Modernist conservation group Docomomo US has said that it strongly disagrees with the Donald Trump administration’s position on modern architecture, following news that the Marcel Breuer-designed Weaver building is set to be sold.
Published last month, the statement challenged several recently issued executive orders and regulatory changes that impact modern architecture in the US, such as the Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture order.
“We fundamentally disagree with the current administration and those who see modernism as ugly and not worth preserving or the style of a totalitarian government,” said Docomomo US executive director Liz Waytkus.
Docomomo US added that it was “deeply concerned by the vast changes being made by the executive branch of our federal government”.
Regulations challenged in the statement include the aforementioned Civic Architecture order and the Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History order that seeks to dismantle DEI initiatives from public institutions.
“While our work advocating for the modern places you love continues, we are deeply concerned by the vast changes being made by the executive branch of our federal government,” said Waytkus in the statement.
“It seems like every day and every hour we hear news about new executive orders that directly impact the important work of those preserving our country’s heritage, including mass layoffs and reduction of staff at critical agencies we work with, and new federal policies that seek to minimize, distort, or obliterate the contributions of our diverse tapestry of people, history, and places that makes this country so culturally rich and stimulating.”
In particular, Waytkus stated that Docomomo US was working to protect the Robert C Weaver Federal Building in Washington DC by Breuer, which currently contains the headquarters of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It is one of several buildings on the “accelerated disposition” list by the US General Services Administration (GSA).
The agency, informally referred to as “the government’s landlord”, was ordered to sell over 400 buildings earlier this year.
Although the list has since shortened, it originally included many buildings of architectural significance, such as the Kluczynski Federal Building, designed by architect Mies van der Rohe.
The curved, 1960s concrete Weaver building remains on the disposition list.
“Docomomo US is actively working to understand the disposal process and how it may impact the future of the Weaver building,” said Waytkus.
“This is one of many significant modern buildings that may be sold by the government, and as I write this, we are assembling a task force to understand how we might best use our voice to ensure a future for these significant buildings.”
The organisation states that it is also committed to “telling the full and diverse stories of modernism in America” and is also following stories about “data dumps” and archival documents being removed from libraries and public records.
The statement follows a similar letter released earlier this year that challenged Trump’s Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture order, which promotes the use of classical style throughout public buildings.
The US President has rolled out several other regulations that impact the architectural and environmental realms, such as the removal of “sustainable” language from contracts when building overseas, a ban on federal paper straws and a restriction on Canadian-produced timber.
The photography is by Carol M Highsmith courtesy of the Library of Congress Catalog.
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