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First Lady Melania Trump has shared an update on the construction progress for a new 1,200-square-foot tennis pavilion that is currently taking shape on the South Lawn of the White House. In a social media post published today, Trump writes, "I am excited to share the progress of the Tennis... View full entry
Although there might sometimes appear to be a gulf between architects and preservationists, the two fields have a shared history and have often worked in tandem to the mutual benefit of one another. A case in point can be found during the second half of the 19th century, as both the historic... View full entry
Washington oversaw construction of the house while serving his two terms as president in New York and Philadelphia. He insisted that the President’s House be built of stone and embellished with extensive stone ornamentation...Washington requested alterations to the original design, adding the distinctive rose and acorn carved stone embellishments and cutting the building’s height. — National Geographic
The gutted interior of the White House, May 1950Abbie Rowe - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Noel Grove, William B. Bushong and Joel D. Treese take us back to 1792, when James Hoban (born in Ireland) became the architect of the President's House. They also explore how the... View full entry
A sinkhole has formed on the North Lawn of the White House, and predictably, the temptation was too great for many on social media, who filled the void with all the “drain the swamp” jokes and metaphors one could imagine.
But forget the obvious political jabs and the fact that President Trump uses that phrase as a rallying cry about eliminating corruption in Washington: The saying has some geological merit.
— The New York Times
"The White House sits at the intersection of a Quaternary colluvium (base of steep slope) deposit & a Pleistocene fluvial (river) & estuarine deposit," Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist, geologist, and... View full entry
A real dump,” is how Donald Trump is said to have described the White House he inherited from the Obama administration. For a man used to inhabiting a penthouse fantasy land of golden columns, heaving chandeliers and cherubs tumbling from the ceilings, the decor at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue must have seemed a bit drab. So he took the opportunity of his summer vacation to call in the decorators for a $3.4m (£2.6m) overhaul, the results of which have been unveiled this week. — The Guardian
Perhaps because the president and his family don’t spend much time living in the White House, the interior changes, at least so far, have been few. Nevertheless, Trumps' recent redecorations include noticeable features like a change in wallpaper— from Obama's yellow candy-stripe to, handpicked... View full entry
While some presidents have had their personal opinions about the White House, it remains, nonetheless, a central piece of America’s identity.
And it remains, in the most literal sense of the word, for three major reasons, said David Fannon, assistant professor of architecture and civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.
— News@Northeastern
While President Trump is on vacation, the White House is undergoing a $3.4 million West Wing renovation. Just over two centuries old, the home of the President has gone through as many changes as it has residents, maybe even more. David Fannon, an assistant professor of architecture at... View full entry
Last week, the White House held its very own arts and culture festival in D.C., South by South Lawn (SXSL). Organizers arranged a list of panel discussions and programs that brought together a diverse troupe of creatives for a "festival of ideas, art, and action.” SXSL kicked off with a conversation between illustrious light artist James Turrell and award-winning architect David Adjaye, which was streamed live on The Creators Project’s Facebook Page. — thecreatorsproject.vice.com
"Over the course of their chat, which was moderated by LACMA director Michael Govan, the two artists unpacked their general philosophies on art, light, space, and culture, and discussed some of the influences that have driven their processes and works."Video via The Creators Project.Similar... View full entry
I think it was a wonderful moment in American history. I thought what Michelle Obama was attempting to do was to draw that link to show that it isn't just what's going on in the White House now and isn't it great that there's a black family there, but there's a much longer history that needs to be appreciated...
[It was] just grueling, grueling kind of work. And nobody was really willing ... to do it. So slave labor played a massive role in getting this city built.
— Clarence Lusane
During her speech at the DNC on Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama alluded to the White House's history of slave labor during the 1790s. NPR interviews Clarence Lusane, chairperson of Howard University's political science department and author of “The Black History of the White House”, who... View full entry
In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, Joseph P. Clancy, the director of the Secret Service, on Tuesday urged lawmakers to give him money to build a detailed replica of the White House to aid in training officers and agents to protect the real thing. Beltsville, about 20 miles from the real White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is the location of a 500-acre Secret Service training site in the verdant terrain of southern Maryland. — NY Times
File this one under duplitecture (noun: an intentional, functioning copy of a pre-existing, and often familiar, piece of architecture).After garnering criticism following a series of – erm – security lapses (here's a timeline), the Secret Service has requested $8 million to construct a... View full entry
43 signatures down, only 99,957 more to go — Archinect senior contributor John Jourden brought to our attention a new online petition at whitehouse.gov, which urges the administration to award the design of new Federal building projects utilizing open architectural competitions.The... View full entry
Harry S Truman inherited a White House that was in horrendous shape. After the British nearly burnt it to the ground in 1814, the construction of 20th-century innovations—indoor plumbing, electricity, and heating ducts—had also taken its toll on the structure. The building was nearly 150 years old, and it showed its age. In November 1948, the building was in a near-condemnable state... So it had to be gutted. Completely. — nationaljournal.com
The winning design, by the New York architecture firm Rogers Marvel, aided by the landscape architects Quennell Rothschild & Partners, is a nimble combination of boldness and restraint. It was clearly the strongest and among the least traditional in the competition, which also featured teams led by landscape architects Van Valkenburgh and Walter Hood. — latimes.com
Related: Rogers Marvel is currently hiring. View full entry
