Today President Trump issued a momentous new Executive Order “Making Federal Architecture Great Again." The directive states that there must be a preference for classical and traditional architecture when the government is choosing designs for federal buildings. The Order is

Very exciting news for federal architecture. Thank you @SenatorBanks and @KevinKileyCA for introducing legislation to beautify federal architecture by codifying President Trump's recent Executive Order.

This is great news! Americans deserve federal buildings in DC and across the country that are inspiring. Not brutalist eye sores. I will be introducing legislation next week that writes @POTUS’ EO into law. Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again! 🇺🇸

I remember as a kid growing up it became common knowledge that a drab, gray building was synonymous with a government building. Very excited by this EO and that we have a President who cares about the visual landscape of our country.

Thank you for the retweet, @elonmusk.

The Brutalist HHS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. by Marcel Breuer (opened 1977). Various cabinet secretaries call it the "Death Star." Two years ago, the Washington Post asked "Is this the Ugliest Building in Washington?" https://t.co/E1PmhENDsO

The JFK Federal Building in Boston designed by famous architect Walter Gropius (opened 1966). If only such legends were still around to design new masterpieces today.

https://t.co/GaluyoPPC2

In Orlando, the federal judges wanted a traditional design for their new courthouse but GSA imposed this modernist one on them (opened 2006), which infuriated the jurists. https://t.co/pkz8V3fJmr

The U.S. courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona (opened 2000). A panopticon prison?

The Brutalist HUD Headquarters in Washington, D.C. by the famed architect Marcel Breuer (completed 1968). Three different HUD Secretaries—two Democrats, and one Republican—have said that the building is like “ten floors of basement.” One of the secretaries, Shaun Donovan, said,

On the left is the federal courthouse in Chicago designed by Mies van der Rohe (opened 1964), which was the location of the famous Trial of the Chicago 7. On the right is the exterior of the "courthouse" used in the movie about that trial. The courtroom set in the movie is

I will be sponsoring legislation in the House to build on this Executive Order and return our federal buildings to classical/traditional architecture that reflects the spirit of democracy and self-government.

The U.S. courthouse in Austin, Texas (opened 2012), an example of imbalanced Jenga-tecture.

ATF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (opened 2008). The personification of the anonymous surveillance state.

The new federal courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (opened 2023) harkens back to mid-century penitentiary chic.

A different New York Times critic said the Eugene, Oregon federal courthouse (opened 2006) “conveys a sense of careening into an uncertain future. The project's massive forms twist and shift as if they were breaking apart. . . . [T]he lighting casts a moody, ‘Blade Runner’-like

The New York Times' architecture critic said the U.S. courthouse in Central Islip, New York (opened 2000) had a "sinister dimension."

The Salt Lake City federal courthouse (opened 2014) is widely called the "Borg Cube."

An example of what the Executive Order discourages: the San Francisco Federal Building (opened 2007). The Los Angeles Times’ architecture critic said it is a “hulking, aggressive tower.”

An example of what the Executive Order encourages: the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and Courthouse (opened 2012), a rare example of a new classical federal building. The sole reason it has this aesthetic is because Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of the Appropriations Committee,