Gregg pendant lamps by Foscarini, designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, define the lighting atmosphere of the library at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Selected by lighting design studio Fisher Marantz Stone, they form compositions at different heights in the Main Reading Room and the President’s Reading Room, while Gregg Outdoor is also used in the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium.
Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the Obama Presidential Center rises in Chicago’s Jackson Park as a public campus dedicated to education, culture and community life. Opened in June 2026, the complex integrates architecture, landscape and public space, reinterpreting the traditional model of the American presidential library.
Within this system, lighting contributes to the definition of spaces dedicated to reading, meeting and social interaction. For the library, the lighting designers at Fisher Marantz Stone selected Gregg by Foscarini, using the collection’s organic forms to create a diffuse luminous composition throughout the interiors.
The Obama Presidential Center between culture and civic engagement
In the United States, the tradition of presidential libraries dates back to 1938, with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s library at his family estate in Hyde Park. Since then, fourteen more presidential libraries have been established under the Presidential Libraries Act, preserving historical documents, materials related to government decisions and objects that reflect both the public and private dimensions of each presidency.
With the Obama Presidential Center, Barack Obama expanded this model by placing emphasis not only on the preservation of political memory, but also on civic engagement and community participation.
The campus is conceived as a place where learning, culture and social interaction coexist. In addition to the library, it includes a museum dedicated to the Obama presidency, the history of civil rights and democracy in the United States, as well as spaces for events, education and conferences, a café and restaurant, sports facilities and a play area.
Architecture and landscape design are developed as a unified system. The buildings establish a strong relationship with the vegetation of Jackson Park, while green roofs and terraces extend the landscape into the architecture. More than 28 site-specific art installations further contribute to the cultural dimension of the public spaces.
The result is a campus conceived as a platform for activity, interaction and civic participation in the city where the political journey of Barack and Michelle Obama began.
Gregg: a luminous composition for the library
For the library interiors, Fisher Marantz Stone used Gregg pendant lamps by Foscarini, a collection designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba and part of the company’s catalogue since 2007.
Available in blown glass and polyethylene versions, Gregg is characterised by an organic, asymmetrical form that recalls a pebble smoothed by running water or another naturally irregular shape.
At the Obama Presidential Center, the pendant lamps are used in the polyethylene version, a lightweight and durable material that allows the fixtures to be arranged at different heights.
In the Main Reading Room, the lamps in X-Large, Large and Medium sizes are distributed throughout the space in a sequence of suspended elements set at varying levels. The composition extends longitudinally through the room, introducing a soft, diffuse light that interacts with the natural light entering through the large glazed surfaces.
The same family of fixtures is used in the President’s Reading Room, dedicated to a collection of books reflecting the personal interests and preferred reading of President Obama and his wife. In this room, lined with full-height timber bookshelves, the pendant lamps introduce diffuse points of light above the large central table.
Light, architecture and spaces for interaction
The pendant configuration takes advantage of Gregg’s enclosed diffuser to create compositions at different levels. Variations in size and height avoid a uniform rhythm and turn the fixtures into luminous presences distributed across the space.
Lighting therefore contributes to the perceptual quality of the interiors without becoming detached from the architecture and furnishings. In the library, it accompanies areas dedicated to reading and extended use, reinforcing the warm and welcoming character of the spaces.
A further installation of Gregg Outdoor is located in the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium, an open and flexible environment conceived as a meeting place where visitors can gather, build connections and exchange ideas.
In this context, the use of the Gregg collection extends beyond a strictly technical lighting function, contributing directly to the atmosphere of the collective spaces within the Obama Presidential Center.