President Trump has found himself at odds with architect James McCrery II, his own pick to design a massive White House ballroom, sources tell the Washington Post. The central issue is size: Trump is pushing for a 90,000-square-foot addition—one that would eclipse the White House's current 55,000 square feet. McCrery has reportedly cautioned that such an addition would violate a basic architectural guideline: Don't let a new addition dwarf the original structure. Trump, however, wants what he wants, backed by the "who's-going-to-stop-me ethos" that has, in the paper's view, carried him through decades in the world of developers.
The result is that McCrery has been left "quietly working to deliver as Trump demanded rushed revisions to his plans," per the Post. The architect, who has been a member of the US Commission of Fine Arts since 2019, is said to be sticking with the project out of concern that a replacement could deliver a subpar structure. The project is one of the largest renovations in the White House's 233-year history, and the administration has yet to share key details, such as the ballroom's planned height, with the public. The project hasn't been submitted for formal review by the National Capital Planning Commission, either.
The architect and the president are far from the only parties with opinions about the project. The Post reports that the administration's "rapid demolition" of the East Wing annex and "solicitations from companies and individuals to fund the new construction have caused controversy over the project, which Trump believes the White House needs to host special events." Democrats, preservationists, and other architects have criticized the speed of the project, as well as the secrecy and squishy specs. The White House initially said the ballroom would cost $200 million and fit 650 people, while Trump in recent weeks asserted that it could cost upward of $300 million and will fit about 1,000 people.
Fast Company has more on other structures that McCrery and his architectural firm have designed, including the pedestal of a Ronald Reagan statue in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection, the Supreme Court's gift shop, and a whole lot of Catholic churches. The Financial Times, meanwhile, claims McCrery is "stuck in the past," while the Architect's Newspaper notes that McCrery may be in a bit of hot water with the American Institute of Architects over the East Wing's demolition.
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