Federal government architecture stands in Trump's crosshairs in effort to restore aesthetic appeal, labeling brutalist designs as unattractive.

In a move that harks back to the classical architectural style of Western civilization, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Thursday, titled "Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again." The order sets classical architecture as the preferred and default style for most federal buildings, specifically targeting brutalist and modernist architecture.

The General Services Administration (GSA) will oversee the implementation of this executive order, but it does not yet have a permanent leader. Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, has taken over as GSA's acting administrator in July.

The Truman administration, in 1949, had stood up the GSA with a mandate to abandon the neoclassical style and develop new buildings in the brutalist style. However, during his first term, Trump pursued a similar policy, but it was rescinded by former President Joe Biden.

The White House stated that the Design Excellence Program, launched during the Clinton administration, produced buildings that impressed some of "architectural elite, but not the American people who the buildings are meant to serve." The program had a panel of architects to judge contest entries for new federal buildings, but it lost momentum under the Obama administration when it launched plans to shrink the federal real estate footprint and to rein in spending on government buildings.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is moving out of its headquarters in downtown D.C. and plans to sell the building. HUD Secretary Scott Turner has called the agency's headquarters the "ugliest building in D.C." The department plans to relocate to the National Science Foundation's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

On the campaign trail in 2023, Trump promised to "get rid of ugly buildings" and return to the classical style. The White House stated in a fact sheet that a majority of American taxpayers prefer classical, regionally inspired public buildings.

The Truman administration's mandate for GSA to abandon the neoclassical style and adopt brutalist architecture was a departure from the classical, regionally inspired public buildings preferred by a majority of American taxpayers. A former Public Buildings Service official stated that GSA complied with this mandate in its early days and "built a bunch of really mediocre buildings."

The Energy Department's headquarters building is one of the structures that may be sold, as recommended by the Public Buildings Reform Board in May. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is also planning to sell its headquarters.

The executive order signed by Trump aims to rectify these departures from classical architecture and create a more aesthetically pleasing landscape for federal buildings. Trump has nominated Ed Forst, a banking and real estate executive, to permanently lead GSA, a move that could further solidify the implementation of the executive order.

Federal government architecture stands in Trump's crosshairs in effort to restore aesthetic appeal, labeling brutalist designs as unattractive.