Another kind of classical era has come to an end – an era of very short life.
An executive order that former President Donald J. Trump issued in the last days of his administration, which sought to make classical architecture the standard style for new federal buildings, was revoked this week by President Biden while the White House continues its radical reversal of policies of the previous administration.
Although the order issued by Trump did not preclude consideration of more recent designs, it was strongly condemned by several prominent architects and architectural associations – including the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation – for trying to impose an official national style and preferred.
Trump’s executive order, which he signed in December after losing his candidacy for re-election, was entitled “Promoting beautiful federal civic architecture” and praised Greco-Roman architecture as “beautiful”, while describing modernist projects as “ugly and inconsistent.” Those who defended the order heralded it as a return to a past era of federalist style. The American Institute of Architects, which had declared itself “horrified” by the Trump order, praised the decision to revoke it. .
The debate was not just about aesthetics.
“By reversing this order, the Biden government restored communities with the freedom to choose a project, essential to designing federal buildings that better serve the public,” said Peter Exley, president of the institute, in a statement. “This is fundamental to an architect’s process and to obtain buildings of the highest quality possible.”
Michael Kimmelman, an architecture critic at The New York Times, condemned the move when it was discussed last February. “Just having that argument seems humiliating,” he wrote.
President Biden’s executive order, issued on Wednesday, instructs government officials to “promptly consider taking steps to terminate any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines or policies, or parts of them” that would have implemented Trump’s decree. It also called for the termination of any “staff positions, committees, task forces or other established entities” to carry it out.
It is not yet clear what wider impact the repeal may have on the new government’s relationship with the remaining Trump nominees at the head of the United States Fine Arts Commission.
Justin Shubow, recently elected president of the fine arts commission and appointed by Trump, said it was “disappointing” to see the executive order of the former president, which he had defended, revoked. As one of the greatest critics of modern architecture and president of the National Civic Art Society, Shubow was instrumental in bringing the issue to Trump’s attention. On its website, the group condemns modernist styles such as brutalism such as “blobitechture” and “parasite”.
Shubow said in an interview that the society “intends to work with the Biden government to promote changes that will build a truly democratic architecture”.
In opposition to the order proposed last year, the National Trust said in a statement that, while it values traditional and classic buildings, any attempt to “stifle the complete record of American architecture by requiring federal buildings to be designed, and even altered, to fulfilling a restricted list of styles determined by the federal government is inconsistent with the values of historical preservation. ”