Why Trump's ‘Beautiful’ Federal Building Order May Be Here to Stay
A White House executive order on civic architecture denounces modernism and promotes classical design for federal buildings. It might be more than just symbolic.
The modernist design of the new Oklahoma City Federal Building, which opened in 2004, reflect security needs as well as style.
Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
President Donald Trump took some time out before the holidays for aesthetic policy-making. On Dec. 21, the president signed an executive order setting a new standard for federal architecture. Civic buildings, the order reads, should be “beautiful.” The order itself doesn’t define this term in any concrete way, but it does provide several examples of buildings — all modernist — that missed the mark. Specially gift-wrapped for fans of neoclassical buildings, who have hoped for executive action since details of the order first bubbled up in February, the directive promotes traditional design as the gold standard for U.S. architecture.
The White House order ignited many debates on social media between champions of modernism and marble-minded classicists, camps who find themselves (somewhat artificially) at odds over the issue. Like so many executive orders from this White House, it’s largely an exercise in political symbolism undertaken to stoke culture-war embers; President-elect Joe Biden can easily revoke the order after he takes office on Jan. 20 (though he has far more pressing issues on his plate). No matter how long it stands, though, the Trump order could still have a lasting impact, because the White House has also taken action to determine who gets to decide what federal buildings look like going forward: The substance of Trump’s decisions on style revolves around people, process and power.