Executive Order No. 14344. Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again

• Executive Order No.: 14344
• Published date: 03 September 2025
• Date: 28 August 2025
• Citation: 90 FR 42685
• Pages: 42685-42689
• Section: Presidential Documents
• Issuer: Executive Office of the President

Presidential Documents

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Executive Order 14344 of August 28, 2025

Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. The Founders, in line with great societies before them,

attached great importance to Federal civic architecture. They wanted Amer-

ica’s public buildings to inspire the American people and encourage civic

virtue. President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson

consciously modeled the most important buildings in Washington, DC, on

the classical architecture of ancient Athens and Rome. They sought to use

classical architecture to visually connect our contemporary Republic with

the antecedents of democracy in classical antiquity, reminding citizens not

only of their rights but also their responsibilities in maintaining and perpet-

uating its institutions.

Washington and Jefferson personally oversaw the competitions to design

the Capitol Building and the White House. Under the direction and following

the vision of these two Founders, Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the

Nation’s capital as a classical city. For approximately a century and a half

following America’s founding, America’s Federal architecture continued to

be characterized by beautiful and beloved buildings of largely, though not

exclusively, classical design. In the 1960s, the Federal Government largely

replaced traditional designs for new construction with modernist and

brutalist ones. The Federal architecture that ensued, overseen by the General

Services Administration (GSA), was often unpopular with Americans. The

new buildings ranged from the undistinguished to designs even GSA now

admits many in the public found unappealing.

In 1994, GSA responded to this widespread criticism by establishing the

Design Excellence Program. The GSA intended that program to ‘‘provide

visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the Amer-

ican Government.’’ Unfortunately, the program has not met this goal. Under

the Design Excellence Program, GSA has often selected designs by prominent

architects with little regard for local input or regional aesthetic preferences.

The resulting Federal architecture sometimes impresses the architectural

elite, but not the American people who the buildings are meant to serve.

Many of these new Federal buildings are not even visibly identifiable as

civic buildings.

It is time to update the policies guiding Federal architecture to address

these problems and ensure that architects designing Federal buildings serve

their clients, the American people.

Sec. 2. Policy. (a) Applicable Federal public buildings should uplift and

beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States,

and command respect from the general public. They should also be visually

identifiable as civic buildings and, as appropriate, respect regional architec-

tural heritage. Architecture—particularly traditional and classical architec-

ture—that meets the criteria set forth in this subsection is the preferred

architecture for applicable Federal public buildings. In the District of Colum-

bia, classical architecture shall be the preferred and default architecture

for Federal public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another

kind of architecture.

(b) Where the architecture of applicable Federal public buildings diverges

from the preferred architecture set forth in subsection (a) of this section,

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great care and consideration must be taken to choose a design that commands

respect from the general public and clearly conveys to the general public

the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of America’s system of self-

government.

(c) When renovating, reducing, or expanding applicable Federal public

buildings that do not meet the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this

section, the feasibility and potential expense of building redesign to meet

those criteria should be examined. Where feasible and economical, such

redesign should be given substantial consideration, especially with regard

to the building’s exterior.

Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:

(a) ‘‘Applicable Federal public building’’ means:

(i) all Federal courthouses and agency headquarters;

(ii) all Federal public buildings in the National Capital Region; and

(iii) all other Federal public buildings that cost or are expected to cost

more than $50 million in 2025 dollars to design, build, and finish, but

does not include infrastructure projects or land ports of entry.

(b) ‘‘Brutalist architecture’’ means the style of architecture that grew out

of the early 20th-century modernist movement that is characterized by a

massive and block-like appearance with a rigid geometric style and large-

scale use of exposed poured concrete.

(c) ‘‘Classical architecture’’ means the architectural tradition derived from

the forms, principles, and vocabulary of the architecture of Greek and Roman

antiquity, and as later developed and expanded upon by such Renaissance

architects as Alberti, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, and Palladio; such Enlight-

enment masters as Robert Adam, John Soane, and Christopher Wren; such

19th-century architects as Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Robert Mills, and Thomas

U. Walter; and such 20th-century practitioners as Julian Abele, Daniel

Burnham, Rafael Carmoega, Charles F. McKim, John Russell Pope, Julia

Morgan, and the firm of Delano and Aldrich. Classical architecture encom-

passes such styles as Neoclassical, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-

Arts, and Art Deco.

(d) ‘‘Deconstructivist architecture’’ means the style of architecture generally

known as ‘‘deconstructivism’’ that emerged during the late 1980s and that

features fragmentation, disorder, discontinuity, distortion, skewed geometry,

and the appearance of instability.

(e) ‘‘General public’’ means members of the public who are not:

(i) artists, architects, engineers, art or architecture critics, instructors or

professors of art or architecture, or members of the building industry;

or

(ii) affiliated with any interest group, trade association, or any other organi-

zation, whose membership is financially affected by decisions involving

the design, construction, or remodeling of public buildings.

(f) ‘‘Public building’’ has the meaning given that term in section 3301(a)(5)

of title 40, United States Code.

(g) ‘‘Traditional architecture’’ includes classical architecture, as defined

herein, and also includes the historic humanistic architecture such as Gothic,

Romanesque, Second Empire, Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial, and other

Mediterranean styles of architecture historically rooted in various regions

of America.

(h) ‘‘2025 dollars’’ means dollars adjusted for inflation using the Bureau

of Economic Analysis’s Gross Domestic Product price deflator and using

2025 as the base year.

Sec. 4. Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture. (a) Executive departments

and agencies (agencies) shall to the extent practicable adhere to the following

Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture:

(i) The policy shall be to provide requisite and adequate facilities in

an architectural style and form that is distinguished and that will reflect

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the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American Government.

Because of their proven ability to meet these requirements, classical and

traditional architecture are preferred modes of architectural design. This

preference does not exclude the possibility of alternative styles in appro-

priate circumstances. Major emphasis should be placed on the choice

of designs that embody architectural excellence. Specific attention should

be paid to the possibilities of incorporating into such designs qualities

that reflect the regional architectural traditions of that part of the Nation

in which buildings are located. Where appropriate, fine art should be

incorporated in the designs, with emphasis on the work of living American

artists. Designs shall adhere to sound construction practice and utilize

materials, methods, and equipment of proven dependability. Buildings

shall be economical to build, operate, and maintain, and should be acces-

sible to the handicapped.

(ii) Design must flow from the needs of the Government and the aspirations

and preferences of the American people to the architectural profession,

and not vice versa. Competitions for the design of Federal buildings should

be held where appropriate. The advice of distinguished architects practiced

in classical or traditional architecture should, as a rule, be sought prior

to the award of important design contracts.

(iii) The choice and development of the building site should be considered

the first step of the design process. This choice should be made in coopera-

tion with local agencies. Special attention should be paid to the general

ensemble of streets and public places of which Federal buildings will

form a part. Where possible, buildings should be located so as to permit

a generous development of landscape.

Sec. 5. GSA Actions. (a) The Administrator of General Services (Adminis-

trator) shall adhere to the policies and principles set forth in sections 2

and 4 of this order, and shall expeditiously update GSA policies and proce-

dures to incorporate such policies and principles and advance the purposes

of this order.

(b) The Administrator shall:

(i) ensure that GSA architects whose duties include reviewing, assisting

with, or approving the selection of architects or designs for applicable

Federal public buildings have formal training in, or substantial and signifi-

cant experience with, classical or traditional architecture;

(ii) create the position of senior advisor for architectural design, for an

individual with specialized experience in classical architecture, to help

develop GSA procedures, advise on architectural standards, and provide

guidance during design evaluations or design juries;

(iii) where the design of an applicable Federal public building is selected

pursuant to a design-build competition under section 3309 of title 41,

United States Code, list experience with classical or traditional architecture

as specialized experience and technical competence in the phase-one solici-

tation, and give substantive weight to these factors when evaluating which

offerors will be advanced to phase two; and

(iv) consistent with sections 4302 and 4312 of title 5, United States Code,

make advancing the purposes and implementing the policies of this order

a critical performance element in the individual performance plans of

the Chief Architect of GSA and appropriate subordinate employees in

the GSA Public Buildings Service involved in selecting designs for applica-

ble Federal public buildings.

(c) Where GSA intends to select a building design pursuant to a design

competition, the Administrator shall actively recruit architectural firms and,

as applicable, designers with experience in classical and traditional architec-

ture to enter such competition and shall, to the extent practicable, ensure

that multiple designs in such modes are advanced to the final evaluation

round.

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(d) In the event the Administrator proposes to approve a design for a

new applicable Federal public building that diverges from the preferred

architecture set forth in subsection 2(a) of this order, including Brutalist

or Deconstructivist architecture or any design derived from or related to

these types of architecture, the Administrator shall notify the President

through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy not less than

30 days before GSA could reject such design without incurring substantial

expenditures. Such notification shall set forth the reasons the Administrator

proposes to approve such design, including:

(i) a detailed explanation of why the Administrator believes selecting

such design is justified, with particular focus on whether such design

is as beautiful and reflective of the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability

of the American system of self-government as alternative designs using

preferred architecture;

(ii) the total expected cost of adopting the proposed design, including

estimated maintenance and replacement costs throughout its expected

lifecycle; and

(iii) a description of the designs using preferred architecture seriously

considered for such project and the total expected cost of adopting such

designs, including estimated maintenance and replacement costs through-

out their expected lifecycles.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed

to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency,

or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and

subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,

employees, or agents, or any other person.

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(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the General

Services Administration.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

August 28, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025–16928

Filed 9–2–25; 11:15 am]

Billing code 6820–61–P

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