<p>On a mid-morning weekday in his light-filled studio on the West Side, the furniture designer Norman Teague runs his hands along one of his latest creations in wood.</p><p>“I've enjoyed walnut because of its softness, but it's also dense,” says Teague, who is surrounded by objects he’s made over the years, including wood tables and sculptures, plastic and ceramic vessels and many, many chairs. “So it's soft and strong at the same time. These benches will take a beating.”</p><div class="Enhancement FormEnhancement" data-align-center> <div id="Form-newsletter-wrapper" class="Form-newsletter-wrapper" data-module data-has-background ><a class="AnchorLink" id="custom-form-c10000" name="custom-form-c10000"></a><bsp-form class="Form-newsletter" data-form-container data-has-background style="--color-form-background: #e8dbed;; --color-form-link: var(--link-color); --color-form-link-hover: var(--color-link-text-hover); " data-ajax-submit="true"> <div class="Form-newsletter-logo"> <picture data-crop=""> <source type="image/webp" width="840" height="555" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8d5b965/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/840x555!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a4ff6fd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/1680x1110!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1NTVweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="840" height="555" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d21ec76/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1NTVweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="GR-wordmark-RGB-DKgreen-Newsletter.png" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d21ec76/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aaee62a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/1680x1110!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png 2x" width="840" height="555" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d21ec76/2147483647/strip/true/crop/985x651+33+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1NTVweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> </div> <div class="Form-newsletter-text-wrapper"> <div class="Form-newsletter-title"> Green Room Newsletter </div> <div class="Form-newsletter-submissionSuccess"> <p><b>You’re subscribed!</b></p><p></p><p>Please check your inbox for your confirmation.</p> </div> <div class="Form-newsletter-description">Stay ahead of what’s hitting Chicago stages, galleries, museums and more with Green Room, WBEZ’s weekly arts &amp; culture newsletter!</div> <div class="Form-newsletter-errorMessage"><p>Sorry, there was an error registering your email.</p></div> </div> <form data-ajax-endpoint="https://sfmc-subscribe.wbez.org/v1/subscription" class="Form-newsletter-form" method="POST" > <div class="Form-newsletter-item"> <div class="EmailInput"><label class="EmailInput-label"><span>Email</span> <input class="EmailInput-input" type="email" name="email" placeholder="name@email.com" required aria-required="true"> </label> </div> <button class="Button" type="submit">Sign Up </button> </div> <div class="Form-items-item"> <input type="hidden" name="acquisition_campaign" value="ARTS_Affordance"> </div> <div class="Form-newsletter-disclaimer"> <p>By subscribing, you agree with WBEZ’s <a class="Link" href="https://www.wbez.org/terms-of-use" target="_blank" >Terms of Use</a> and <a class="Link" href="https://www.wbez.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" >Privacy Policy</a></p> </div> </form> </bsp-form> </div> </div><p>These benches are <i>the</i> benches, ones the designer made for the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/photography/2026/06/02/photo-tour-inside-obama-presidential-center" target="_blank" ><u>Obama Presidential Center</u></a> that provide a place to relax in a section of the eight-story museum tower.