On December 18, 2020, President Donald Trump passed 13967 (Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture) executive order which looked to lay out a set of standards as to how Federal buildings should look and be designed. On February 24, 2021, this order was revoked by President Biden (1). What was inside order 13967, and why did the new administration revoke it?
Section one of the Trump executive order speaks about the importance of beautiful architecture in public spaces, pointing out that, “Ancient Greek and Roman public buildings were designed to be sturdy and useful, and also to beautify public spaces and inspire civic pride. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, public architecture continued to serve these purposes.” (2).
It was also thought that notable founding fathers supported this idea and placed great importance on federal civic architecture. The order continues on to say on the matter, “President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson consciously modeled the most important buildings in Washington, DC, on the classical architecture of ancient Athens and Rome. They sought to use classical architecture to visually connect our contemporary Republic with the antecedents of democracy in classical antiquity, reminding citizens not only of their rights but also their responsibilities in maintaining and perpetuating its institutions.” (3)
The former President goes on to dismiss “brutalist” architecture designs which he believes too many federal buildings have been built on (4), and finishes section one by pointing out, “encouraging classical and traditional architecture does not exclude using most other styles of architecture, where appropriate. Care must be taken, however, to ensure that all Federal building designs command respect of the general public for their beauty and visual embodiment of America’s ideals.” (5).
Section two of the order is short and sweet and covers the how the architecture and design should look, and that classical architecture will be the preferred style for the District of Columbia (6).
Why Revoke?
President Biden revoked this order along with several others earlier this year with no direct explanation, however the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sent the Biden administration 11,400 letters “condemning the earlier draft Executive Order” (7). The AIA Believe that freedom has been returned to architects, and thus it is easier to serve the public with their designs.
Others believe that classical and traditional architecture is racist and the doings of white supremacy, ““This is an effort to use culture to send coded messages about white supremacy and political hegemony.” (8). Reinhold Martin an architecture professor at Columbia University told the New York Times. This is agreed with by Phineas Harper in their article in which they say, “Regardless of history, classical aesthetics have become a dog whistle for a certain pocket of nationalists — a code for whiteness.”(9).
Was the order worth revoking or should it have been kept in place? Hopefully with the information laid out in front of you the decision will be easier for you to make or think through.
-Trent Naz
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Sources-
(1) Biden, J., 2021. Executive Order on the Revocation of Certain Presidential Actions. [online] The White House. Available at: <https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/24/executive-order-on-the-revocation-of-certain-presidential-actions/> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(2) Trump, D., 2021. Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. [online] Federal Register. Available at: <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28605/promoting-beautiful-federal-civic-architecture> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(3) Trump, D., 2021. Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. [online] Federal Register. Available at: <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28605/promoting-beautiful-federal-civic-architecture> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(4) BBC, 2021. Trump order: New federal buildings must be ‘beautiful’. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55407136> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(5) Trump, D., 2021. Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. [online] Federal Register. Available at: <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28605/promoting-beautiful-federal-civic-architecture> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(6) Trump, D., 2021. Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. [online] Federal Register. Available at: <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28605/promoting-beautiful-federal-civic-architecture> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(7) Press Release, 2021. AIA commends Biden Administration for reversing Trump federal design mandate. [online] Aia.org. Available at: <https://www.aia.org/press-releases/6376530-aia-commends-biden-administration-for-reve> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(8) Small, Z., 2021. Trump Makes Classical Style the Default for Federal Buildings. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/arts/design/trump-executive-order-federal-buildings-architecture.html> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
(9) Harper, P., 2021. Traditional architecture has frequently been leveraged to support violent political agendas. [online] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2020/02/06/making-federal-buildings-beautiful-again-opinion-phineas-harper/> [Accessed 29 March 2021].
