Bush library will be 'low-key,' chief says

DALLAS, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- George W. Bush's presidential library will be "very low-key and approachable," the head of the foundation building it says.

More than 2,500 people are expected at the site's groundbreaking Tuesday on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported.

" President Bush wanted a building that is very low-key and approachable, that isn't all about the building, but the message on the inside," said Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation.

That message will be represented by Freedom Hall -- a light-filled space topped with a lantern-shaped roof that will glow at night. Bush "believes that freedom is a universal gift from the Almighty to everyone on the earth," Langdale said.

The 225,000-square-foot George W. Bush Presidential Center is projected to cost more than $300 million. Designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscaped by Michael Van Valkenburgh, it will include a three-story building with a life-size Oval Office opening up to a Texas Rose Garden. The George W. Bush Institute will be housed there and a 15-acre park will surround it.