Leading architectural preservation organisations sue to block Kennedy Center alterations

President Donald J Trump may be reshaping the world order, but he also has plans to alter the architecture of Washington, DC. So far, his plans for the US capital include a golf course, a 250ft triumphal arch and a massive White House ballroom. And last week, the nation’s embattled performing arts venue, the Kennedy Center, announced that it would close for two years to make way for a $200 million renovation.

The scope of the Kennedy Center renovations are unclear, but historic preservationists aren’t willing to take the risk: On Monday 23 March, eight of the nation’s most prominent architecture and preservation organisations, including the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, DOCOMOMO US and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, filed a lawsuit in federal district court against President Trump and the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees in an attempt to halt construction.

‘The intent of the Board of Trustees and Mr Trump is clear: To fundamentally alter this iconic property without complying with bedrock federal historic preservation and environmental laws, and without securing the necessary congressional authorisation,’ the complaint said.

The complaint went on to implore the court to require that the defendants – which also included the Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, the US Department of the Interior and others – to submit any work that ‘alters or impairs the existing maintenance or operations of the Kennedy Center grounds’ for both environmental and congressional review.

‘This case is not about politics or aesthetics. It is about whether the President can impose major changes to historic buildings while denying the public voice that federal law requires,’ said Abbe David Lowell, a founder of Lowell & Associates, one of three law firms representing the plaintiffs.

Since opening in 1971 along the banks of the Potomac River, the Edward Durell Stone-designed modernist building has served as the national cultural centre of the United States and a ‘living memorial’ to the legacy of president John F Kennedy. The building is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and hosts operas, ballets and more.

‘It is unconscionable that the administration has already begun actions to degrade and irreparably harm the Kennedy Center,’ said Liz Waytkus, the executive director of Docomomo US. ‘Significant alterations to the Kennedy Center would not only compromise an architectural landmark but would undermine a place deeply tied to the nation’s cultural values and to the legacy of leadership that President Kennedy represented.’