New-build classical architecture (evoking old styles)

Trying to keep politics out of this thread but another classical addition.

The white house apparently wants to build a triumphal arch in DC for the 250th anniversary of the usa. I think that is an appropriate monument to the occasion. I definitely dont hate it. As long as its dedicated to that and not “a person” I think it would be generally fine.
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Definitely agree with a couple other posters though if this starts to make classical architecture associated with the right wing thats a very bad thing overall for architecture. Hopefully architecture can stay agnostic.
 
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stick n move said:
Definitely agree with a couple other posters though if this starts to make classical architecture associated with the right wing thats a very bad thing overall for architecture. Hopefully architecture can stay agnostic.
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There's a subtle but inportant difference in what I feel neoclassical architecture can message. Either you're using the built form to celebrate grecian democratic values, roman republicianism, or to convey dominance and power, calling back to the height of the Roman Empire. Not to prove Godwin's Law true, but... *waves generally at Albert Speer's neoclassical vision of Germany,* which was intended to convey the latter. By contrast, the founding fathers seem to have sought Federalist or Greek Revival courthouses and civic buildings to convey the former. but a triumphal arch is literally intended to convey the latter - they celebrate past glories and a symbol of state power - theres a reason most are associated with emperors.
 
Since the location is across the Potomac in Arlington and not on the National Mall, it could have been an opportunity to introduce something modern and reflective of a 21st-century vision. Trump has publicly expressed a preference for neoclassical architecture, so a forward-looking design was unlikely—but it still might have been interesting.
 
I find it sort of funny that they oriented the Lincoln memorial the wrong way in this mock-up, as if it has some perfect axial alignment with this useless new arch (probably just a staffer carelessly putting the model on the paper map). Some joke about the willful ignorance/incompetence of this administration in there.

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Ballroom is u/c,

Thetransitguy makes a very good point. The white house is maybe THE most historic and important building in the entire country and theyve gone from plans to demolition in 2.5 months. Out of all of the buildings that have historic reviews and approvals this would be the one where youd think it would apply the most. Pretty wild.

 
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II was thinking about this earlier. Did the orange marshmallow's lackeys push the ballroom through DD/CD in his first term, and they could just dust it off? Incredible they already started demo, with apparently no effort to salvage/sell things like windows, molding, etc. Bizarre.

ETA: typo fix
 
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Apparently the size has been increased now from a 650 person ballroom to 999 person. The building was also going to be 90,000 sq ft whereas the white house itself is only 50,000 sq ft, but that has increased now probably by another third.


Previously, looked pretty normal.
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Now its much bigger and has this gaudy entrance.
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Pretty freaking obnoxious. Definitely interested to see if this is being done unilaterally and the legality of that. These buildings belong to the American people, its pretty crazy if one guy can just decide to start tearing this stuff down with 0 approvals, checks and balances, community input…etc

www.cbsnews.com

White House begins demolition of part of East Wing for Trump's ballroom

President Trump previously said his ballroom addition to the White House East Wing wouldn't "interfere" with the building's existing structure.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

newrepublic.com

Trump’s Ballroom Will Dwarf the White House, Ugly Renderings Show

Architectural plans reveal just how insane President Trump’s ballroom addition will be.
newrepublic.com newrepublic.com

Scale of the previous iteration
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I had a long-winded rant here. Just erased it - not worth it. All I'll say is at the bare minimum, I can only hope a proper safety and security design review is being completed.
 
stefal said:
I had a long-winded rant here. Just erased it - not worth it. All I'll say is at the bare minimum, I can only hope a proper safety and security design review is being completed.
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I could write a rant too. I won't. I'll just say I just hope it's torn down ASAP.
 
Smuttynose said:
Closer to home, this hotel was recently approved for along Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI to be called, of course, Bellevue Hotel. Renderings from Centerbrook Architects --

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Well, butter my biscuit… this looks straight outta Charleston.
 
Looks like the base of 500 Boylston Street pinched out a masonry turd. :-/
 
Pauli Murray and Ben Franklin colleges at Yale are so nice ngl.

The new dorms at Brown by comparison are uhhh, at least the students really like living in them lol.
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One thing that sucks is we missed out other than a couple mid rises on the whole first art deco wave. Now besides liberty mutual were missing out on the second one too. Nyc probably is up to 25 new art deco towers in total. We really should be trying to get at least 1-2 more. The area around td garden could really use one.
 
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Are there any other cities actually getting these neo–Art Deco high-rises? I can’t think of many. It’s a shame, as you noted, because the style is genuinely timeless without tipping into gimmickry. My guess is that cost is a major barrier—which is probably why most of the new residential examples are clustered on the UES and UWS, where the economics can support that level of detail.

Boston might be missing out for another reason, too: unlike New York, it never really had a strong Art Deco residential tradition to draw from. Without that architectural lineage, developers here seem less inclined to take the risk on something that isn’t already part of the local vocabulary.
 
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