Mandating Classical Federal Architecture

Trump’s executive order prefers classical and traditional styles for new federal buildings and discourages modernist/Brutalist designs. The piece argues architects resist admitting postwar mistakes and cites an American Institute of Architects survey showing the public favors traditional architecture. It recasts aesthetic choices as a policy lever and a barometer of elite–mass divergence. — Government-imposed aesthetics make cultural taste a governance choice, revealing who sets national symbols and whose preferences prevail in public space.