AIA Slams Federal Council's Exit From Trump Arch Review

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has sent a sharply worded letter to the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), denouncing the council's effective resignation from the review of President Trump's proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

The September 29 letter, addressed to ACHP director Jaime Loichinger, criticizes the council's September 24 decision to bypass Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and end its involvement with the project. Section 106 is a core part of the ACHP's mandate: it compels federal agencies to consider the effects of projects they carry out, approve, or fund on historic properties.

Instead of following that process, the ACHP will communicate directly with US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, an ally of the president, about the project, as The Architect's Newspaper reported.

The proposed site for the 250-foot-tall arch is Memorial Circle, close to Arlington National Cemetery. In its letter, the AIA urges the council to advise Secretary Burgum that the arch "must not proceed" and that the National Park Service should "reconsider the location, scope, and design of the undertaking." The letter cites adverse effects on nearby historic properties and the design's lack of harmony with the wider landscape of Washington, D.C.-area monuments.

"Washington's monuments are not a collection of isolated objects," the letter states. "A 250-foot permanent arch at the central hinge of this landscape cannot coexist with the rest of the area's historic sequence, reciprocal views, civic meaning, and solemn function."

The AIA also challenges the National Park Service's conclusion that alternative locations or designs "would alter the project's fundamental nature and prevent achievement of its goals." That finding, the letter argues, is premature. It encourages the ACHP to push for genuine analysis of other options — a smaller-scale, less visually intrusive proposal, for instance, or designs that avoid interfering with existing sightlines and topography.

The arch has drawn controversy since President Trump first mentioned it at a holiday party last December. The Commission of Fine Arts approved the plan in May despite strident objections from military veterans and historic preservationists. Those opponents eventually filed a restraining order last month, halting construction that was scheduled to begin in mid-September.

The AIA's intervention now places the country's largest professional body for architects in direct opposition to the administration's signature memorial project. Whether the ACHP, having already stepped away from the Section 106 process, will act on the letter's recommendations remains to be seen as the courts weigh the restraining order.