Engineer Defends Bold, Speech-Wrapped Tower at Obama Center

Chris Bird, the structural engineer who helped design the Obama Presidential Center’s bold top tower wrapped with Obama quotes, says the unprecedented design was the president’s vision and anchors the site as the center opens to the public; critics have called it a monstrosity, but Bird argues it’s a grand, sky-reaching gesture that blends with the park, with attendees praising the center as futuristic and breathtaking.