President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order establishing classical architecture as the “preferred and default” style for federal buildings, the latest way Trump has sought to put his stamp on government structures.
Trump’s order, titled “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” requires that he be notified 30 days in advance if government officials intend to approve a design for a federal building that veers into brutalist or deconstructive architecture.
“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,” the order states. “They should also be visually identifiable as civic buildings and, as appropriate, respect regional architectural heritage.”
“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 order adds.
Trump, who spent decades in the real estate business, has made various aesthetic changes to the White House and floated other changes to government buildings during his second term.
The president ripped up the grass in the Rose Garden and replaced it with white stone pavers, turning it into a patio with tables and umbrellas that resemble those at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. He installed two giant flagpoles on either side of the White House. And the White House announced plans to construct a massive ballroom, a project that will cost roughly $200 million.
Trump has also made cosmetic changes at the Kennedy Center, and he previously shared images of what the Eisenhower Executive Office Building would look like if it had a white stone facade.
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