PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: BETRAYING A PUBLIC TRUST – by Peter d’Entremont

The bombastic ballroom addition under way at the White House is yet another typical Trump stunt. It distracts us from, for a while, the other multiple scandals this administration seems to manufacture daily. For me this, as an Architect, hits like a sucker punch in the gut. Trump has a history of bad taste and self-aggrandizing gestures and, until recently, his follies have been private embarrassments. The “People’s House” is another matter as this is a mistake that will last lifetimes.

Imagine, for a moment, your rich neighbor decides that they need a bigger house and your house looks like a good candidate for the added space. Never mind ownership. One day the wrecking crew arrives and tears away part of your living room so that a new, larger room can be built for your neighbor to entertain. Yes, that’s illegal trespassing, for one, but now what do you do? Go to court, where the rich neighbor has a gang of lawyers ready to fight you with lies and appeals. You go bankrupt with legal bills and your house is ruined.

This design is likely to be studied for years as an example of a ham-handed, bloated, and clueless solution to a perceived need. The program? The need? It seems that came fully from Trump’s imagination. I haven’t seen an analysis that explored the need for such a structure, how big it should be, what function it will serve, or where it should be.

The process to identify the need is MIA. Likewise the design criteria, funding, timetable, and selecting the design and engineering firms are all unknown. We do know the design professionals involved, McCrery Architects,and the Architect’s qualifications are reasonable enough, with a specialty in churches (huh?). Lastly, it behooves any professional to confirm that the property they are altering is, in fact, owned by their client. In this case it is not. I mentioned critical studies that will be taught in the future. From The Guardian newspaper we have this …

Trump’s experience as a developer was formative, in that it taught him he could get away with just about anything. It crystallised a poisonous bravado, now hardwired into the national political sphere. His fetishisation of classicism, a historically recurring comfort blanket for despots of all stripes, is bleakly predictable. (emphasis mine)

Architects have been portrayed in film and print as heroic, principled, wholesome folks, even if a bit eccentric and a frivolous plaything for the rich and famous. Real architects have a code of ethics and an obligation to the public’s life and safety. There’s even a code with that name. What about judgement when it comes to deciding what commissions to accept?. A chance to design a famous national edifice is rare, just as serving in government at the highest levels. At what cost? Does the Architect share Trump’s aesthetic? Can you say Albert Speer? Pity. Are they chasing the money like the whore attorneys working for Trump. Did the check clear before work started? Ask bankrupt contractors and stiffed bankers who’ve signed on with Trump in the past.

This project is shameful on all levels. The process is corrupt, the money is corrupting, and the assault on the nation’s capitol is damning. McCrery Architects has sold their soul and shown the world their lack of integrity and talent.

PS: This is an evolving story. It seems that there is some disagreement about the size

of the ballroom between the Architect and Trump. Maybe it’s more than the size?

And the Architect may have breached his own code of ethics. Perhaps he will do

the right thing and resign? Faced with a client of mine who was making

unreasonable demands and choices I quit – it was said that I fired the client and I

think that was a fair description.

Update: On November21, 13 AIA members sent a letter to James McCrery, of McCrery Architects, “as a courtesy to [him] prior to submitting any Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct Complaints to the National AIA.” The letter states “concerns about [his] involvement with the destruction of the East Wing of the White House and the impending design of the New Ballroom to replace the East Wing.” Read the letter.