Jaret Gaither couldn’t foresee the importance his first vote in a presidential election would play in the foundation of his budding civil engineering career.

For the past two years, the 2002 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology graduate and Phelps Program Management engineer has been heavily involved in the design and construction of the exhibitory section of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark.  That role has put him in contact with the former president and former members of his administration involving exhibits, project management and construction coordination.

The $165 million project is unique in scope, stature and accessibility to the public, and could become the signature landmark of Clinton’s eight-year presidency.  It features two main buildings on a 30-acre city park along the south bank of the Arkansas River in Little Rock.  The 70,000-square-foot museum is architecturally striking, with its signature glass-enclosed bridge which is cantilevered 90 feet up to the Arkansas River.  It is also a renovation of the abandoned Rock Island Railroad Bridge and adaptive reuse of the Choctaw Station, built in 1899.  Secure collections storage is located at and below grade in the archive building, another 70,000-square-foot building defined as a linear building with a two-story glazed pavilion, which contains research offices and support spaces for archivists and scholars.

“Everything about this project is unique, from the building design to the client (Clinton) to the level of design that has been incorporated and all of the different firms that are involved,” Gaither states about the nation’s 12^th presidential library, scheduled to open on November 18th.  “There is no other structure like this one in the world.”

Clinton’s goals for the project were simple: “I hope that it (the center) will not only allow people to see these remarkable eight years but will help to empower people, and give them the confidence to believe that they can build America’s greatest days in the new century.”

Center visitors will be able to see an exact replica of the White House’s Oval Office on the upper level of the museum building, with a re-creation of the Cabinet Room on the lower level and a presidential limousine on permanent display in the lobby.  Another interesting display will be “The Crystal Tree of Light” a glass sculpture, created by Dale Chihuly, that was part of the 2000 Millennium Celebration.

“Designing the Oval Office and Cabinet Room was difficult because access to those areas is extremely limited (to the public).  We had to go by the dimensions that were taken on Clinton’s last day in office,” Gaither said.

One of the biggest challenges was developing the content for the exhibits, including the 110-foot-line Presidential Timeline that presents a substantial history of the day to day work of Clinton and his administration utilizing photographs, videos and interactive stations.  In alcoves flanking the timeline, a series of exhibits will highlight a range of domestic and foreign policy efforts and achievements.  

“President Clinton has been very involved in the review and selection of content that will be displayed in the museum, which means we had to reach out to former staff members which are now working throughout the world,” said Gaither, adding that the library was funded by private donations.  “I was amazed by the involvement by President Clinton on the main building and the exhibit design.  He has been present for onsite meetings as well as meetings in New York to review and direct building and exhibit design.

“I arrived on site two weeks after the initial site work had started.  Initially, I was involved in the whole project but for the past year my efforts have been focused solely on the content of the exhibits and the coordination of the construction of these exhibits,” Gaither said.

The timeline and other aspects of the museum have required Gaither working with a large number of subcontractors, including a millwork contractor, an audiovisual integrator, three media producers, and five exhibit fabricators.  The library architect is Polshek Partnership LLP (New York City), the exhibition designer is Ralph Applebaum Associates (New York City/London), and the landscape architect is Hargreaves Associates (San Francisco).

“Project management was an area that I knew relatively little about before working with Phelps Program Management (a division of Hensel Phelps Construction Company).  Professionally, this has been a very rewarding position to be involved in because of the coordination,” said Gaither of his first major project.  “I work onsite with the construction crews and designers on a daily basis.  It is a lot of work, but very rewarding . . . The work ethic that was emphasized at Rose-Hulman has proven to be a great advantage.”