Today's blog makes you wonder if anything is sacred. After bulldozing the White House Rose Garden and laying pavers on it, the orange felon is now planning to build on the White House and create a 200 million dollar ballroom, decorated in gold, like kings and tyrants would have- Think Saddam Hussein's gold palaces (Click here for info about them). Saddam Hussein's palaces were designed to convey his absolute authority and wealth. The use of gold, along with other opulent materials, was intended to impress and intimidate. The felon will also be destroying a national icon.
By Paul Makovsky, Architect Magazine, American Institute for Architects, August 6, 2025
A monumental change may be coming to America’s most iconic address. The Trump White House has unveiled plans for a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot State Ballroom addition to the White House complex—one of the most significant proposed structural changes to the presidential residence in modern history.
A Grand Vision for State Functions
Announced this week, the new ballroom is being pitched as both a practical improvement and a historic architectural achievement. Currently, the White House can host only 200 seated guests in the East Room, often forcing administrations to erect what the White House called “large and unsightly tents” nearly 100 yards away. The new State Ballroom would triple that capacity to 650 and provide a permanent, ornately crafted space for high-profile state functions.
Design and Construction Teams Revealed
Trump, who has reportedly convened recent meetings with the National Park Service, the Secret Service, and the White House Military Office to coordinate design and security logistics, selected Washington-based McCrery Architects to lead the design effort. “Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman,” said firm CEO Jim McCrery. “I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House.”
Architecture with a Nod to History
The ballroom will be constructed on the site of the East Wing, which has undergone numerous renovations since its original construction in 1902. The new structure will be “substantially separated from the main building of the White House,” the administration states, but its theme and architectural language will remain “almost identical” to the original. Construction will be led by Clark Construction, with AECOM providing engineering services. The project is expected to begin in September 2025 and be completed before the end of Trump’s term.
Privately Funded, Publicly Contested
Trump and a coalition of “patriot donors” have pledged to fully fund the structure, while the Secret Service will oversee required security enhancements.
(ED NOTE: - These quotes from his administration- Blah, Blah. What a load) “President Trump is a builder at heart,” said White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, adding that the president is “fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come.”
AIA Sounds the Alarm on Preservation
But the American Institute of Architects (AIA) isn’t celebrating yet. In a sharply worded formal recommendation sent to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, the AIA expressed “grave concern” about the lack of transparency and the risk to the White House’s architectural and symbolic legacy. The organization—which has advised on White House preservation since the days of Theodore Roosevelt—called for a more accountable and preservation-first process.
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