One of the many things that Trump has already signed since reentering office is a memo directing the General Services Administration to come back to him within 60 days with recommendations on how to make Federal public buildings in the US look a certain way. More specifically, the memo states that, "Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government." This is something he initiated during his first time in office, with a draft order called "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again," and so let's break this down -- specifically some of the words chosen for this memo.

Firstly, what exactly is classical architecture? Generally speaking, it is architecture that is based on and derived from the design principles of classical Greek and Roman architecture. Think the European classical period between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. And it is true that much of the early Federal architecture following the American Revolution did follow these principles. That's because, at the time, the US didn't have its own architectural language to represent the values being espoused by its founding generation. So what they did was say, "hey, we want to somehow represent democratic and republican values, so let's just borrow from previous and existing design precedents." Here, one could argue that Europe innovated and the US copied.

So what this memo is saying is that the US should go back to this Federal-style of architecture. This is clear. But at the same time, the word regional is used. This implies that the classical architecture to be built in DC can and should be different than the classical architecture to be built in Los Angeles. Does this mean that local Federal architecture will be free to respond to local climates and with local materials so long as the end result is something that still speaks to Greek and Roman values? For example, could a Federal building in California have deep overhangs that block out the sun during the day and allow for passive cooling/ventilation in the evenings? I'm not sure.

Then there's the language about self-government. This is what the US is built on -- individual freedoms and liberties. And so I find it incredibly ironic that, here, we have memo saying that all Federal buildings should be designed and built using basically a singular approach to architecture in order to lend dignity to the values of individual freedoms. In other words, "we want every building to look the same or similar so that it shows how much autonomy we allow and how little intervention there is from external authorities." Wait, shouldn't it be the exact opposite? Rather than ennoble the United States, it feels anti-American. Let local communities and architects decide what is regional and what is appropriate, and get out of the way.

One of the many things that Trump has already signed since reentering office is a memo directing the General Services Administration to come back to him within 60 days with recommendations on how to make Federal public buildings in the US look a certain way. More specifically, the memo states that, "Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government." This is something he initiated during his first time in office, with a draft order called "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again," and so let's break this down -- specifically some of the words chosen for this memo.

Firstly, what exactly is classical architecture? Generally speaking, it is architecture that is based on and derived from the design principles of classical Greek and Roman architecture. Think the European classical period between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. And it is true that much of the early Federal architecture following the American Revolution did follow these principles. That's because, at the time, the US didn't have its own architectural language to represent the values being espoused by its founding generation. So what they did was say, "hey, we want to somehow represent democratic and republican values, so let's just borrow from previous and existing design precedents." Here, one could argue that Europe innovated and the US copied.

So what this memo is saying is that the US should go back to this Federal-style of architecture. This is clear. But at the same time, the word regional is used. This implies that the classical architecture to be built in DC can and should be different than the classical architecture to be built in Los Angeles. Does this mean that local Federal architecture will be free to respond to local climates and with local materials so long as the end result is something that still speaks to Greek and Roman values? For example, could a Federal building in California have deep overhangs that block out the sun during the day and allow for passive cooling/ventilation in the evenings? I'm not sure.

Then there's the language about self-government. This is what the US is built on -- individual freedoms and liberties. And so I find it incredibly ironic that, here, we have memo saying that all Federal buildings should be designed and built using basically a singular approach to architecture in order to lend dignity to the values of individual freedoms. In other words, "we want every building to look the same or similar so that it shows how much autonomy we allow and how little intervention there is from external authorities." Wait, shouldn't it be the exact opposite? Rather than ennoble the United States, it feels anti-American. Let local communities and architects decide what is regional and what is appropriate, and get out of the way.