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I just found this out (because I hadn't heard anything about it, so I looked it up), even though the President rescinded the order in February 2021. I was over the moon when President Trump did this. The White House, The Supreme Court, Capitol Hill, and especially the Library of Congress are STUNNING because of their beautiful classical architectural design. All we put up, now, is ugly concrete rectangles... Shame on President Biden for doing this!
One of the things that Biden has done that I agree with. The use of executive orders has reached absurd tyrannical levels. Undoing them is the way to go. I hope more are undone but the thirst for power and we the peoples inability to fight it, is the problem.
I only like the first picture of Frank Lloyd Wright's they showed. That type of house fits a rural, mountainous setting. The rest of them were ugly. Of course, my main gripe was the ugliness of new/newer federal buildings, when compared to their older siblings.
I do not like the Cincinnati Union Terminal. It doesn't do anything, for me.
Personally, for a personal home, I'm more of a Colonial/Victorian style fan (with more emphasis on the Victorian aspect). They have so much class and quality craftsmanship, more than any other style.
One thing though is Wright's designs are almost comically impractical. The one pictured is Falling Waters and needs millions in repairs and constant upkeep because of its poor design. It is beautiful but it has problems. Now that I think of it that would work great for a government building. Costly, impractical, needy.
One thing though is Wright's designs are almost comically impractical. The one pictured is Falling Waters and needs millions in repairs and constant upkeep because of its poor design. It is beautiful but it has problems. Now that I think of it that would work great for a government building. Costly, impractical, needy.
For sure Wright was no engineer. But to be fair Fallingwater was built mostly from 1936-'39 in a spot where only a rich guy would place a home....cantilevered over a creek, exposed to constant seepage, casual flooding, spray and 150,000 visitors per year. Yes it needs maintenance.
We already have plenty of examples of classical architecture in our cities. A little creative variety won't hurt, and might even promote an interest in art appreciation.
Any architect will necessarily be black and preferably gay or transgendered.
Oh, yeah, Bruce Goff was one of the most remarkable gay architects ever. His designs were so radically different. His Bavinger House was the most bizarre house I have ever seen or toured in. Too bad a severe thunderstorm damaged it beyond repair around 10 years ago. At least one of his odd house designs was burnt down, quite likely because he was gay.
Well, to each his own, of course, but I would add that the much-maligned classical architecture has stood the test of time. It might be boring to some, but it does not feel out of place either in DC or Richmond, VA. Remember, we are talking about FEDERAL buildings, which should symbolize safety and order and represent the government's ability to take care of us. Their symmetry, proper massing and proportions appeal to our sense or tradition and, again, order.
Of course, the same leftists who despise our country despise the order in general. Defund the police?
All the Gehry wannabees keep pumping the buildings that have been likened to a pile of manure. Others are leaning -- by design. This might win over some art museum trustees but not the stodgy US Government. Many buildings of the so-called modern-architecture period now look pathetic.
Its an aesthetic crime to put modern architecture in DC. Its one thing to do so in federal buildings outside DC (even though I think modern architecture is ugly), but it destroys the character of DC.
Was President Trump planning on designing each building personally? No, all the mandate required was that each new federal building had to be built in a classical architecture style, which would match many other federal buildings.
Most of the federal buildings being built in recent years/decades are office buildings out in the Maryland suburbs. It would be awfully strange to make them look like the Parthenon.
Classic Architecture wasn't classic when it was first done. It became classic.
What? It doesn’t mean “classic” like a “classic car.”
Classic Architecture refers to a specific style of architecture based on Roman architecture from the 3rd century.
“Classical buildings are most often defined by the style and ornamentations of their columns and pediments. The most prominent examples of classical architecture are displayed in the ancient temples of Greece and Rome…”
“Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius, who stated that all buildings should have firmitas, utilitas, and venustas (strength, utility, and beauty), established the foundational principles of classical design. These principles were combined with the design philosophy of the ancient Greeks, who believed that architecture should follow logic and order with perfect symmetry and proportions. These design principles continue to influence architecture globally today.”
Its an aesthetic crime to put modern architecture in DC. Its one thing to do so in federal buildings outside DC (even though I think modern architecture is ugly), but it destroys the character of DC.
Have you noticed the museum buildings on the mall in DC? Even the oldest Smithsonian building is not classical Greek.
What President Trump said in his Executive order was that Federal building did not have to be ugly.
What President Biden said, in recinding President Trumps Executive order was that he wants Federal building built in the Soviet style.
Having traveled in the Soviet Union, ugly is ugly FOREVER.
President Biden is an IDIOT.
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Shame on President Biden for doing this! 
