President Trump Wants to Make ‘Federal Buildings Beautiful Again’ With a New Executive Order That Echoes Fascist History

In a new executive order that’s
quickly drawing comparisons to fascist ideology, President Trump
plans to re-integrate “our national values into Federal
buildings.”

Titled “Making Federal Buildings
Beautiful Again,” the order seeks to rewrite the Guiding Principles
for Federal Architecture to ensure that the “classical architectural
style shall be the preferred and default style” for new buildings,
according to Architectural
Record, which
obtained a draft of the document.

The order denounces the quality
of architecture since the Guiding Principles were first issued in
1962 by former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and cites
Brutalism and Deconstructivism as examples. It specifically calls
out the US Federal Building in San Francisco, the US Courthouse in
Austin, and the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. US Courthouse in Miami in
particular for having “little aesthetic appeal.”

Trump’s new order would directly
contradict Moynihan’s principles, which suggests that the
“development of an official style must be avoided.” Instead,
design “must flow from
the architectural profession to the Government and not vice versa,”
the current Guiding Principles state.

Critics quickly pointed out how
the order recalls similar mandates by fascist leaders like
Mussolini and Hitler, who each turned to classical aesthetics as a
way of promoting nationalism. (Similarly, classical sculpture
has been adopted as a symbol for white supremacists, crypto-fascists, and
other far-right groups throughout history.)

Following the report, the
American Institute of Architects issued a statement
condemning the order. “The AIA strongly opposes uniform style
mandates for federal architecture,” it read. “Architecture should
be designed for the specific communities that it serves, reflecting
our rich nation’s diverse places, thought, culture and climates.
Architects are committed to honoring our past as well as reflecting
our future progress, protecting the freedom of thought and
expression that are essential to democracy.”

Under Trump’s order, a Committee
for the Re-Beautification of Federal Architecture would be convened
to oversee the creation of new federal buildings. Among other
members, the committee would include the commissioner of the
General Service Administration’s Public Building Service and at
least one member of the US Commission of Fine Arts, to be chosen by
Trump.

Since 2018, Trump has added
three classicists to the seven-person commission, which approves
architecture and design in Washington, DC.

The leak of the order comes just
a week after David Insinga, the chief architect and director of the
General Service Administration’s Design Excellence Program, which
oversees the “federal built environment,” abruptly resigned his
post. 

The post President Trump Wants to Make ‘Federal Buildings
Beautiful Again’ With a New Executive Order That Echoes Fascist
History appeared first on artnet News.