【By Lin Chenli, Observers Network】According to a report by The Washington Post on October 10 local time, two anonymous sources revealed that US President Trump plans to build an arch in the capital Washington to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States next year.

According to the plan by Trump and his advisory team, this arch will be built on a traffic roundabout called "Memorial Circle" opposite the Lincoln Memorial. For commuters, it is an important entrance from Virginia into the city of Washington.

On October 7 local time, Trump showed the model of the arch to Canadian officials in the White House Oval Office. According to photos taken by AFP on the 9th, the model reappeared on Trump's desk.

The model details show that the arch has a golden-winged angel statue holding a torch in the center, with white eagle carvings on both sides, and the overall style is similar to the Parisian Arc de Triomphe.

On October 9 local time, the model of the arch was placed on the desk in the White House Oval Office. AFP

An arch is a type of arch-shaped commemorative building, first widely used by the Romans to commemorate military victories. Its basic structure consists of two arches connected by a large pier, with a flat top or a small room at the top where statues or inscriptions can be installed. This architectural form inspired European countries to imitate it, the most famous being the Parisian Arc de Triomphe built in the early 19th century.

In the photo, the arch model displayed in the Oval Office is highly similar to these classic buildings, so some netizens joked that this new monument would be the "Trump Arch".

According to sources, the arch was initially planned as a temporary building, and construction needs to be accelerated to meet the anniversary celebration of the founding of the United States next year. However, another source who knows the internal conversation said that the White House officials are now considering changing it to a permanent arch.

The report mentioned that the idea of building an arch to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States was first publicly proposed in an art review article last year. If this plan is implemented, it will become Trump's boldest move to reshape the urban landscape of Washington D.C.

According to the sources, Justin Shubow, the chairman of the National Civic Art Society, who had previously provided advice on architectural planning for the Trump administration, had already proposed this concept to Trump and other officials earlier this year, and Trump's team showed great interest in the proposal.

At the beginning of this month, Nicolas Charbonneau, an architect from Harrison Design Studio in Washington D.C., shared the design drawings of the arch on social media, writing: "This is an in-depth study of what the 'Arch of the 250th Anniversary of the United States' might look like."

Architect Charbonneau's design drawing of the arch. Charbonneau's social media account

Since returning to the White House in January this year, Trump has pushed forward multiple renovation and construction projects, such as replacing the grass of the White House Rose Garden with a stone terrace, starting the construction of a large new banquet hall in the White House, and promising to improve the parks and streets of the nation's capital.

In August this year, Trump also signed an executive order named "Restoring Beauty to Federal Buildings," requiring new federal buildings to adopt a "classical traditional style" rather than the brutalist or modernist styles that have been widely used over the past half-century.

"We want to see beautiful buildings," Trump said last month, and boasted about his professional expertise as a real estate developer. White House officials have openly stated that the headquarters buildings of the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are "unattractive" and hope to demolish and rebuild them.

Photo of the headquarters buildings of the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Democrats have criticized some of Trump's architectural plans, arguing that he is not improving federal buildings but destroying them. Robert Garcia, the Democratic leader of the House Oversight Committee and a congressman from California, recently criticized Trump's renovations of the White House as "embarrassing" and revealed that he is investigating the source of funding for the new banquet hall in the White House.

However, the proposal to build an arch also received support from some architects and Trump's outer circle allies, who believe it is a "long-overdue addition" to Washington D.C.

Duncan Stroik, a professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame, who was appointed by Trump in 2019 to the American Commission on Fine Arts, said that the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States is an opportunity to build "public buildings," which can attract the attention of ordinary Americans.

"I hope this commemorative building can demonstrate exquisite architectural craftsmanship and resonate with everyone. If designed properly, I think the arch can definitely achieve this," Stroik said.

This article is an exclusive article of Observers Network. Without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559854065354572340/

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