[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5565 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5565
To promote classical and traditional architectural styles in Federal
public buildings to enhance civic pride, reflect national heritage, and
ensure aesthetic excellence in government infrastructure, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 26, 2025
Mr. Burchett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote classical and traditional architectural styles in Federal
public buildings to enhance civic pride, reflect national heritage, and
ensure aesthetic excellence in government infrastructure, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Make Federal Architecture Beautiful
Again Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) 2025 dollars.--The term ``2025 dollars'' means dollars
adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Economic Analysis's
Gross Domestic Product price deflator and using 2025 as the
base year.
(2) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
General Services Administration.
(3) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of General Services.
(4) Applicable federal public building.--The term
``applicable Federal public building'' means--
(A) all Federal courthouse and agency headquarters;
(B) all Federal public buildings in the National
Capital Region; and
(C) all other Federal public buildings that cost or
are expected to cost more than 50,000,000 in 2025
dollars to design, build, and finish, but does not
include infrastructure projects or land ports of entry.
(5) Brutalist architecture.--The term ``Brutalist
architecture'' means the style of architecture that grew out of
the early 20th-century modernist movement that is characterized
by a massive and block-like appearance with a rigid geometric
style and large-scale use of exposed poured concrete.
(6) Classical architecture.--
(A) In general.--The term ``classical
architecture'' means the architectural tradition--
(i) derived from the forms, principles, and
vocabulary of the architecture of Greek and
Roman antiquity; and
(ii) later developed and expanded on by--
(I) Renaissance architects,
including Alberti, Brunelleschi,
Michelangelo, and Palladio;
(II) Enlightenment masters,
including Robert Adam, John Soane, and
Christopher Wren;
(III) 19th Century architects,
including Benjamin Henry Latrobe,
Robert Mills, and Thomas U. Walter; and
(IV) 20th Century practitioners,
including Julian Abele, Daniel Burnham,
Rafael Carmoega, Charles F. McKim, John
Russell Pope, Julia Morgan, and the
firm of Delano and Aldrich.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``classical
architecture'' encompasses styles such as Neoclassical,
Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, and Art
Deco.
(7) Deconstructivist architecture.--The term
``Deconstructivist architecture'' means the style of
architecture--
(A) generally known as ``deconstructivism''; and
(B) that emerged during the late 1980s that
features fragmentation, disorder, discontinuity,
distortion, skewed geometry, and the appearance of
instability.
(8) General public.--The term ``general public'' means
members of the public who are not--
(A) artists, architects, engineers, art or
architecture critics, instructors or professors of art
or architecture, or members of the building industry;
or
(B) affiliated with any interest group, trade
association, or any other organization whose membership
is financially affected by decisions involving the
design, construction, or remodeling of public
buildings.
(9) Preferred architecture.--The term ``preferred
architecture'' means the architecture described in section
3(3).
(10) Public building.--The term ``public building'' has the
meaning given such term in section 3301(a) of title 40, United
States Code.
(11) Traditional architecture.--The term ``traditional
architecture'' means--
(A) classical architecture; and
(B) the historic humanistic architecture,
including--
(i) Gothic;
(ii) Romanesque;
(iii) Second Empire;
(iv) Pueblo Revival;
(v) Spanish Colonial; and
(vi) other Mediterranean styles of
architecture historically rooted in various
regions of America.
SEC. 3. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.
It is the policy of the United States that--
(1) applicable Federal public buildings should--
(A) uplift and beautify public spaces;
(B) inspire the human spirit;
(C) ennoble the United States;
(D) command respect from the general public;
(E) be visually identifiable as civic buildings;
and
(F) as appropriate, respect regional architectural
heritage;
(2) building designs should be selected with substantial
input from the local community;
(3) architecture, particularly traditional and classical
architecture, that meets the criteria described in paragraph
(1), is the preferred architecture for applicable Federal
public buildings;
(4) in the District of Columbia, classical architecture
shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal
public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating
another kind of architecture;
(5) where the architecture of applicable Federal public
buildings diverges from the preferred architecture set forth in
paragraph (1), great care and consideration must be taken to
choose a design that--
(A) commands respect from the general public; and
(B) clearly conveys to the general public the
dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability America's
system of self-government;
(6) when renovating, reducing, or expanding applicable
Federal public buildings that do not meet the criteria
described in paragraph (1), the feasibility and potential
expense of building redesign to meet those criteria should be
examined; and
(7) where feasible and economical, such redesign should be
given substantial consideration, especially with regard to the
building's exterior.
SEC. 4. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE.
Agencies shall, to the extent practicable, adhere to the following
Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture:
(1) Provide requisite and adequate facilities in an
architectural style and form that is distinguished and will
reflect the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the
American National Government, including through the use of the
following:
(A) By their proven ability to meet these
requirements, classical and traditional architecture
are preferred modes of architectural design. This
preference does not exclude the possibility of
alternative styles in appropriate circumstances.
(B) Major emphasis should be placed on the choice
of design that embody architectural excellence.
(C) Specific attention should be paid to the
possibilities of incorporating into such designs
qualities that reflect the regional architectural
traditions of that part of the Nation in which
buildings are located.
(D) Where appropriate, fine art should be
incorporated in the designs, with emphasis on the work
of living American artists.
(E) Designs shall adhere to sound construction
practice and utilize materials, methods, and equipment
proven dependability.
(F) Buildings shall be economical to build,
operate, and maintain, and should be accessible to the
handicapped.
(2) Design must flow from the needs of the Government and
the aspirations and preferences of the American people to the
architectural profession, and not vice versa, including through
the use of the following:
(A) The Government should be willing to pay some
additional cost to avoid excessive uniformity in design
of Federal buildings.
(B) Competitions for the design of Federal
buildings should be held where appropriate.
(C) The advice of distinguished architects
practiced in classical or traditional architecture
ought to, as a rule, be sought prior to the award of
important design contracts.
(3) The choice and development of the building site should
be considered the first step of the design process, including
through the use of the following:
(A) This choice should be made in cooperation with
local agencies.
(B) Special attention should be paid to the general
ensemble of streets and public places of which Federal
buildings will form a part.
(C) Where possible, buildings should be located so
as to permit a generous development of landscape.
SEC. 5. GSA REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall adhere to the policy of
the United States described in sections 3 and 4 and shall expeditiously
update GSA policies and procedures to incorporate such policies and
principles and advance the purpose of this Act.
(b) Requirements.--The Administrator shall--
(1) ensure that GSA architects whose duties include
reviewing, assisting with, or approving the selection of
architects or designs for applicable Federal public buildings
have formal training in, or substantial and significant
experience with, classical or traditional architecture;
(2) create the position of senior advisor for architectural
design, for an individual with specialized experience in
classical architecture, to help develop GSA procedures, advise
on architectural standards, and provide guidance during design
evaluations or design juries;
(3) where the design of an applicable Federal public
building is selected pursuant to a design-build competition
under section 3309 of title 41, United States Code, list
experience with classical or traditional architecture as
specialized experience and technical competence in the phase-1
solicitation, and give substantial weight to these factors when
evaluating which offerors will be advanced to phase 2; and
(4) consistent with sections 4302 and 4312 of title 5,
United States Code, make advancing the purposes and
implementing the policies of this Act a critical performance
element in the individual performance plans of the GSA Chief
Architect and appropriate subordinate employees in the GSA
Public Buildings Service involved in selecting designs for
applicable Federal public buildings.
(c) Requirements for Design Competition.--Where GSA intends to
select a building design pursuant to a design competition, the
Administrator shall--
(1) actively recruit architectural firms and, as
applicable, designers with experience in classical and
traditional architecture to enter such competition; and
(2) to the extent practicable, ensure that multiple design
modes are advanced to the final evaluation round of such
competition.
(d) Notification.--In the event the Administrator proposes to
approve a design for a new applicable Federal public building that
diverges from the preferred architecture, including Brutalist or
Deconstructivist architecture or any design derived from or related to
these types of architecture, the Administrator shall notify the
President through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
not less than 30 days before GSA could reject such design without
incurring substantial expenditures. Such notification shall set forth
the reasons the Administrator proposes to approve such design,
including--
(1) a detailed explanation of why the Administrator
believes selecting such design is justified, with particular
focus on whether such design is as beautiful and reflective of
the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American
system of self-government as alternative designs of comparable
cost of using preferred architecture;
(2) the total expected cost of adopting the proposed
design, including estimated maintenance and replacement costs
throughout its expected lifecycle; and
(3) a description of the designs using preferred
architecture seriously considered for such project and the
total expected cost of adopting such designs, including
estimated maintenance and replacement costs throughout their
expected lifecycles.
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