The American Institute of Architects (AIA) strongly opposes any federal mandates on architectural design styles and other forms of artistic expression in light of the new design bills. AIA argues these impositions restrict architectural creativity, peer review, and community involvement in the process.
The recently introduced bills directly go back to the 2020 Executive Order (EO) issued by the outgoing Trump Administration, titled “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” which AIA also staunchly opposed previously. AIA has mobilized its 96,000 members around the issues and is working with state components to educate lawmakers where there is current support for these renewed mandates.
In February of this year (during AIA’s 2023 Leadership Summit), architects from across the country visited Capitol Hill to advocate the importance of design freedom in more than 280 Lobby Day meetings with federal policymakers.
AIA remains undeterred in its support of H.R. 964/S. 366, the Democracy in Design Act, a bipartisan legislation authored in the House by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA); and in the Senate by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN).
This legislation would require General Services Administration (GSA) to adhere to the Guiding Principles of Federal Architecture (Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture | GSA) in the design selection process and to undertake rulemaking to establish this formula for success into statute. This would prohibit any federally mandated design styles from being dictated to communities and would protect the GSA’s Design Excellence Program in law.
Currently, the process for selecting the design style for federal buildings and courthouses is established by the well-respected Design Excellence Program at the GSA (Design Excellence Program | GSA). The program is based on the Guiding Principles of Federal Architecture as disseminated by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. It has been the tradition of the Design Excellence Program to consider the culture, geography, climate, and input of the people living in the communities where the project is built. AIA invites all members to take action by urging Congressional leaders to advance the bipartisan Democracy in Design Act to protect the freedom of architects and all design professionals for the future.
“To mandate in federal law a preferred or default architectural style would eliminate community-centered decision making, peer review, and architectural skill,” says Kevin Holland, FAIA, NOMAC, and member of the board of directors of AIA. “Replacing it with a bureaucratic body that prohibits community feedback and promotes one design over all others is not something the profession of architecture should support.”
I have wondered if buildings like the African American History building at the Washington, DC, mall would represent such a divergence from other mall buildings place, appearance, materials, etc. it might bring on this type of legislation.
The Federal Government, like any client, has the right to say what their buildings look like. Anyone ever work with a retail client? a prototype design? try telling Walmart what their buildings should look like. When the public has no idea that a federal building is a federal building, what have they gained? “Democracy”? In defiance of the GSA’s requirement for contextual consideration, some of these “democratic” buildings look horribly out of place & sometimes even downright offensive, like much of modern “art” does today. “Artistic expression”? Does the AIA really wanna open up that can of worms?? not that I care, I haven’t been an AIA member since they turned into a leftist political organization.
Why not let the the classic-traditional approach fail on its own merits. Trying to force a contemporary functions into a classic facade will likely not work. But since the AiA is now part of the Democratic Party, they have to oppose any ideas from Trump.