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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-efcient features.
FREEDOM HALL FREEDOM PLAZA serves as the main visitor entrance with a colonnade and fountain SOLAR PANELS convert sunlight into electricity

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

SUN SHADES reduce heat and energy costs

SOLAR CELLS heat water for the building

TEXAS ROSE GARDEN with native trees and wildowers

READING ROOM TERRACE

CEREMONIAL COURTYARD CAFE

GROUND LEVEL TERRACE

OVAL OFFICE

FLOOR BY FLOOR
TOP FLOOR
The top oor houses the presidential suite, which includes the ofces of George W. and Laura Bush, a living room, a dining room and a reception area. The George W. Bush Foundation also has ofces there.

MAIN FLOOR
Bush Center visitors can access the museum, research room, classrooms, gift shop and dining areas through the north entrance off SMU Boulevard. The main oor also has ofce space for the National Archives and Records Administration and the George W. Bush Institute.
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GROUND FLOOR
The Bush Institutes main entrance is on the buildings west side. This oor features a 360-seat auditorium and conference areas. The oor also has storage and preservation space for the massive archive of documents and artifacts.

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

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

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

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

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 ofces

FREEDOM HALL
The signature architectural feature of the Bush Center

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

PERMANENT GALLERY
The 14,000-square-foot museum space highlights principles that guided the Bushes in public life. Visitors will see the exhibits in this sequence: 1 Freedom Hall 2 A Charge to Keep 6 The Oval Ofce 7 Texas Rose Garden 8 Living in the White House 9 Acting with Compassion
10 Decision Points Theater 11 Leading on the Issues 12 A New Call to Service

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

Closing lm theater Volunteer tree

3 Empowering Americans 4 September 11

Entry to temporary exhibit gallery Stone from Tunisia

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5 Defending Freedom

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13 Exit to Freedom Hall

11 Permanent exhibit gallery

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DETAIL AREA
Introductory theater

White House theater

Steel from World Trade Center

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Full-scale replica of the Oval Ofce


SOURCES: George W. Bush Presidential Center, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

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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.

NATIVE TURF GRASS


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 butteries, 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 ltering contaminants through specic plants.

STONE CHECK DAMS


Large stone boulders slow the ow of surface water, preventing erosion.

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

WILDFLOWER MEADOW
A vibrant palette of wildowers 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 lters through the wet prairie and is collected for irrigation, reducing the demand for potable water by 50 percent.

WET PRAIRIE OVERFLOW


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

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

Parking lot

Rainwater

1 The landscape absorbs

Roof rainwater

Binkley

rainwater.

passes through 2 The water Moody

3 where bioswales, Parking contaminants are ltered.

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Meadows Museum

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.

Seep Wet prairie Irrigation cistern

Overow 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

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