade Center

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Full-scale replica of the Oval Office SOURCES: George W. Bush Presidential Center, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

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NATIVE TURF GRASS

LANDSCAPE DESIGN The Bush Center is enveloped within a 15-acre urban park re-creating a native prairie landscape. The park recycles all stormwater and serves as a demonstration project for using native landscape to conserve water.

The lawn consists of a variety of native grasses, requiring less extensive watering and maintenance than a traditional lawn.

PRAIRIE The 6 acres of native prairie plant communities need no irrigation. This ecosystem provides a range of habitat for butterflies, birds and other indigenous wildlife.

STONE SEEP Stormwater collected from the northern landscape is stored below grade and slowly released into a bioswale, creating microclimates for plants.

BIOSWALE Surface runoff is captured and conveyed through swales, which improve the quality of water by filtering contaminants through specific plants.

STONE CHECK DAMS Large stone boulders slow the flow of surface water, preventing erosion.

WET PRAIRIE The wet prairie retains rainwater and allows it to filter slowly into the cistern below.

WILDFLOWER MEADOW A vibrant palette of wildflowers will thrive in this sheltered location and blanket the meadow with a seasonal display of color.

RELOCATED SITE SOILS Soil from building excavation is retained on site, creating distinctive landforms that direct surface runoff.

IRRIGATION CISTERN Water filters through the wet prairie and is collected for irrigation, reducing the demand for potable water by 50 percent.

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COLLECTING RAINWATER The stormwater collection and distribution plan dramatically limits the need for water intake and the water outflow into municipal systems.

1 The landscape absorbs

Binkley

During extreme rain, overflow from the wet prairie discharges into the highway stormwater system.

Parking lot

Parking lot

Rainwater

Roof rainwater

rainwater.

passes through 2 The water Moody

3 where bioswales, Parking contaminants are filtered.

Meadows Museum

WET PRAIRIE OVERFLOW

Garage 4 Binkley Parking 3 The bioswales direct water to plant systems. Garage 4 Surplus water is stored in a 252,000-gallon cistern for reuse.

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Seep Wet prairie Irrigation cistern

Overflow to highway stormwater system Rainwater Bioswale

G.J. McCarthy/Staff Photographer

Rainwater stands in a wet prairie on the grounds of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. SOURCE: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Troy Oxford/Staff Artist