Trump issues order on preferred architectural style for federal buildings

President Donald Trump, a wealthy real estate tycoon who cares about building aesthetics, issued an executive order on Thursday declaring traditional and classical architecture as the preferred style for federal buildings.

“Applicable Federal public buildings should uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, and command respect from the general public. They should also be visually identifiable as civic buildings and, as appropriate, respect regional architectural heritage,” the order asserts.

That language precisely matches language included in a similar executive order Trump issued during the tail end of his first term, “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” which President Joe Biden rescinded in 2021.

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“Architecture — particularly traditional and classical architecture — that meets the criteria set forth in this subsection is the preferred architecture for applicable Federal public buildings. In the District of Columbia, classical architecture shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another kind of architecture,” the president’s newly issued order declares.

Other architectural styles are not prohibited by his executive order.

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The text notes that “classical and traditional architecture are preferred modes of architectural design,” but the “preference does not exclude the possibility of alternative styles in appropriate circumstances.” 

And while the president focuses on aesthetics in the order, he also keeps costs and dependability in mind.

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“Designs shall adhere to sound construction practice and utilize materials, methods, and equipment of proven dependability. Buildings shall be economical to build, operate, and maintain, and should be accessible to the handicapped,” the order notes.