Archinect - News

New executive order could make classical architecture "the preferred and default style" for America's public buildings

2020-02-04T13:50:00-05:00

Is neoclassicism about to make a big comeback?

It looks likely, as a new executive order under consideration by President Donald Trump attempts to make classicism the "preferred and default style" for new and upgraded federal buildings.

According to an exclusive report by Architectural Record, the predictably named "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again" executive order would seek to reposition classically inspired architecture as the country's default public building style. The shift comes in opposition to the longstanding style agnosticism displayed by public buildings in recent decades following the creation of the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture directive crafted in 1962 by former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Moynihan's directive—which states that "The development of an official style must be avoided" and that "Design must flow from the architectural profession to the Government and not vice versa"—has resulted in a wide ranging set of innovative pu...

David Chipperfield Architects completes unifying renovation for Selfridges department store in London

2018-09-12T13:24:00-04:00

David Chipperfield Architects recently completed Selfridges Duke Street, a new entrance building and accessories hall for the Selfridges department store in London.

The new Duke Street entrance by David Chipperfield Architects, located in London. © Simon Menges

The department store is housed in a beaux-arts style building on Oxford Street completed in 1929. Selfridges eventually expanded into a new art deco style building to the north, and developed into a hodgepodge of styles mixed together.

The accessories hall in the original Selfridges building facing Oxford Street by David Chipperfield Architects, located in London. © Simon Menges

The firm's goal is part of a larger redevelopment plan for Selfridges to establish architectural continuity and fluidity throughout the entire complex.

The accessories hall in the original Selfridges building facing Oxford Street by David Chipperfield Architects, located in London. © Simon Menges

The accessories hall, looking south towards the link bu...

In Renderings for a Library Landmark, Stacks of Questions, Still

2013-01-30T12:05:00-05:00

The value of an institution isn’t measured in public square feet. But its value can be devalued by bad architecture...The designs have all the elegance and distinction of a suburban mall. I was reminded that Mr. Foster is also responsible for the canopied enclosure of the inner court at the British Museum, a pompous waste of public space that inserts a shopping gallery into the heart of a sublime cultural institution.