Some, such as the Hubert H Humphrey Department of Health and Human Services Building and the Robert C Weaver Department of Housing and Urban Development Building, "were controversial, attracting widespread criticism for their Brutalist designs", it adds.
"New federal building designs should, like America's beloved landmark buildings, uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, command respect from the general public, and, as appropriate, respect the architectural heritage of a region," the order says.
"They should also be visibly identifiable as civic buildings and should be selected with input from the local community."
The order applies to all federal courthouses and agency headquarters, all federal public buildings in the District of Columbia, and all other federal buildings that cost more than US$50 million.
The President blames the General Services Administration for continuing the trend of ugly buildings, despite the establishment of a Design Excellence Program in 1994 in response to "widespread criticism that the buildings it had been commissioning lacked distinction".
"Under the Design Excellence Program, GSA has often selected designs by prominent architects with little regard for local input or regional aesthetic preferences," the order says.
"The resulting federal architecture sometimes impresses the architectural elite, but not the American people who the buildings are meant to serve. Many of these new federal buildings are not even visibly identifiable as civic buildings."
It cites San Francisco's Federal Building, "praised by elite architects" but which "many San Franciscans consider … one of the ugliest structures in their city". "It is time to update the policies guiding federal architecture to address these problems and ensure that architects designing federal buildings serve their clients, the American people," it says.
"Classical and other traditional architecture, as practised both historically and by today's architects, have proven their ability to meet these design criteria and to more than satisfy today's functional, technical, and sustainable needs. Their use should be encouraged instead of discouraged."
The order defines classical architecture as the "architectural tradition derived from the forms, principles, and vocabulary of the architecture of Greek and Roman antiquity", encompassing styles including Neoclassical, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts and Art Deco.
The order states that if the GSA wishes to approve a design from a different style, "including Brutalist or Deconstructivist architecture or any design derived from or related to these types of architecture", the Administrator is required to notify the President.
