Archinect - News

AIA releases seven-point advocacy agenda for 2024 U.S. elections

2024-09-13T12:45:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects has released a statement urging action on a number of key priorities related to architecture and the built environment for the 2024 presidential elections following Tuesday’s debate between candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

"Architects across the country are keen to see greater progress toward key goals related to the built environment and our businesses," 2024 AIA President Kimberly Dowdell says in a preface to the seven-point agenda. "Our top election priorities highlight critical issues including the need for increased investment in affordable housing, aggressive climate action measures, enhanced resiliency against natural disasters and sound tax policies."

"[The] AIA calls on the candidates as well as the incoming new Congress to listen to architects as experts on the forefront of designing a more sustainable future," her statement continues. "Through these priorities, AIA’s members will continue to move the built environment forwar...

New bill seeks to re-mandate Trump's classical architecture order for federal buildings

2023-05-30T15:35:00-04:00

A new bill introduced by Republican Indiana representative Jim Banks has once again returned the years-old debate around Classicism and the design of federal government buildings first begun by Donald Trump during the final year of his Presidency.

Banks’ proposed new H.R. 3627 bill — titled the "Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act" — expands on the Trump era executive order to "make federal buildings beautiful again" via the establishment of a new President's Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture and advocacy for styles of "traditional architecture" including Gothic, Romanesque, Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial, and Mediterranean that Banks feels are endemic to the United States.

Previously on Archinect: Trump signs executive order promoting 'traditional and classical architecture' for America's federal buildings

The bill also denounces the Brutalist style espoused by Paul Rudolph and others at midcentury in deference to the neo-classical designs used in the Supreme ...

Trump's Architect of the Capitol is under investigation for ethics violations in D.C.

2022-11-03T12:56:00-04:00

The federal Architect of the Capitol is under scrutiny for ethics violations after apparently using his office to give “patriotic” private tours in the weeks leading up to the contentious elections of November 2020.

The Washington Post is reporting that Trump appointee J. Brett Blanton is now being investigated by the federal Inspector General’s office for allegedly using his office to give family members access to government-owned vehicles and areas of the capitol building that had been restricted due to Covid-19.

The office’s report identified “a significant amount of administrative, ethical, and policy violations as well as evidence of criminal violations throughout the investigation,” including several incidents where Blanton misrepresented himself as a police officer (a class misdemeanor under District of Columbia law) in addition to a campaign of “fraud, waste, and abuse against not only the AOC but also the taxpayer.”

Earlier on Archinect: Architect of the U.S. Capitol detai...

Biden formally reverses controversial Trump mandate on the government's Art in Architecture program

2022-02-01T15:35:00-05:00

The Biden administration on Monday reversed a Trump-era rule dictating what kind of art can be commissioned for federal buildings as part of an effort to have public art better reflect America's diversity. The new rule removes content and style restrictions that Biden administration officials say excluded many artists from consideration for the Art in Architecture program, which commissions visual art in federal buildings.

The rule is a holdover from the Trump administration, which enacted the measure late in 2020 with the vague but distinct guideline that commissions must depict “historically significant Americans or events.” Critics immediately saw the mandate as a racist attempt to whitewash public art in the aftermath of protests that swept the nation following the death of George Floyd.

Biden’s move echoes a previous decision to reverse another controversial order regulating the architectural styles allowed on large-scale federal projects. Trump was notorious for his assault on varying federal arts and humanities programs, most notably the National Endowment of the Arts, which he made repeated and ultimately empty threats about eliminating before leaving office. The General Services Administration (GSA) says its hope is that the reversal will increase the amount of diversity and representation in Federal projects across the country.

Previously on Archinect: Biden repeals Trump's classical archite...

As immigration stories grip newsfeeds, 'The Wall/El Muro' at the National Building Museum examines architecture's role in the U.S.-Mexico border wall

2021-10-13T19:16:00-04:00

As part of the institution’s renewed focus on pressing social issues through its selection of public programming, the National Building Museum has announced a major new exhibition looking into the part design professionals can play in a topic not too far removed from America’s visual imagination.

Opening on Saturday, November 6th, The Wall/El Muro: What is a Border Wall? is a coeval exhibition that quite literally reflects on the crossover between the built environment and mass immigration.

One of the original boundary markers put up by a joint coalition of U.S. and Mexican officials in the 1880's. The marker currently resides in Chamizal National Park El Paso, Texas near the border wall. Photo: Sarah Leavitt.

Billed as a “timely examination of the role of design, architecture, planning, and engineering in today’s border issues and challenges,” users enter a soundscape environment set along the border in Otay Mesa, California. A section of fence taken from Calexico offers visitors a...

Federal design mandates should end, says AIA

2021-09-22T11:08:00-04:00

The AIA has expressed support for legislation recently re-introduced to the U.S. Congress, which seeks to prevent future administrations and the federal government from mandating preferred design styles for federal buildings. The organization had previously been critical of a 2020 decision by the Trump Administration to make classical architecture “the preferred and default style” for America’s public buildings.

The bill currently sitting in Congress, named the “Democracy in Design Act,” would codify the U.S. General Service Administration’s 1962 Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture, and prohibit the federal government from mandating a preferred national design style. The bill also includes a requirement that any changes to the Design Excellence Program, which guides the procurement, design, and construction of public buildings, would need to include public comment before enactment.

Biden administration returning $2.2 billion previously redirected for border wall construction

2021-06-22T18:05:00-04:00

The federal government has announced plans to return $2.2 billion allocated to fund border wall construction. This comes following President Joe Biden’s proclamation, made on his first day in office, to halt the redirection of money for the wall.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have developed plans in accordance with the Biden administration’s initiative. As listed in a press release from The White House, they include: cancelling wall projects with diverted military construction funds, returning those funds to their original appropriated purposes, and addressing safety and environmental issues resulting from border wall construction.

In addition, the administration is calling on Congress to cancel funds provided to the DHS for border barrier projects in order to allow the resources to be used for more modern and effective border management measures. According to the release, the DHS is legally required to use the funds consistent with ...

Biden administration ousts members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; Justin Shubow removed after refusing to resign

2021-05-25T17:43:00-04:00

The four new appointees will replace four commissioners who were installed by former President Donald Trump, who helped craft the controversial “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture” executive order, which decried modern architecture and sought to make neoclassical architecture the official style for federal buildings.

The incoming cohort are Peter Cook, a principal at HGA Architects with projects including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Hazel Ruth Edwards, a professor and chair of Howard University’s Department of Architecture; Justin Garrett Moore, the inaugural program officer of the Humanities in Place program at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and Billie Tsien, a partner at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.

Previously on Archinect: Biden repeals Trump's classical architecture order, so what happens now?

The current chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and advocate of classical architecture, Justin Shu...

Biden repeals Trump's classical architecture order, so what happens now?

2021-02-25T13:30:00-05:00

Last year, Trump and his "make federal buildings beautiful again" executive order sent shockwaves across the architecture community. Trump had strong aversions towards modern architecture calling these buildings "ugly" and "uninspiring." Since Archinect's initial coverage on the classical architecture mandate back in February 2020, we've kept a close eye on the White House's news and how the architecture community would respond.

Previously featured on Archinect: New executive order could make classical architecture "the preferred and default style" for America's public buildings. The Jamie L. Witten Federal Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Philadelphia architects Rankin, Kellogg and Crane in 1901. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Since January 20th, 2021, President Biden has been swift in revoking and undoing many of Trump's blunders while in office. Before he left, Trump made a great effort to sign and pass his executive order making classic...

Watch Trump Plaza implode in Atlantic City

2021-02-17T15:38:00-05:00

It was not the biggest or the best implosion ever. An auction for the right to detonate the dynamite to begin the implosion of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., fizzled. [...] The tower came down shortly after 9 a.m. amid a huge cloud of dust and an eruption of cheers.

Opened in 1984, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was the first of Donald Trump's three casino ventures in Atlantic City. All three ultimately went out of business, and while the former Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Marina Hotel Casino found new owners, it was the literal end for the Trump Plaza building today.

The auction that was originally announced to blow up the building was later canceled by building owner and billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn. The proceeds would have gone to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City.

Architects need 'better ways to engage the public': Rowan Moore on Trump's classical architecture order

2020-12-28T14:41:00-05:00

In fact, America has beautiful and popular non-traditional structures – the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles – and it has crude and soulless classical buildings. Unfortunately, the authors of the order are not completely wrong when they say that some architects have ignored public feeling.

Rowan Moore, architecture critic at The Observer, responds to last week's presidential executive order that makes classical and traditional architecture the preferred style for federal buildings.

"If architects don’t want to give ammunition to the repressive thinking behind this order," Moore writes, "they have to show that there are better ways to engage the public."

Docomomo US responds and opposes Trump's new executive order for 'classical and traditional' architecture

2020-12-23T20:47:00-05:00

The architecture community continues to respond to Trump's latest executive order promoting classical and traditional architecture as the "preferred style" for federal buildings. After signing the mandate at the tail end of his presidency, institutions and organizations have voiced their criticisms and thoughts on the matter.

On December 22nd, the American Institute of Architects released a public statement on the matter, sharing they "never will prioritize any type of architectural design over another." Today Docomomo US released a statement expressing their frustration and opposition.

Featured on Archinect: AIA opposes Trump's classical architecture order, plans to reverse it under Biden. Facade of the new SOM-designed United States Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, California. Photo: Flickr user Sharon Hahn Darlin.

Below is an excerpt from Docomomo US' response:

Docomomo US Response to President Trump’s Executive Order on Promoting Beautiful Civic Architecture

December 23, 2020 ...

AIA opposes Trump's classical architecture order, plans to reverse it under Biden

2020-12-22T14:01:00-05:00

Following the signing of President Trump's new executive order that makes classical and traditional architecture the preferred style for federal buildings on Monday, the American Institute of Architects promptly responded with a public condemnation.

"The AIA does not, and never will, prioritize any type of architectural
design over another," declares the latest response.

When an early draft of this federal style dictate was floated in February, the institute already condemned the attempt, tweeting on February 4th: "The AIA strongly opposes uniform style mandates for federal #architecture. Architecture should be designed for the specific communities that it serves, reflecting our rich nation’s diverse places, thought, culture and climates. Architects are committed to honoring our past as well as reflecting our future progress, protecting the freedom of thought and expression that are essential to democracy."

Trump signs executive order promoting 'traditional and classical architecture' for America's federal buildings

2020-12-21T16:29:00-05:00

With only 29 days of his White House mandate remaining, President Trump revisited a topic that had previously stoked sharp criticism from the architecture community and signed an executive order today that makes classical architecture the preferred style for federal buildings.

The order opens with a lengthy rundown of American federal architecture, from its beginnings under Washington and Jefferson, through its perceived problems with Modernism since the 1950s, all the way to calling out a certain contemporary "San Francisco Federal Building" as one of the "ugliest structures" in the city.

"Classical and other traditional architecture, as practiced both historically and by today’s architects, have proven their ability to meet these design criteria and to more than satisfy today’s functional, technical, and sustainable needs," the order transitions to the policy section. "Their use should be encouraged instead of discouraged."

Related on Archinect: New executive order could make clas...

LA Times interviews mysterious architect of "Trump presidential library"

2020-12-07T18:21:00-05:00

The website featuring a parody of Trump's presidential library went viral a little over a month ago. A discussion about it in the Archinect forum included comments like "much too nice," "not enough gold," "I like that Putin makes an appearance in most of the renderings," "far too tasteful for Trump - have you seen that guy's buildings?" and "that's brilliant, great location, but who's the architect?"

The LA Times' Carolina A. Miranda managed to track down the anonymous designer responsible for this masterpiece. Without naming the individual, it was disclosed that it was a design by a licensed NY architect, with help from a number of friends.

Will the Trump Presidential Library contain any actual books?

That’s a question we get a lot. The first floor will have a criminal records room and we will keep some copies of “The Art of the Deal” around. But how do you design a library for someone who doesn’t read? That is the joke.

Read the full interview here...

...

The lasting legacy of Trump's classical architecture mandate

2020-11-12T17:30:00-05:00

[...] the forces that his White House set in motion could outlive his administration: The GSA appears to have adopted a modernism ban, without any authorization in place. What seemed to be a pipe dream for admirers of classical architecture back in February now looks like procurement policy at the federal agency that manages office space and needs for the U.S. government. Design is already underway in Alabama for what might be Trump’s first mandatory classical courthouse.

CityLab writer Kriston Capps on the current implications of the hotly debated, but ultimately never signed, "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again" executive order the President floated back in February.

Donald Trump wants to renovate the West Wing

2020-07-30T20:24:00-04:00

President Donald Trump is pushing for congressional funding that would allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to undertake a long-delayed renovation and modernization plan for the White House West Wing.

Included in a recent legislative framework floated by Republican senators aimed at addressing the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 crisis is a request from the presidential administration for $377 million in funding for the project, AP News reports. The renovation, according to the report, has been in the works since at least the Obama administration and would represent the first modernization effort for the executive wing of the White House since 1933.

President Donald Trump in the Oval office. Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian.

The West Wing administrative suite was built as an extension to the existing White House complex in 1904 by Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. Over the years, major additions and reno...

AIA condemns changes to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule

2020-07-29T19:36:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has issued a statement condemning recently announced changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Last week, HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced changes to the landmark Obama-era directive that effectively remove requirements for municipalities to analyze and ultimately reverse patterns of segregation within their neighborhoods.

Previously on Archinect: "Trump administration terminates Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule." View of the HUD headquarters in Washington, D.C.Image courtesy of Wikimedia user dbking

The change has been in the works since 2018 and news of its final implementation was met with strong resistance from housing activists.

In a statement condemning the changes, AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA writes, "AIA strongly opposes the Administration’s dismantling of this critical r...

Opportunity Zones program is under fire

2020-07-28T14:15:00-04:00

Lawmakers created the program in an effort to help low-income communities, and the provisions in the 2017 tax law on opportunity zones were based on bipartisan legislation. But Democrats have become increasingly critical of the program in recent months, following news reports about how wealthy people are benefiting from the program.

Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib are hoping to repeal the controversial Opportunity Zones program that brings certain tax breaks to investments in new development projects that are located in designated economically-distressed areas, The Hill reports. Though passed with bipartisan support in 2017, the program has faced criticism in recent months as some of the projects funded by these investments, including luxury apartment towers, have come to light.

Melania Trump to renovate White House Rose Garden

2020-07-27T10:54:00-04:00

First Lady Melania Trump has announced plans to spruce up the grounds of the White House Rose Garden.

According to a report from The New York Times, the project will bring electrical upgrades, a new walkway, and new flowers and shrubs to the garden, which is situated between the West Wing and White House residential areas.

Previously on Archinect: Melania Trump is building a classically inspired tennis pavilion on the White House lawn. Image courtesy of the National Capital Planning Commission.

The work is being led by Southampton, New York-based landscape architect Perry Guillot, a recipient of the 2009 Arthur Ross Award for Landscape Architecture from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America.

In remarks made by Trump covered by The New York Times, the First Lady stated that the renovations are an “act of expressing hope and optimism for the future,” adding, “Our country has seen difficult times before, but the White House and the Rose Garden have always stood...

Trump administration terminates Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule

2020-07-23T18:29:00-04:00

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson has finalized a plan to dismantle the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation that sought to rectify entrenched racial and economic segregation in American suburbs.

The AFH ruling was crafted during the administration of Barack Obama as part of an effort to more effectively enforce the 1968 Fair Housing Act legislation. The AFH rule required suburbs to plan for addressing segregation at risk of losing key HUD funding and was meant to support wider desegregation efforts.

The latest directive, long in the making, relieves municipalities of their duty to address patterns of segregation within their boundaries and is being effectively replaced with a new directive titled Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice, a rule that grants municipalities much more leeway in meeting softened AFH guidelines. The shift represents the latest aspect of a life-long effort by President Don...

Proposed law would prevent President Trump from imposing classical architecture style for federal buildings

2020-07-15T16:58:00-04:00

A bill introduced on July 13th by Nevada Representative Dina Titus aims to write the General Services Administration's "Guiding Principles" for federal architecture into federal law.

The bill, titled the "Democracy in Design Act," represents an effort to stop the implementation the "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again" initiative proposed by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Though text of the proposed law has yet to be published, passage of the bill would prevent the president from using an executive order to change or undermine them.

Previously on Archinect: "New executive order could make classical architecture 'the preferred and default style' for America's public buildings." The Jamie L. Witten Federal Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Philadelphia architects Rankin, Kellogg and Crane in 1901. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The principles advocate for open-ended design approaches for public buildings and the artworks displ...

Universities prevail, foreign students will be able to learn remotely in the US this fall

2020-07-14T15:39:00-04:00

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have agreed to rescind a policy that would bar international students taking online-only courses from residing in the United States, federal judge Allison D. Burroughs announced at a hearing on Tuesday. ICE will revert back to the guidance it issued in March that allows students taking online courses to reside in the United States on F-1 visas.

The Harvard Crimson reports that Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, and hundreds of other higher education institutions have successfully beaten back a draconian initiative proposed by the United States Department of Homeland Security that would have barred foreign students from remaining in residence in the United States while learning remotely.

Philadelphia's Monument Lab revises text of Trump's sculpture garden executive order

2020-07-09T19:58:00-04:00

Last week, President Donald Trump's unveiled the Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes, a measure that sets out to create a new "National Garden of American Heroes" to be filled with statues depicting "historically significant Americans.

The executive order, which comes as a national reckoning over the thousands of confederate and other pro-slavery and anti-Indigenous public monuments continues, has been widely criticized as an outdated and likely problematic concept.

Previously on Archinect: "Trump proposes National Garden of American Heroes sculpture park." Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user Bart Everson.

To this end, Philadelphia-based Monument Lab, a group that has led critical discourse on the nature, history, and significance of public monuments with an eye toward equity and justice since 2012, has rewritten the executive order to reflect the group's more expansive vision for the future of American monuments.

The full text of the re-write is hi...

Harvard, MIT sue Trump administration over new foreign student rules

2020-07-08T15:00:00-04:00

Following a surprise announcement that foreign students will not be allowed to remain in the United States if their colleges adopt all-online education for the coming semester, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have sued the federal government to stop the order.

The Harvard Crimson reports that the lawsuit seeks "a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to bar the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing federal guidelines barring international students attending colleges and universities offering only online courses from staying in the United States."

The announcement of the new federal guidelines came a day after many universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and MIT, began to announce plans for a mostly online Fall semester. It is currently unclear how the ruling will impact schools of architecture, as many of the schools Archinect has reached ...

Trump proposes National Garden of American Heroes sculpture park

2020-07-06T17:43:00-04:00

Over the holiday weekend, President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new "National Garden of American Heroes" that will contain statues depicting "historically significant Americans" and other historical figures like Christopher Columbus.

The order comes as protest movements and activist groups, buoyed by the support of historic preservation groups, destroy or remove memorials dedicated to sordid individuals and causes located around the country, including monuments honoring the confederacy, Christopher Columbus, and other individuals who held racist views or perpetuated violence against Black and Indigenous peoples.

Previously on Archinect: "National Trust for Historic Preservation: 'Removal of Confederate monuments from public places is justified'."Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user Abdazizar

The text of the executive order announcing the sculpture park, states that statues could be dedicated to "the Founding Fathers, those who fought for the abolition of slavery or partici...

Border wall planning unfazed by coronavirus threat

2020-03-30T13:51:00-04:00

The United States Army Corps of Engineers this week issued Southwest Valley Constructors a contract modification worth $524 million for design-build services on a barrier wall replacement project in Tucson, Arizona, at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The change brings Southwest's contract amount for the project to almost $1.2 billion when combined with the May 2019 initial contract's award of $646 million for the same project.

While construction of all non-essential projects in several US states has been ordered to stop to contain the spread of COVID-19, planning of fortification elements along the US-Mexican border near Tucson, Arizona is going ahead with full steam, as Construction Dive reports.

AIA presidents pen letter to President Trump opposing proposed executive order

2020-02-24T13:08:00-05:00

In a statement posted the American Institute of Architects (AIA) website, the organization explains that a group of former AIA presidents have written a letter directly to President Donald Trump denouncing the "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again" executive order.

Previously on Archinect: "New executive order could make classical architecture "the preferred and default style" for America's public buildings." The Jamie L. Witten Federal Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Philadelphia architects Rankin, Kellogg and Crane in 1901. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The letter comes as 2020 AIA President Jane Frederick, AIA CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Ivy, and 2021 AIA President-Elect Peter Exley all denounced the initiative at the Grassroots Leadership Conference held in New Orleans las week. At least 34 current and past AIA presidents signed the letter, including Raj Barr-Kumar, William J. Bates, Helene Combs Dreiling, Carl Elefant...

AIA pens letter to President Trump opposing "political appointees as the arbiters of architectural taste"

2020-02-07T12:49:00-05:00

Following a great deal of uproar in the architectural community in response to President Trump's proposed "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again” executive order, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has written a letter to the president officially opposing the initiative.

Previously on Archinect: New executive order could make classical architecture "the preferred and default style" for America's public buildings. The Jamie L. Witten Federal Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Philadelphia architects Rankin, Kellogg and Crane in 1901. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The letter, which is attributed to AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick, FAIA, and AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, argues against the imposition of "a onesize-fits-all mandate simply ignores needed input from impacted parties."

Previously on Archinect: "Read the draft text of President Trump’s classical architecture executive order." The John F. Kennedy Fed...

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, NOMA, and ASLA officially oppose Trump's efforts to "censor" modern architecture

2020-02-06T13:14:00-05:00

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Docomomo US, and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) have joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in voicing deep opposition to a proposed executive order under consideration by President Donald Trump that would mandate classical architectural styles for federal buildings.

Major architecture groups align against Trump's Executive Order

The cascading statements come as the draft text of the statement is published by major media outlets.

In a statement posted to the National Trust website, for example, the group writes: "While the National Trust values -- and protects -- traditional and classical buildings throughout the country, to censor and stifle the full record of American architecture by requiring federal buildings to be designed, and even altered, to comply with a narrow list of styles determined by...