President Donald Trump's push to prioritize classical and traditional architecture for federal buildings has reignited a long-standing debate about architectural preferences in America. His administration has passed orders favoring classical styles for civic buildings, begun work on an elaborate new White House ballroom, and unveiled plans for a triumphal arch in Washington DC. While this campaign has dismayed much of America's architecture community, Trump supporters argue that the public genuinely prefers traditional architectural styles.
Several surveys appear to support this claim. A 2020 study commissioned by the National Civic Art Society, a classical-architecture advocacy group, indicated that Americans overwhelmingly favor traditional federal buildings, regardless of their background or political beliefs. Similar findings emerged from surveys conducted by traditional-focused British studio Adam Architecture in 2009 and the right-leaning UK think tank Policy Exchange in 2021. Some research even suggests that preferences for traditional architecture become apparent from infancy.
However, architectural experts question whether the issue is truly about style preferences. Ben Pentreath, a British architectural designer known for Georgian-style buildings and dubbed "King Charles's favorite architect" by The Times, expressed skepticism about architectural popularity contests. "I get a bit suspicious about popularity contests in architecture and design," Pentreath told Dezeen. "If you wanted to construct an argument through opinion polls which took it in a slightly different direction, I should imagine it would be perfectly possible to do that."
Pentreath believes the debate is more nuanced, arguing that "what people are asking for is carefully designed places which work really well." This perspective aligns with Abigail Scott Paul, global head of the Humanise campaign launched in 2023 by British designer Thomas Heatherwick to combat what he sees as an epidemic of "boring" buildings. "I think the debate often gets hijacked by quite ideological viewpoints," Scott Paul said. "What our research shows is it's not about the public preferring traditional styles of architecture over modern styles of architecture, it's whether they're interesting styles or dull styles."
Author and critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen, a former Harvard professor and specialist in cognitive science and architecture, also opposes "boring" architecture. She has highlighted studies suggesting that such buildings can actually increase stress levels. "By boring, think of undifferentiated glass facades, sort of egg-crate, gridded kinds of buildings with bad detailing and so on," Goldhagen explained. While this might sound like a description of modernist buildings to many people, Goldhagen insists the problem isn't about style.
"It really has nothing to do with style, per se," she said. "What it does have to do with is the kinds of things that humans routinely scan for in their environments that help them to feel situated in those places that a lot of bad modernist architecture doesn't have." Goldhagen explained that people are naturally drawn to specific building details, such as ornamental elements that provide a sense of scale, natural light, and tactility. Older buildings typically feature more of these details, which may explain their popularity with the public.
Goldhagen argues that modernism itself isn't the problem, pointing to architects like Alvar Aalto and Louis Kahn as examples of modernists who understood materials, light, and detailing. "There are plenty of modern architects who understood these things about materials and light and detailing and put them in their architecture, and everybody loves them," she said. Studies by the Humanise campaign, which gathered views from people living in England's post-war New Towns and in Seoul, found interest in characterful modern architecture.
"There's a global picture that people are dissatisfied with the bog standard, kind of lazy, fast architecture that's been going up and want something different," Scott Paul noted. "The research demonstrates that people are after buildings that have character in some shape and form, and that can be buildings that demonstrate distinctiveness or character from a long time ago – more traditional forms of architecture – but also modern buildings."
Pentreath agrees that anti-modernist sentiment is partly fueled by frustrations about poor-quality contemporary development. He argues that successful large residential projects need well-designed landscaping, infrastructure, and basic services – elements that "most development that's happened in the last 50 years doesn't deliver." His own Roussillon Park housing project in Chichester consists of 250 homes similar in scale to nearby Georgian, Regency, and early Victorian housing but designed to feel "intentionally contemporary." Despite having no historical elements and being "quite stripped down," the project is very popular.
Glasgow University professor Rebecca Madgin has explored how people connect to buildings on a psychological level through her work on "personalities of place." Her research suggests there may be reasons why people form attachments to traditional buildings that go beyond aesthetics. "My research found that these personalities are influenced by a combination of tangible elements, for example, their architectural style, history, materiality, color, texture, along with several intangibles," she said, including how places are "intertwined with our everyday rhythms and routines that generate meanings and memories by narrating the stories of our lives."
Madgin believes anyone can form an attachment to any type of building, "but some buildings have more of a chance than others." She emphasizes that this can't be simplified to how buildings look or their style, but rather involves considering the feel and use of buildings. This means people are likely to feel more warmly toward a row of houses than an office block. Older buildings may have an inherent advantage in soliciting fondness simply because they've stood the test of time.
However, Scott Paul notes that while many traditional buildings are loved, there are also "very loved modern buildings" such as the Eden Project by Grimshaw Architects in Cornwall, southwest England. "There are modern buildings across the world that people quite quickly form strong attachments to," she said. Catherine Croft, director of architecture conservation charity the Twentieth Century Society, points out that building maintenance heavily influences how buildings look and feel – often a challenge for modern architecture.
"We accept that traditional building materials and components need painting, cleaning and oiling, but very often expect modern ones to be totally resilient and to need no ongoing care, which is unrealistic," Croft explained. She hopes that as more modernist buildings are successfully restored, their maintenance will be taken more seriously and the public will develop a more favorable view of how this architecture ages over time.
Pentreath feels there should be ample space to celebrate all forms of architecture. "Let's face it, there is a lot of contemporary architecture that is extremely popular," he said. "It's kind of mad that we collectively are allowing this subject to be dressed up as a kind of popularity parade between one style of architecture and another style of architecture." The debate continues as architects, policymakers, and the public grapple with questions about what makes buildings appealing and successful in serving human needs.
