Trump executive order mandates classical architecture for federal buildings, discourages brutalism

(CNN) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that mandates all federal buildings “embrace classical architecture.”

“In the District of Columbia, classical architecture shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another kind of architecture,” reads a White House fact sheet on the order, which specifically takes aim at brutalist architecture.

The White House does not traditionally wade into architectural decisions, but the president — ever the real estate businessman — has initiated several renovations to impose his style on the White House complex.

The order calls for the construction of federal buildings in a way that “uplifts and beautifies public spaces” and “commands respect from the ge