The Trump administration may be crafting an executive order that would require all new federal buildings to be designed with a classical appearance.
The Architectural Record claims to have obtained a copy of the order, “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.” According to the report, the order makes reference to the architectural taste of the Founding Fathers, who styled buildings from “democratic Athens” and “republican Rome.”
The order critiques modern architecture under the General Service Administration’s “Design Excellence Program” for failing to integrate “national values into federal buildings.” It claims the quality of architecture produced in the modern era is “influenced by Brutalism and Deconstructivism.”
Both Brutalism and Deconstructivism were architectural art forms that emerged during the 20th century. Brutalist buildings, which began to emerge in the 1950s, are often seen to have mammoth, cement, and geometric structures. Deconstructivism, which emerged in the 1980s as a postmodern form of architecture, emphasizes asymmetry and abstract construction.
The document says the forms of architecture do not fulfill the guiding principles of the GSA, which is that buildings “must provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American government.”
The order makes reference to three specific federal buildings: the U.S. Courthouse in Austin, Texas, the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, Florida, and the U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco, California. The order states that the designs “fail to satisfy” the original mandates of the GSA and “shall not be used.”
