AIA New York | Center for Architecture’s Post

Together with The American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIA New York is extremely concerned by the presidential action aiming to promote the use of "traditional and classical" architecture for civic buildings. As one of numerous executive orders issued on President Trump’s inauguration day, the order "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture" requests suggestions on how to update the US government's longstanding Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture, which were created in 1962. This hinders design freedom and disempowers local communities. When Trump issued a previous order of the same name in December 2020, AIA New York responded with a statement strongly opposing this policy to promote one style of architecture for many federal buildings across the country. Reinhold Martin, an architecture professor at Columbia University, told The New York Times in 2020: “The executive order is meaningless. This is an effort to use culture to send coded messages about white supremacy and political hegemony.” The order was later repealed by President Biden in February 2021. Now in 2025, we remain concerned about any revisions that remove control from local communities; mandate official federal design preferences, or otherwise hinder design freedom; and add bureaucratic hurdles for federal buildings. Alongside AIA National, we will monitor the process laid out in the memo and seek feedback from our members. Read the response from AIA National: https://bit.ly/40oEwkF

Paul W. Stegenga

Stegenga + PARTNERS, P.C,

2mo

Most of us couldn't DISAGREE with you more. Unbridled creative is just an excuse for self-centered design. What happened to being a good neighbor and contextualism ?

Erin Sharp-Newton

Passionate about Architecture for Mental Health & Humanity | Centre Director & Fellow UDMH | 2024 President AIACNJ | AIANJ WIA Chair | Adjunct Professor + Advocate

2mo

Agreed: "Our federal buildings across the country must reflect America’s wealth of culture, rich traditions, and unique geographic regions."

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