From the White House to the Potomac – and Beyond

While it began with gilding the Oval Office and turning a mid-century bathroom into an exercise in marble, Trump was never going to be content making architectural transformations solely within the walls of the White House. His paving of the Rose Garden last summer and demolition of the White House's East Wing last fall for a planned ballroom that has increased in scale and cost ever since are proof of that. As are the “Arc de Trump” he first proposed in October and which made headlines again last week as it inches closer to becoming a reality, the renovation of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and an overhaul of Washington Dulles International Airport. Notably, the last two projects will involve yet-to-be-determined but most likely major changes to notable works of modern architecture.

The Kennedy Center is a performing arts venue in DC on the banks of the Potomac River that was designed by Edward Durell Stone and opened in 1971. Although the project began in 1958, under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, it was given its name as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963. Trump's efforts to reshape the cultural center first involved removing the board and replacing it with new members, who unanimously voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center in December (the name change is being challenged legally). There was talk of swapping out the existing armrests for marble ones, but that detail has taken a back seat (no pun intended) to the reportedly $200 million reconstruction of the cultural complex.

Trump announced the plan on his social media platform on Sunday and then told reporters the following day “that his renovation will maintain the building’s steel frame and ‘some of the marble’ that currently encases the building.” The news follows months of artists previously slated to perform at the Center canceling their appearances, and the venue hosting such questionable events as a FIFA World Cup draw that saw him receive the FIFA Peace Prize, and the red carpet debut of first lady Melania Trump's new documentary. According to Trump, the “pretty significant renovation” will commence on July 4, meaning it will not host any events as part of “America's 250th Birthday.” 

No details have been revealed on which architect will handle the renovation or what it will look like, but given Trump's 2025 executive order on “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” it will most likely be neoclassical in expression. It's also not clear right now if the project will affect the 2019 REACH expansion designed by Steven Holl Architects, which Trump has criticized in the past, saying “they built these rooms that nobody’s going to use.” 

Across the Potomac, in Virginia, about 25 miles (40km) west of DC, sits Washington Dulles International Airport, most famous architecturally for the main terminal designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1962. The dramatic hammock-like structure, expanded by HOK in 1996, remains the airport's most striking image. But some of its outmoded facilities, particularly the mobile lounges that deliver passengers from the terminal to the concourses, have made the airport a target for a major overhaul. In December of last year, the US Department of Transportation issued a Request for Information (RFI) for “a complete refresh to assume its proper role as the premier international gateway into the capital.”

Twenty-one developer-led teams replied to the RFI, with two of them—one involving Zaha Hadid Architects and the other Grimshaw—providing renderings as part of their submissions, as documented at Axios. Most dramatically, the proposal from ZHA positions a new terminal in front of the historic main terminal, transforming the latter into a shopping concourse. Much attention has been given a rendering by ZHA that labels the new terminal the “Donald J. Trump Terminal.” But if House Republicans have their way, and H.R.691 passes, the entire Washington Dulles International Airport would be renamed the Donald J. Trump International Airport.