Projects by HOK, Arquitectonica and Morphosis have been singled out for criticism in president Trump's draft executive order for federal buildings, which would outlaw brutalist and deconstructivist styles if it becomes law.
The draft of the Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again executive order highlights three federal buildings completed in the last 20 years as examples of those with "little aesthetic appeal".
They are the San Francisco Federal Building completed in 2007 by architecture firm Morphosis, Downtown Miami's Wilkie D Ferguson Courthouse by Arquitectonica and HOK completed in 2007, and the Austin US Courthouse completed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in 2012.
"The federal government has largely stopped building beautiful buildings" The document states that "serious consideration" should be given to redesigning buildings that don't meet with requirements, where it would be "feasible and not uneconomical". It alleges that "the federal government has largely stopped building beautiful buildings that the American people want to look at or work in".
None of the firms mentioned in the order has so far responded to Dezeen's requests for comment.
Arquitectonica's Wilkie D Ferguson Courthouse in Miami is also scrutinised in the draft executive order. Photo by Robin Hill
Revealed last week, Trump's plans for the executive order calls for all federal buildings to be completed in the "classical architectural st...