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> I don't think anyone is debating that... If by anyone you mean the author of the essay, I don't actually know what he's arguing. With sincere respect, I don'

> I don't think anyone is debating that... If by anyone you mean the author of the essay, I don't actually know what he's arguing. With sincere respect, I don't think you can say you do, either. You and I have happily decided to, as I see it, have a debate irrespective of the OP, and define terms that we can both agree on. So, good, you and I agree that there should be aesthetic considerations and constraints of some kind on Federal buildings. > [1] Apparently I am live-responding. Your first link appears to be speculation about the as-yet unpublished EO. Since then, the EO has been published, so I'm going to skip that without prejudice, so to speak, and revisit as it becomes necessary. I'll leave here a link to the EO itself here: https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-promoting-beautiful-federal-civic-architecture/ https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/ex... I'll read it next. > [2] Overall this sounds really reasonable, to me. I especially like: The development of an official style must be avoided. Design must flow from the architectural profession to the Government and not vice versa. I also like the two-pronged consideration when evaluating an architectural proposal: First, it must provide efficient and economical facilities for the use of Government agencies. Second, it must provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American Government. For me now the investigation becomes answering these questions: How has the GSA guidelines worked so far? Are the buildings built under those guidelines generally aesthetically successful? If not, how and why did they fail? Are the aesthetic failures at least interesting? Does the Trump EO address the failures, if any? Would the EO fix these failures or create new ones? Finally, since President Biden has the powers to revert this EO, has he done so? If not, why not? After all that, I'd feel comfortable being able to say whether or not the EO was an attack on Progressivism as we defined it (essentially, lifting it from the Wikipedia essay). Does all that seem reasonable?

rendall 5y ago
Regarding the actual EO itself, without a deep-dive, is a direct critique of the GSA directives and of the buildings they enabled. Specifically, that the new buildings built under those guidelines have been: * often unpopular with Americans * ranged from the undistinguished to... unappealing * clashed with the existing local architecture, specifically classical architecture in Washington D.C. * often selected... with little regard for local input or regional aesthetic preferences * sometimes impresses the architectural elite, but not the American people who the buildings are meant to serve * not even visibly identifiable as civic buildings These are the buildings highlighted by the EO as examples: * Hubert H. Humphrey Department of Health and Human Services Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hubert+H.+Humphrey+Department+of+Health+and+Human+Services+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hubert+H.+Humphrey+Department+of+H...> * Robert C. Weaver Department of Housing and Urban Development Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Robert+C.+Weaver+Department+of+Housing+and+Urban+Development+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Robert+C.+Weaver+Department+of+Hou...> * San Francisco Federal Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=San+Francisco+Federal+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=San+Francisco+Federal+Building&iax...> * Salt Lake City’s Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Salt+Lake+City%E2%80%99s+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Salt+Lake+City%E2%80%99s+Federal+C...> * George C. Young Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=George+C.+Young+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=George+C.+Young+Federal+Courthouse...> There were some exceptions, according to the EO, examples being: * Tuscaloosa Federal Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Tuscaloosa+Federal+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Tuscaloosa+Federal+Building&iax=im...> * Corpus Christi Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Corpus+Christi+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Corpus+Christi+Federal+Courthouse&...> Interesting. What do you think?

rendall 5y ago

Regarding the actual EO itself, without a deep-dive, is a direct critique of the GSA directives and of the buildings they enabled. Specifically, that the new buildings built under those guidelines have been: * often unpopular with Americans * ranged from the undistinguished to... unappealing * clashed with the existing local architecture, specifically classical architecture in Washington D.C. * often selected... with little regard for local input or regional aesthetic preferences * sometimes impresses the architectural elite, but not the American people who the buildings are meant to serve * not even visibly identifiable as civic buildings These are the buildings highlighted by the EO as examples: * Hubert H. Humphrey Department of Health and Human Services Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hubert+H.+Humphrey+Department+of+Health+and+Human+Services+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hubert+H.+Humphrey+Department+of+H...> * Robert C. Weaver Department of Housing and Urban Development Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Robert+C.+Weaver+Department+of+Housing+and+Urban+Development+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Robert+C.+Weaver+Department+of+Hou...> * San Francisco Federal Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=San+Francisco+Federal+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=San+Francisco+Federal+Building&iax...> * Salt Lake City’s Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Salt+Lake+City%E2%80%99s+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Salt+Lake+City%E2%80%99s+Federal+C...> * George C. Young Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=George+C.+Young+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=George+C.+Young+Federal+Courthouse...> There were some exceptions, according to the EO, examples being: * Tuscaloosa Federal Building : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Tuscaloosa+Federal+Building&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Tuscaloosa+Federal+Building&iax=im...> * Corpus Christi Federal Courthouse : <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Corpus+Christi+Federal+Courthouse&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Corpus+Christi+Federal+Courthouse&...> Interesting. What do you think?