Studio Loutsis's timber signage for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Snøhetta's Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library sits in the Badlands outside Medora, North Dakota, built into the terrain rather than placed on top of it. The campus links three institutions across a large spread of indoor and outdoor space, with JLG Architects as architect of record. Studio Loutsis was asked to handle the signage, wayfinding and donor recognition across the whole site, and approached it as part of the architecture and landscape rather than something added later.

The range of scales is the interesting part, from large markers seen from the road to small placards on the walking trails. To tie them together, the studio worked with Commercial Type on a bespoke typeface and its own set of icons. Outside there are heavy timber pylons, campus maps and dark metal lettering, made to cope with North Dakota's harsh weather and to age with the building. Everything was made to Living Building Challenge rules, down to the coatings. Indoors, signs fix directly to the timber partitions, and a 'Wall of Gratitude' in the lobby sets donor panels flush into the wall cladding.

The studio submitted the project to designboom itself, and the piece gives no visiting details. Worth a look for anyone who notices how a building tells you where to go, and worth checking the library's own information before planning a trip.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 28 October 2026. Read the original