The unthinkable has happened and Donald Trump is now the president-elect of the United States. Considering Trump's rocky relations with architects (and critics) and his comments on America's “inner cities” during the debates, now that he has won the White House, what does a Trump presidency mean for the architecture industry in the coming years?
In what sounds like every public-figure response to the election results, the AIA released their own statement today saying that they “are committed to working with President-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces”. That includes core architecture issues like housing, infrastructure, and energy/the environment. If you need a refresher on Trump's stances on these issues, Archinect recently summed them up here.
Here is the entire AIA statement from Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy:
“The AIA and its 89,000 members are committed to working with President-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces, particularly strengthening the nation’s aging infrastructure. During the campaign, President-elect Trump called for committing at least $500 billion to infrastructure spending over five years. We stand ready to work with him and with the incoming 115th Congress to ensure that investments in schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure continue to be a major priority.”
“We also congratulate members of the new 115th Congress on their election. We urge both the incoming Trump Administration and the new Congress to work toward enhancing the design and construction sector’s role as a major catalyst for job creation throughout the American economy.”
“This has been a hard-fought, contentious election process. It is now time for all of us to work together to advance policies that help our country move forward.”
The AIA is gearing up to cooperate with Trump to tackle these pressing urban issues, but will he return the favor? You be the judge.
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44 Comments
"The unthinkable has happened..."
Justine, if you stop sounding like a breathless adolescent for a minute, you might realize that it's just that kind of short-sighted broad-brushing that led to this very outcome. Lots of people thought this might happen. Lots and lots. Not you, of course, and your summary dismissal of half (plus a few) of the electorate --many, many of whom were merely voting against the compulsive liar with the D behind her name, rather than in support of the compulsive liar with an R behind his name.
Upsetting, yes. It would also have been upsetting if it had gone the other way (though for different reasons). Time to be an adult who uses their brain, rather than a teenager who pouts over unfulfilled wishes.
I am happy that infrastructure is the main criteria , but for that he might scrap funding for those institutions that work on innovation and future technology. The Republican party as such and the president don't believe in climate change and global warming. Does that mean he will not put support any ideas and technology based on sustainability and eco friendly attributes ? i fear that might just happen, when rest of the world is trying to fight against global warming ,america probably will turn into making things that create "smoke" again
austin I'm 50 years old and a trump presidency is unthinkable and worse. Stop whining about the presentation here and comment on the substance of the article if you have anything to say.
Many transit referendums passed yesterday. But many of them hinge on federal funding, and the R platform does not support *any* funding for transit, only roads. So all of those who voted for improved transit infrastructure - which BTGDW would help with our environmental issues - are likely not going to see their desires funded. This is bad for the environment, the economy, the employment rate...
+austin_tayshus
On that note, what are your thoughts on the content in the body of the article? I don't think she was out to make a political statement. There is a very practical question to ask of this president-elect because of his previous relationship with the profession, and a lot of need for infrastructure at this time as well.
"The unthinkable has happened" might as well have been an idiom Justine used to get the article going, as it could have been a reflection of her actual beliefs.
President Trump could do a lot of good by banning the AIA and reforming architecture to get rid of cronyism, regulations and a corrupt structure that allows Europeans to fly in and take all of the plum projects. Seems like small potatoes but really not.
BAN THE AIA
Whether or not trump believes in climate change the climate is changing and we will face the consequences. Neither him or Hillary would be able to make a change drastic enough to significantly combat that reality.
austin, shut up. You sound like a Trump voter - act like an adult and prepare to go into the homeless shelter where you will soon end up once Dump does everything he has promised.
In Austin's defense, I do think it's fair to call out any statement that could be construed as editorializing, in what could have been a very straightforward "FYI, the AIA has released a statement pertinent to the election results".
We really don't know how bad it will be, but one thing we know is that Trump has boasted about sexually assaulting women. Unfortunately this is a lot more common than I could have ever imagined, but it's a crime, and he admitted to it. There is no gain without pain, so I guess it's time for some pain, but I'm already looking forward to the gain once this is over.
Why do i ever read the comments.
Chemex you literally have no idea what you're talking about.
Can anyone here address my point that despite transit measures passing we are now looking at a Congress that has very different ideas about where the true value in "infrastructure* development lies? There will be no funding for clean energy, or transit, or locally-conceived small-scale infill development, any of the architecture-aligned work that we can be involved in.
Donna,
I think the AIA letter is disappointing, and will likely receive little to no attention. We have to be honest with ourselves and our role in Federal policy. HRC and Trump both discussed infrastructure. Schools and Hospitals are not infrastructure. Nice try, AIA, but it's transparent, and, no, it will not incite a conversation at the White House about what "infrastructure" means. Meanwhile, hospitals have been incredibly lucrative and building a lot in the last four years - what exactly is the AIA asking for here - is this what members are demanding?
The AIA would be much better served by focusing locally and actually putting some teeth into the profession. That means hiring attorneys, lobbying, and working on policy. Yup, helping in the creation of "laws", not retroactively fighting legislation that erodes the power of the architectural license. But I digress.
Rather than craft ever more clever ways of absolving architects of "liability" in contracts we need to focus on how contract documents are inforced (that includes drawings). If a contractor builds correctly, there would be much fewer liability issues. There are code and inspection questions... The expectation of quality documents would serve us much better, as well, since many buildings go up with very shoddy drawings for very low fees...
Donna, your concerns about being green.. that whole world has been swept up in a new profession called "LEED consultant"... Where is the AIA on that??
All in all, we desperately need the AIA to keep up with the times, because the days of drawings are disappearing, but if you look at the AIA's contract page you might never know it... Every AIA public statement just sounds like fanciful vanity about how we will save the world. These are not serious statements. As for the comment about "plum projects", that is not what we need to ask of the AIA, either... That's up to you.
Designers are good at taking in large amounts of contextual information and formulating an appropriate plan of action. We also know how it feels when our analysis of the situation is wrong, or when bad leadership, bad instincts, lead to bad decisions and unhappy clients. The Clinton campaign was a serious of bad decisions. She was the wrong answer to the problems that people are facing.
Sounds like designers have seriously bad reading comprehension. The question is about the AIA aspirations on a Federal level with a new administration, davvid... Now I understand why the ARE questions were all so convoluted and malformed.
yk10, are you an AIA member?
Donna, I did the Assoc AIA, but I am guilty as charged not to be AIA since getting licensed. Dues are high, and I believe the priorities are entirely wrong for the profession (as I'm sure my rambling post makes clear). I would consider joining if I had the time to actually participate and voice these concerns.
SO... a Builder was elected President and people are worried about the architectural profession? Huh. He's really only made one policy declaration since being elected - spurring infrastructure re-building.
He's literally a "Builder" - (albeit with questionable taste). Shouldn't the headline be about architecture's amazing opportunity? Hopefully a Republican controlled government will be able to privatize much of these building efforts.
"He's literally a "Builder" - (albeit with questionable taste). Shouldn't the headline be about architecture's amazing opportunity? Hopefully a Republican controlled government will be able to privatize much of these building efforts."
Hes a builder who doesnt pay his subcontractors. Look it up.
"Hes a builder who doesnt pay his subcontractors. Look it up."
Understood that this has happened and I'm not doubting it. But it's probably harder for the Federal gov't to get away with. All I can say is my firm has been recently and currently designing projects for his organization and I haven't seen any issues.
Just saying, someone who builds for a living was elected president. We've only ever had elected officials (career politicians/lawyers) and war generals previously. This administration will inherently be different. How it acts differently is yet to be seen.
^ very true. He's really not a republican. When was that last time a republican talked about spending on airports and infrastructure?
He's a nationalist and isolationist maybe, but doesn't seem like a small govt conservative.
I predict much head bumping with the other branches...
Just more of the usual blather from AIA national. As a paying AIA member, I'd like to see more specific plans of exactly how the AIA plans to represent our interests through lobbying Congress and some kind of outreach to the executive branch people developing Trump's legislative and fiscal agenda.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You have the best President!
"He's literally a builder"
Might I suggest you go look up the definition of "literally" followed by the definition of "builder"?
@sneakypete
Haha, fine - he is a commissioner of buildings. The point is this may be a good opportunity for the AIA and the profession. But people seem to WANT doom & gloom...
He's a guy who puts his name (literally, this time) on buildings. He then skates when they fold, and unethically (nowadays it would be illegally) trades property to reduce his tax exposure. He then takes a loss and uses it to avoid paying future taxes.
Meanwhile, other people build the building and other people end up paying for them.
All he "builds" is fugazi.
I've already seen a few people publicly resign from the AIA here in Baltimore over this.
Donna, to address your point about infrastructure. In the past there have been strange advances in funding projects such as the Orange CTA line under the Reagan administration as one example. What will have to happen for this to take place in the next 4 years is for the Democrats to hold together as a solid political block that can demand concessions such as funding for transit projects in exchange for a vote on a justice or something. the few states with democratic senators have now just become much more likely to receive concessions or some kind of political give and take AKA Pork. But what we need is for all of our Democratic senators to stop every piece of legislation every nominee and hold together as a unified political party. Unfortunately the Democrats have not been able to do this in the past with much success.
The Dems in the senate have to take political hostages or else there will be no way of steering federal money (which will vanish under the proposed tax cuts in a year or two) towards transit that might serve cities. Also a much more pressing issue is the likely decreases in the federal subsidies transit systems get each year for operations. This will hurt cities and the working poor with fare hikes and reduced services.
We have to get back to the horse trading and strong arming we had in the 60s to keep a path clear in 4 years for a new progressive agenda.
Over and OUT
Peter N
So I admit I've only really skimmed the letter and I'm seeing more people on SM expressing anger over this letter. Fred, I believe you when you mention people quitting AIA over it. I'll need to dig in and give it a read to see if there is a subtext I missed the first time around.
I know there have been calls on twitter to boycott GSA projects, but I need a better understanding of this than I honestly have right now.
Peter, I hear you that the Dems might just have to sorta act like assholes over legislating now - aka "take political hostages". I have despised and been infuriated by the obstructionism of the McConnell congress, but I guess tit for tat, yes? I hate to think stomping our feet and holding our breath is the only way yo communicate with the Rs but that seems to be the level they're effective at, so I guess we have to meet them there. What a fucking way to govern a country, eh?
Donna
It's been like that with whichever party has the majority, no? This is a way to avoid governing a country. When will people ever learn to behave differently? If the country is truly 50/50 as these elections suggest why can't our political servants obey the people and work together to actually accomplish something for a change?
Well #NotMyAIA seems to be getting some traction... I find this, and the young people protesting in streets inspiring if nothing else!
I also can't help but think of the post (and response to it) by Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft and the New Balance kerfuffle. Probably other examples to, for other industries/professions.
In all my conversations since, it seems the one common theme is, there is much ongoing soul-searching. Kriston Capps for one, noted the professional/ethical contradictions early on...
"Schools and Hospitals are not infrastructure."
I...do not agree with that at all. A city cannot function without schools, hospitals, libraries, just as it cannot function without roads and green space. Schools and hospitals are definitely infrastructure.
Finally digging in to this statement a little and yes, I'm repulsed. Silence would have been better than this endorsement that reads disturbingly like a money grab.
Sorry to link to another website's content here on Archinect, but the round-up of statements from architects in this AN article is excellent: https://archpaper.com/2016/11/aia-pledges-work-donald-trump-membership-recoils/
Hasn't this been the elephant in the room for some time?
I mean don't firms build in other countries with repressive political systems?
My comment about American Elections:https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=88cad360f0&view=fimg&th=1585d0436c4dd8c6&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=31fb76d282dd4748_0.9&safe=1&attbid=ANGjdJ_4AMwWdg2-D5OFqOLL-rjznJqu0-flxfDahHZ2ZV3H19ipEcJ6_7t3YU1RFR1KyxcAnjffadtEugqzPI3cTNT3Q_ikCgXdJAgs3HHbhfD2QUGXSJqvaepOaO8&ats=1479038374129&rm=1585d0436c4dd8c6&zw&sz=w1280-h894
bogdan your link doesn't work. might be more effective to copy/paste the text.
This is an image by Whyatt which comments the situation:
:-)
Dear AIA,
I'm not a member, but your letter reads like this -
Dear leader, I am ready to be your whore.
Don't be so slutty AIA, trump will grab you by the pussy.
Sincerely,
X
Trump's appointee to run the General Services Administration will be Penny Sawn-D'Dollar.
I'm not renewing my AIA membership next year.
Fuck both of these assholes.
“The AIA and its 89,000 members are committed to working with President-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces, particularly strengthening the nation’s aging infrastructure. During the campaign, President-elect Trump called for committing at least $500 billion to infrastructure spending over five years. We stand ready to work with him and with the incoming 115th Congress to ensure that investments in schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure continue to be a major priority.”
My God, the man should be burned at the stake for saying this.
Yet somehow he wasn't.
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