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Updated at 12:30pm ET
Back in February, President Trump set the architectural world reeling with a call for traditional designs for new federal buildings. He proposed an executive order, called “Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again,” which took an out-with-the-new, in-with-the-old approach to architecture, calling modern federal buildings constructed over the last five decades “undistinguished,” “uninspiring” and “just plain ugly.”
That proposed order is now a reality. Retitled “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” it begins with a paean to “beautiful public architecture,” before moving on to a litany of disapproval aimed at modernist federal buildings.
It’s true that modernism abounds in D.C. Standing on a street corner near the National Mall, there’s actually a mishmash of architectural styles. Let’s talk about three of them: In the distance, the gleaming white pillars of the U.S. Capitol dome, the kind of classical architect
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The Hunger Games. Ugly, Discordant : New Executive Order Takes Aim At Modern Architecture Dec 21, 2020
Updated at 12:30pm ET
Back in February, President Trump set the architectural world reeling with a call for traditional designs for new federal buildings. He proposed an executive order, called Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again, which took an out-with-the-new, in-with-the-old approach to architecture, calling modern federal buildings constructed over the last five decades undistinguished, uninspiring and just plain ugly.
That proposed order is now a reality. Retitled Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture, it begins with a paean to beautiful public architecture, before moving on to a litany of disapproval aimed at modernist federal buildings.
Updated at 12:30pm ET
Back in February, President Trump set the architectural world reeling with a call for traditional designs for new federal buildings. He proposed an executive order, called Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again, which took an out-with-the-new, in-with-the-old approach to architecture, calling modern federal buildings constructed over the last five decades undistinguished, uninspiring and just plain ugly.
That proposed order is now a reality. Retitled Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture, it begins with a paean to beautiful public architecture, before moving on to a litany of disapproval aimed at modernist federal buildings.
It s true that modernism abounds in D.C. Standing on a street corner near the National Mall, there s actually a mishmash of architectural styles. Let s talk about three of them: In the distance, the gleaming white pillars of the U.S. Capitol dome, the kind of classical architecture the president s order favors. Close