AIA suing Donald Trump over Kennedy Center renovation in unprecedented coalition
US organisations the American Institute of Architects and Docomomo US are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing US president Donald Trump over his proposed renovations for the Edward Durell Stone-designed Kennedy Center.
Eight plaintiffs submitted a lawsuit this morning in an attempt to pause proposed renovations to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.
The plaintiffs include the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Docomomo US, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the DC Preservation League, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Society of Architectural Historians.
Unprecedented coalition of preservationists
According to the group of plaintiffs, the lawsuit represents one of the largest legal coalitions of preservation bodies in history.
"No plaintiff can remember an instance in which so many national and regional organisations have coalesced to defend a single historic building and its grounds, reflecting both the Kennedy Center's significance and the breadth of concern that the administration's approach could weaken longstanding federal protections for historic sites nationwide," said the plaintiffs.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are president Donald Trump in his capacity as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Centre, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Capital Planning Commission, as well as other government organisations and officials.
"It's not about the president's tastes. It's about the rule of law"
The lawsuit contends that the administration must adhere to the processes in the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act before proceeding with planned renovations to the centre.
Given this, the plaintiffs demand that proper review and authorisations by congressional officials should precede any renovations. The lawsuit, if successful, would halt work on the structure until such authorisations and associated public reviews are completed.
"The Trump administration appears to believe that they can skip those federal requirements and go right to alterations," attorney and co-founder of Cultural Heritage Partners Greg Werkheiser told Dezeen.
Cultural Heritage Partners is one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, along with Foley Hoag and Lowell & Associates, all of which have open cases against the administration relating to other preservation issues, such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the East Wing expansion, and the East Potomac Golf Links.
"Each of these cases is not about the politics," said Werkheiser. "It's not about the president's tastes, whether good or bad. It's about the rule of law and doing what Congress intended."
"I'm not ripping it down," says Trump
Last week, the board voted to close the centre for years for renovations after voting to add Trump's name to the centre, which was built in 1971.
On 13 March, president Trump released renderings on his Truth Social account, showing a building structurally akin to the current modernist building. In the post, the president said that the steel and some of the existing marble of the building would be maintained, saying, "I'm not ripping it down."
Werkheiser said that the case is informed by the contradiction between the assurances given by the president about the East Wing and the reality of its demolition last fall.
"The hardest lesson for America to learn is that we cannot take for granted assurances from the White House," he said. "For the East Wing matter, the President himself told the American public that to build the ballroom, the East Wing would not be touched, and then days later, it was gone."
"So the lesson we've learned is timeliness and not to take those assurances for granted," he continued.
Almost all the plaintiffs cited the historical significance of the building and the need for care and procedure in issues of its renovation.
"Architects have the core responsibility of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public and that includes the integrity of our nation's civic and cultural landmarks," said AIA president Illya Azaroff.
"The Kennedy Center is a public asset that must be shaped through transparency, expertise, and the communities it serves."
Dezeen reached out to the White House and the Kennedy Center for comment.
The photo is by Matti Blume.
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