A celebration was held last year to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the federal courthouse in Springfield. The $63 million courthouse on State Street was completed in the summer of 2008 after a decade of planning.
Designed by award-winning architect Moshe Safdie, the courthouse places modernist elements into traditional design structure. Its curving pillars around 200- to 500-year-old heritage trees are a testament to how courthouses can offer a new perspective on design while retaining the history and heritage of its purpose.
Said Safdie of the design, “The Constitution and the notion of the Bill of Rights, both so central to our judiciary system, must be given profound expression in the symbolism of the 21st-century courthouse. The federal courthouse should bridge the authority and order present in historical models with the pluralistic spirit of our time by creating an accessible place in the city that speaks of community and authority.”
President Donald J. Trump is not so fond of modernist design for federal buildings. Two weeks ago, the president signed an executive order, “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” that would establish classical architecture as the design for new federal buildings. The order also mandates buildings be “beautiful,” acknowledging Greco-Roman architecture as preferable over modern designs that are “ugly and inconsistent.”
It seems rather silly for an outgoing president – or any person of authority – to decide what represents beauty for the American public. Certainly, Mr. Trump can impose his style preferences to his hotels, golf courses and private residences, but to impose style mandates on tax-paying Americans is folly.
This order isn’t exactly unexpected. In a seven-page draft order obtained by the Chicago Sun Times in February, Trump declared the federal government since the 1950s has “largely stopped building beautiful buildings that the American people want to look at or work in.”
Our nation is a melting pot of races, religions, nationalities, cultures and ethnicities. The design of our federal buildings should reflect who we are as a nation. Some people think layering 24 karat gold around walls and pillars of marble are the go-to interior. Some don’t. Some think baggy Italian suits and long, shiny red ties are chic. Some don’t. That’s the American way. It’s uncertain what drove the president to sign such an order. Perhaps to gain attention from a segment of his admirers.
There are too many interpretations of “beauty” in our colorful nation to yield to one man. And nobody’s pen is strong enough to override our nation’s beauty.
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January 04, 2021 at 06:07PM
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Trump executive order on architecture pure folly (Editorial) - masslive.com
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