Topline
President Donald Trump, with less than a month to go until the end of his term, signed an executive order Monday to prevent federal buildings from being built in modern styles and cementing classical designs as the preferred architectural design.
President Donald Trump talks to members of the media outside of the White House in October.
Key Facts
According to the executive order, federal building designs should feature “beautiful” classical architecture, naming Neoclassical, Georgian, Greek Revival and Art Deco styles specifically.
The order’s language connects classic influences on buildings like the White House and the Capitol Building with the roots of democracy in Ancient Greece and Rome, stating the buildings remind Americans “not only of their rights but also their responsibilities in maintaining and perpetuating its institutions.”
The executive order specifically takes aim at brutalism, a practical architectural design that gained popularity after World War II and was heavily employed in communist countries in Europe.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Federal Building and Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C., were used as examples of “controversial” buildings that attracted “widespread criticism” for their design.
While Trump’s executive order lays out preferences for new designs, it stops short of explicitly banning modern designs for federal buildings.
The order will create a new taskforce to recommend changes to the architectural policy of the General Services Administration, which oversees the management of government offices, and the GSA will also be required to look for input from local residents and the future employees of a potential building before selecting a design for new federal buildings.
Crucial Quote
“New Federal building designs should, like America’s beloved landmark buildings, uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, command respect from the general public, and, as appropriate, respect the architectural heritage of a region,” the executive order reads.
Key Background
The idea of an executive order regarding architecture was first floated in February, when a draft version of the order was leaked to Architectural Record, a trade publication. Monday’s signing of the order triggered terms like “Brutalism” and “Art Deco” to trend on Twitter. Many users criticized the president for signing an executive order about architecture as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ramp up, while others agreed Brutalist buildings weren’t as beautiful as the other types of designs permitted by the order.
