Category Archives: classical architecture
I am Justin Shubow
President of the National Civic Art Society, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. that promotes the classical and humanistic tradition in public art and architecture. Eleventh Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency comprising seven presidential appointees who are the aesthetic guardians of Washington.
Featured in a Politico Article on the Effort to Build New Classical Penn Station
On June 17, 2025, Politico published an extensive news article, “The MAGA-Backed Plan to Make Penn Station Beautiful Again.” The piece begins: In 2021, Justin Shubow, the president of the non-profit National Civic Art Society, approached a team of supporters … Continue reading
Interviewed on ARTE About the Architecture of Washington, D.C.
On May 16, 2025, European broadcaster ARTE interviewed me for a Reportage segment on “Washington vs. MAGA.” The discussion centered on the architecture of the nation’s capital and the civic ideals it expresses. I drew a sharp contrast between the city’s classical … Continue reading
Interviewed on the Who Versus Podcast
On May 29, 2025, I appeared on the Who Versus podcast for a fun and freewheeling discussion about architecture, power, and the values embedded in our public buildings. What began as a discussion of Brutalism and the movie The Brutalist … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, beauty, Brutalism, civic architecture, classical architecture, deconstructionism, deconstructivism, Eisenhower Memorial, Executive Order on federal architecture, FBI building, federal architecture, Frank Gehry, Guiding Principles of Federal Architecture, Harris Poll, HHS Building, HUD Building, L'Enfant Plan, McMillan Plan, Mies van der Rohe, Modernism, National Civic Art Society, National Mall, Nazis, nihilism, Philip Johnson, President Donald Trump, The Brutalist, uncategorized, Walter Gropius, Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. Metro
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Lecture on The City Beautiful Movement and Washington, D.C.
On April 24, 2025, I delivered a lecture on “The City Beautiful Movement and Washington, D.C.” as part of the inaugural Teófilo Victoria Lecture Series, sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in collaboration with … Continue reading
Interviewed by Le Point: “Justin Shubow, Donald Trump’s ‘Mr. Architecture'”
Le Point, a French weekly newspaper, published an interview of me as well as a companion news article, “Donald Trump’s Major Offensive Against ‘Just Really Ugly’ Architecture.” To quote the interview (via Google translate): He is Donald Trump’s Mr. Architecture. Appointed chairman of the … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, beauty, Brutalism, civic architecture, classical architecture, classicism, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Étienne-Louis Boullée, Executive Order on federal architecture, FBI building, federal architecture, Forrestal building, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Services Administration, GSA's Design Excellence Program, Guiding Principles of Federal Architecture, Harris Poll, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Modernism, National Civic Art Society, President Donald Trump, Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, ugliness, Washington, D.C. Metro
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Quoted in The New York Times on the Politics of Brutalism Under Trump
The New York Times gave me some good quotes in a February 22, 2025 article on the politics of Brutalism under Trump: The [Brutalist] buildings’ very association with government is sinister to people in Mr. Trump’s orbit, like Justin Shubow, … Continue reading
Interviewed at Length by Dezeen
Writing for Dezeen, the publication’s editor Tom Ravenscroft interviewed me at length in a January 29, 2025 piece on Trump’s directives re federal architecture: [Shubow] described architects’ responses as “hysterical” and claimed that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is … Continue reading
Serving as a Juror for the Addison Mizner Awards
On January 25, 2025, I was as one of three jurors for the Addison Mizner Awards, the highest prizes given out by the Florida chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. I served alongside San Francisco-based interior designer … Continue reading
Interviewed on The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast
On January 22, 2025, I appeared on The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast with the eponymous host, Senior Editor at National Review. To quote the show’s summary: On episode 79 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talked to … Continue reading