This is a
visual survey presented in chronological order by date of construction completion of all of the Federal buildings under the purview of the General Services Administration in Washington DC. Please follow this link to jump to the GSA Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture and Federal buildings by the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space, June 1, 1962 and the continued visual survey of Federal buildings constructed in Washington DC after the publication of these guidelines.
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| 1800 - The White House |
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| 1819 - Dolley Madison House |
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1820 - DC Court of Appeals
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| 1828 - Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House |
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| 1839 - General Post Office |
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| 1848 - Winder Building |
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| 1878 - Cosmo Club |
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| 1880 - Sidney Yates Building |
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| 1882 - The Webster School |
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| 1887 - National Building Museum |
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| 1888 - Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office |
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| 1910 - United States Court of Military Appeals |
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| 1911 - US Civil Service Commission Building |
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| 1917 - GSA Headquarters |
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| 1918 - Veterans Administration Building |
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| 1919 - Liberty Loan Building |
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| 1928 - Federal Home Loan Bank Building |
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| 1931 - The National Archives |
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1932 - Herbert C. Hoover Building
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1932 - Department of the Interior South Building
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| 1934 - The William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building East |
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| 1934 - Mellon Auditorium |
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| 1934 - The William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building West |
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1935 - Robert F. Kennedy Building
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1936 - Superior Court Building A
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| 1936 - Superior Court Building C |
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| 1936 - Department of the Interior Building |
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| 1936 - GSA-Regional Office Building |
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1936 - The Internal Revenue Service Building
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| 1938 - Superior Court Building B |
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1938 - Federal Trade Commission Building
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| 1939 - Wilbur J. Cohen |
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| 1939 - Harry S. Truman Building |
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| 1940 - Lafayette Building |
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| 1940 - Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building |
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1951 - General Accounting Office Building
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1952 - E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse
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| 1961 - The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building |
Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture
In the course of its consideration of the general subject of Federal office
space, the committee has given some thought to the need for a set of principles
which will guide the Government in the choice of design for Federal buildings.
The committee takes it to be a matter of general understanding that the economy
and suitability of Federal office space derive directly from the architectural
design. The belief that good design is optional, or in some way separate from
the question of the provision of office space itself, does not bear scrutiny,
and in fact invites the least efficient use of public money.
The design of Federal office buildings, particularly those to be located in
the nation’s capital, must meet a two-fold requirement. First, it must provide
efficient and economical facilities for the use of Government agencies. Second,
it must provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and
stability of the American Government.
It should be our object to meet the test of Pericles’ evocation to the
Athenians, which the President commended to the Massachusetts legislature in
his address of January 9, 1961 :
“We do not imitate-for we are a model to
others.”
The committee is also of the opinion that the Federal Government, no less
than other public and private organizations concerned with the construction of
new buildings, should take advantage of the increasingly fruitful collaboration
between architecture and the fine arts.
With these objects in view, the committee recommends a three point
architectural policy for the Federal Government.
- The policy shall be to
provide requisite and adequate facilities in an architectural style and
form which is distinguished and which will reflect the dignity,
enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American National Government.
Major emphasis should be placed on the choice of designs that embody the
finest contemporary American architectural thought. Specific attention
should be paid to the possibilities of incorporating into such designs
qualities which reflect the regional architectural traditions of that part
of the Nation in which buildings are located. Where appropriate, fine art
should be incorporated in the designs, with emphasis on the work of living
American artists. Designs shall adhere to sound construction practice and
utilize materials, methods and equipment of proven dependability.
Buildings shall be economical to build, operate and maintain, and should
be accessible to the handicapped.
- The development of an
official style must be avoided. Design must flow from the architectural
profession to the Government and not vice versa. The Government should be
willing to pay some additional cost to avoid excessive uniformity in
design of Federal buildings. Competitions for the design of Federal
buildings may be held where appropriate. The advice of distinguished
architects ought to, as a rule, be sought prior to the award of important
design contracts.
- The choice and development
of the building site should be considered the first step of the design
process. This choice should be made in cooperation with local agencies.
Special attention should be paid to the general ensemble of streets and
public places of which Federal buildings will form a part. Where possible.
buildings should be located so as to permit a generous development of
landscape.
What follows is the applied interpretation of those principles by the Modernist architectural establishment entrenched in academia and government bureaus.
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| 1963 - Orville Wright Federal Building |
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| 1963 - Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building |
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1964 - Wilbur Wright Federal Building
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| 1968 - HUD Building |
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| 1969 - James V. Forrestal Building |
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| 1969 - New Executive Office |
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1972 - US Tax Court
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| 1975 - Frances Perkins Federal Building |
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| 1975 - J. Edgar Hoover Building |
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| 1976 - H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse |
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| 1977 - Hubert Humphrey Building |
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| 1992 - Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary |
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| 1997 - FBI DC Field Office |
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| 1997 - William B. Bryant U.S. Courthouse Annex |
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| 1998 - Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center |
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| 2002 - GSA Headquarters Modernisation |
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| 2008 - Ariel Rios Federal Building |
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| 2011 - DC Court of Appeals Pavilion |
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2014
Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building |
Contributed by Patrick Webb
