{"id":2707,"date":"2020-07-20T19:30:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T23:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/?p=2707"},"modified":"2020-08-07T10:45:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T14:45:57","slug":"bill-aimed-at-halting-trump-design-edict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/wordpress\/beyond-gotham\/bill-aimed-at-halting-trump-design-edict","title":{"rendered":"Bill Aimed At Halting Trump Design Edict"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump Administration may soon order that all new major federal buildings look like 21st century renditions of Greek temples or the U.S. Capitol. But a new bill from a Democratic Congresswoman could head the Administration off at the pass.<\/p>\n

The news first came out in February that Donald Trump and his Administration were going to order that all new federal government buildings be designed in the classical style as a \u201cpreferred\u201d default. Immediately, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Association of Minority Architects, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, many other groups, architectural firms, architects, historians, and others galvanized in opposition to a looming order by the President.<\/p>\n

Now, they have at least one advocate in Congress, who has introduced a bill that would override any such executive order. On July 13, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat who represents Nevada\u2019s First Congressional District, introduced the Democracy in Design Act. If adopted, the legislation would supersede any Executive Order that would dictate the classical style, or a very limited choice of traditional styles, as preferred for all new federal buildings. This would include new courthouses and government agency headquarters; any new structures in the National Capital region like a museum; and federal buildings that will cost more than $50 million. In effect, the federal government would take away a real choice by architects of the style and needs relative to purpose and local community. Trump\u2019s order would be very constraining.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Chicago Sun-Times<\/em> broke the story of this edict in the works<\/a>, obtaining a copy of the seven-page draft Executive Order the Trump Administration was preparing to declare. The order would decree that new buildings look like ancient Greece, Rome, and Europe or the Capitol\u2019s Classical buildings of many decades ago, as the Sun-Times<\/em> noted. (See the Mindfulwalker.com article fully delving into the issue, \u201cTrump\u2019s Bid To Dictate Architectural Style.\u201d<\/a>) <\/p>\n

The COVID pandemic and economic hardship have understandably dominated national and much international attention. Still, the AIA and others have kept track of this draft order and recently received confirmation that the White House may soon issue a final Executive Order. In anticipation of this action, Rep. Titus on July 13 introduced the Democracy in Design Act (H.R. 7604)<\/a>, the AIA confirmed. The following day, the measure was referred to the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. This subcommittee, which Rep. Titus chairs, oversees the General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal buildings.<\/p>\n

MAGA in Design?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur public buildings should reflect the rich diversity of our nation and its people,\u201d Rep. Titus said in introducing the bill. \u201cThey should signify our progress over the years and be as accessible as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

This bill would ensure that design and acquisition of federal buildings would adhere to the Guiding Principles<\/a> the federal government first laid out nearly 60 years ago. These 1962 guidelines stated that in its federal buildings, the United States government should avoid dictating a national style and should \u201cembody the finest contemporary thought.\u201d Working as a GSA staffer for the Administration of President John F. Kennedy at the time, Daniel Patrick Moynihan (later a U.S. Senator from New York) wrote in the Guiding Principles report that \u201cDesign must flow from the architectural profession to the government and not vice versa.\u201d The Kennedy Administration, as in its pursuit of space travel, aimed to be forward-looking.<\/p>\n

No other Administration has sought to dictate the architectural design of federal buildings. In doing so, the Trump Administration order is taking aim not only at the Guiding Principles that flow from the architectural profession but an integral part of the government\u2019s effort on design, construction, and preservation: the GSA\u2019s 1994 Design Excellence Program<\/a>. This program melds the approach of design that expresses the government\u2019s stability over time with a range of present-day approaches, sustainable design, and private sector peer review. The Trump order would nullify this with a one-style-fits-all starting point that all new federal buildings should be of a Classical style, or a limited choice of traditional design, such as Romanesque or Spanish Colonial. However, the new Congressional measure would codify the Design Excellence program into law and guarantee that the federal government remains neutral on architectural styles.<\/p>\n

“Re-Beautification”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The draft Executive Order, entitled \u201cMaking Federal Buildings Beautiful Again,\u201d pronounced beauty in new government buildings as looking like those of Ancient Greece or Rome, or in the U.S., like the U.S. Capitol Supreme Court, or 19th century and early 20th century neoclassical structures. The Trump Administration, in its draft, excoriated the Design Excellence program, bemoaning modernist styles, maintaining that the program has resulted in unattractive buildings, and singling out for derision works such as the U.S. Courthouse in Austin<\/a>. The draft order also would shrink the role of architects in the design and construction of new federal buildings. Instead, it would establish a President\u2019s Committee for the Re-Beautification of Federal Buildings, with political appointees.<\/p>\n

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