President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order requiring all federal buildings to “embrace classical architecture,” a move that signals a stark departure from modernist and brutalist styles that have dominated government construction for decades.
According to a White House fact sheet accompanying the order, “In the District of Columbia, classical architecture shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another kind of architecture.” The statement makes clear that the order is explicitly aimed at curbing the influence of brutalist design, a style characterized by stark concrete forms that emerged in the mid-20th century.
While the federal government has traditionally refrained from intervening in architectural decisions, the executive order reflects President Trump’s longstanding interest in imposing his aesthetic vision on the White House complex and other federal spaces. Over the past several years, Trump has overseen a series of renovations and additions to the White House that bear the hallmark of his personal taste, often drawing comparisons to the lavish design elements seen in his private properties.
The new directive instructs federal architects and planners to construct buildings in a way that “uplifts and beautifies public spaces” and “commands respect from the general public.” Implementation of the order will fall under the authority of the administrator of the General Services Administration, while the assistant to the president for domestic policy is required to notify the president if any construction departs from the preferred classical style. This includes any building proposals featuring brutalist, deconstructivist, or other modernist architectural approaches.
“In the 1960s, the Federal Government largely replaced traditional designs for new construction with modernist and brutalist ones,” the White House fact sheet reads, suggesting that these styles “were often unpopular with Americans.” By contrast, the administration asserts that classical architecture embodies principles of beauty, nobility, and civic pride.
Trump Signs Executive Order Mandating Classical Architecture for Federal Buildings, Rejecting Brutalism
Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society, whose group assisted in drafting the executive order, praised the move in a phone interview with CNN. “The president is to be commended for requiring that new federal buildings be noble, beautiful and admired by the general public, as the executive order recognizes, and as our organization has long been advocating,” Shubow said. He added that classical architecture is “time-honored, timeless, and the mode most associated with our national values. It is, quite simply, the architecture of American democracy.”
Trump’s personal aesthetic preferences have already been evident in the nation’s capital. Renovations he has overseen at the White House include paving over sections of the Rose Garden and installing yellow-striped umbrellas reminiscent of the patio at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Additionally, Trump directed the installation of two massive flagpoles on the White House lawn, flying oversized American flags, reinforcing his penchant for grand, highly visible symbols.
The president is also advancing an ambitious $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the White House grounds, with construction scheduled to begin in September. The space, which has been a personal goal for Trump for more than 15 years, is designed to dramatically expand the White House’s entertaining capacity. Renderings shared by the White House depict a lavish interior featuring gilded Corinthian columns, coffered ceilings with gold inlays, crystal chandeliers, gold floor lamps, and a checkered marble floor—a striking nod to the opulence Trump favors in his private club properties.
Inside the White House, the Oval Office itself has been reimagined under Trump’s direction, adorned with heavy gold decorations. Craftsmen from Florida, including some who previously worked on Trump’s Palm Beach estate, have contributed to the transformation, highlighting the president’s determination to shape federal spaces according to his personal vision of elegance and grandeur.
Critics of the executive order have warned that limiting federal architecture to classical styles may stifle innovation and increase costs, while supporters argue that it restores dignity and tradition to public spaces. Regardless of perspective, the order makes it clear that the federal government under Trump is prioritizing a return to classical design, seeking to craft buildings that are both aesthetically grand and symbolically aligned with historic notions of American governance.
As the federal building landscape shifts under this directive, the executive order marks a high-profile assertion of presidential influence over architectural policy, signaling that, for Trump, the appearance of government buildings is not just a matter of utility, but a reflection of national identity and enduring taste.
Source- Eddition
