President Donald Trump took some time out before the holidays for aesthetic policy-making. On Dec. 21, the president signed an executive order setting a new standard for federal architecture. Civic buildings, the order reads, should be “beautiful.” The order itself doesn’t define this term in any concrete way, but it does provide several examples of buildings — all modernist — that missed the mark. Specially gift-wrapped for fans of neoclassical buildings, who have hoped for executive action since details of the order first bubbled up in February, the directive promotes traditional design as the gold standard for U.S. architecture.
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