BUILDING FOR GOOD IN THE BADLANDS: THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Designed to immerse visitors in Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy, the library blends storytelling and interactive experiences to create a destination rooted in education, leadership, and American history. Image courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Project at a glance
- Location: Medora, North Dakota
- Project type: Commercial, Institutional
- Completion: July 2026
- Amrize solution: Custom ternary blend of Type 1L cement, slag, and fly ash
- Key partners: Dickinson Ready-Mix
In brief
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is located in one of America’s most remote and demanding landscapes. Yet, when it opens on July 4, 2026, to coincide with America’s 250th birthday, it’s likely to become one of the country’s most iconic destinations.
Set in 93 acres of North Dakota Badlands, the 100,000-square-foot complex was designed to meet the Living Building Challenge 4.0. In practice, that means not just fulfilling architectural ambition, but that every partner delivers material innovation.
For Amrize and project partner Dickinson Ready Mix, the call to action was something rarely attempted at this scale in this location: delivering high-performance, low-carbon concrete in an extreme climate — reliably, on schedule, and without compromise.
The challenge: Uncompromising expectations in an unforgiving land
The project is designed to reflect President Roosevelt’s relationship with the landscape, his interest in environmental stewardship, and his commitment to civic engagement.
The Badlands are unforgiving. Temperature swings of 100°F or more between seasons place extraordinary demands on concrete. Materials must perform structurally while enduring freeze-thaw cycles, UV exposure, and high winds.
Meeting the Living Building Challenge 4.0 added the hurdle of embodied carbon thresholds. Together, these made for a challenge that was as much technical as it was logistical.
Dickinson Ready Mix needed mix designs that could satisfy both the structural and environmental expectations of the project. Its remote location in Medora, North Dakota, further complicated supply chain logistics.
Then there was the symbolic weight of the project. Sharing a “birthday” with the United States, the library’s partners were committed to building with materials that reflected American pride and partnership. Amrize’s Made in America cement, produced entirely on U.S. soil from raw material extraction through processing and manufacturing, was a natural fit — and came from its flagship Ste. Genevieve plant.
The solution: A partnership of strength and sustainability
From early stages of construction, Amrize worked closely with the teams to refine mix designs that met the project’s demanding performance goals.
Amrize supplied a ternary blend of Type 1L cement, slag, and fly ash sourced from its Ste. Genevieve plant. Concrete placement kicked off in August 2023, and from there, Amrize’s technical team worked hand-in-hand with Dickinson Ready Mix through every phase of construction.
Achieving a 50-70% Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) rate is a feat. By engaging early — developing and refining seven mix designs in close coordination with Dickinson Ready Mix — Amrize was able to provide the data, technical support, and confidence to proceed.
"Amrize partnered with Dickinson Ready Mix to combine our expertise and experience to meet the project's rigorous specifications for sustainable concrete performance and embodied carbon targets. We worked with the project team to trial various concrete mix design options to provide the best solution for each building application."
Owings says the approach paid off in the field: “Dickinson Ready Mix was able to supply concrete that performed consistently for the contractor throughout construction.”
Essential elements of the solution included:
- Type 1L cement, slag, and fly ash in a ternary (3-component) blend
- Seven custom mix designs that were developed and refined in partnership with the ready-mix producer
- Ongoing technical support through final placement
- Mix optimization targeting both compressive strength and carbon load reduction
The results: A big breakthrough that puts a small town on the presidential map
More than just a construction project, the library became an opportunity to showcase how innovative solutions can support some of the country’s most ambitious building projects. Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library project demonstrated something big: that advanced, lower-carbon concrete is not only possible in rural markets — it can outperform conventional expectations.
“This project pushed sustainability possibilities to the limit, but with the help of our suppliers and the open communication with expectations, Dickinson Ready Mix supplied low-carbon concrete with SCM replacement rates over 60%.
These mixes were expected to achieve design strength at 56 Days, but with the material package utilized, the mixes regularly achieved design strength at 14 days or less.
The knowledgeable team at Amrize was an instrumental project partner. They offered expert insight, support, and knowledge whenever needed.”
Sitting at the crossroads of historical significance and pioneering innovation, this new cultural attraction shows what’s possible when ambition and expertise meet. The library's Living Building Challenge 4.0 certification demanded that every element of the material supply chain perform. Amrize did — and in doing so, helped prove that next-generation, lower-carbon concrete has a place in even the most remote, demanding, and high-profile builds.