A House Divided

When the US was in dire need of centralized symbols to proclaim the unity of a nation, the White House made sense.

A single icon, a ‘house’ expressed more hope than reality, but had the logic of a home; separated public and private; accessible by the public yet defensible; grand but not royal; these were the hallmarks of the best hopes of the nation.

The White House is now an armed bunker and the Presidency is no longer a man, but a corporation of executives and departments, boards and chairs, (barely) managing to run a global company.

A unitary White House no longer expresses the true ethos or structure of the Executive branch any more than the American flag expresses the real values of Americans. The Presidency is now series of fragmented roles, not a singular concentration of power.

Our New White House gives form to the nature of governance for the world’s largest corporation and give physical form to the shattered Presidency.

Finally, the armed camp White House must end. The New White House must belong to the people, the city and the world as an open and accessible campus. The New White House must express not the fear of a nation in retreat, but the openness of a nation with the confidence and interest to engage all people, nations and ideas.

A House Divided is the true picture of America