February 10, 2025

Architectural Concepts Guide

Elevating Home Design Standards

Trump signs order mandating classical design for new federal buildings

Trump signs order mandating classical design for new federal buildings

His executive order, Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture, was one of almost 100 issued by Trump in his first day in the White House, which included formal written notification of the US’s official withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Both decisions repeat similar actions Trump pushed through during his first term as president (2017-2021). He had previously mandated that all new federal buildings in Washington DC must be built in a classical style and that, elsewhere in the country, there had to be ‘special regard for classical and traditional design’ on such schemes.

His 2025 declaration requires heads of government departments to submit recommendations within 60 days on how ‘to advance the policy that federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage’. Trump said he wanted to ‘uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the US and our system of self-government’.

The executive order, officially a memorandum for the Administrator of General Services (GSA), calls for ‘appropriate revisions’ to the 1962 Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture. These currently state that ‘an official style must be avoided’ and that design ‘must flow from the architectural profession to the government, and not vice versa’.

The American Institute for Architects (AIA) has already said it is ‘extremely concerned’ about any revisions ‘that remove control from local communities; mandate official federal design preferences, or otherwise hinder design freedom’.

The organisation said: ‘[Our] members believe the design of federal buildings must first be responsive to the people and communities who will use those buildings.

‘Our federal buildings across the country must reflect America’s wealth of culture, rich traditions and unique geographic regions. AIA has strong concerns that mandating architecture styles stifles innovation and harms local communities.’

The newly inaugurated president has also ordered the US ambassador to the UN to ‘immediately’ submit a formal request to pull out of the Paris climate agreement.

Trump did the same thing in 2017 in a move which provoked anger across the globe.

Responding to the news, Smith Mordak, chief executive officer at the UK Green Building Council, said: ‘President Trump pulling the US out the Paris agreement is as heart-breaking as it is unsurprising.

‘Not only is this a blow to international co-operation around our civilisation’s greatest collective challenge, but a preposterous betrayal of his own citizens currently suffering the terrifying wildfires in California.’

Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture
The executive order in full, dated 20 January 2025

I hereby direct the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the heads of departments and agencies of the United States where necessary, to submit to me within 60 days recommendations to advance the policy that Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government.

Such recommendations shall consider appropriate revisions to the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture and procedures for incorporating community input into Federal building design selections.

If, before such recommendations are submitted, the Administrator of the General Services Administration proposes to approve a design for a new Federal public building that diverges from the policy set forth in this memorandum, the Administrator shall notify me, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, not less than 30 days before the General Services Administration could reject such design without incurring substantial expenditures. Such notification shall set forth the reasons the Administrator proposes to approve such design.

Comment: Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN)

ACAN is deeply concerned about Donald Trump’s Executive Order to withdraw the USA from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Trump’s assault on the rights of migrants, trans people and other constituencies that do not fit into the far-right worldview is distressing enough. However, the abandonment of climate targets is the single action which will most affect everyone globally. One estimate is that Trump’s fossil fuel policies will add an extra 4 billion tonnes of C02 equivalent emissions by 2030 – roughly equal to the combined annual emissions of the EU and Japan, or the combined annual total of the world’s 140 lowest-emitting countries.

This constitutes an act of intentional ecocide, and ACAN hopes that this wilful damage to planetary systems will be called out as such and, as necessary, prosecuted. At the same time, ACAN believes that the extreme nature of Trump’s edict can and should motivate intense action from those who care about the future of the planet.

ACAN has always acted in solidarity with individuals, partners and organisations that are working towards climate justice. Never has this shared mission been more urgent. If the reckless actions of the US Republicans result in the USA being isolated from responsible global discourse, then it is beholden to the rest of us to take forward the arguments and actions to address the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown.

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