Expert calls East Wing destruction a rejection of history, culture: ‘This should not have been allowed to happen’
The demolition of the East Wing of the White House was ‘utterly negligent,’ says Azza Kamal, an associate teaching professor of environmental design and someone who has worked in historic preservation. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press.
Remember the Alamo? Yeah, Azza Kamal remembers the Alamo. She also remembers, as a member of the historic preservation committee for San Antonio, a redevelopment plan that threatened to encroach on the historic site’s borders.
Kamal, an associate teaching professor of environmental design at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, stepped down from the committee before it rendered a decision about how the proposal addressed the delineation of the historic footprint. But she remembered being unimpressed with the proposal’s lack of respect for the boundaries of the battle that made the fort famous.
“This pivotal moment in Texas history does not have a physical boundary, like a fence, and part of this plan ignored that boundary,” Kamal said. “If you look at East and West Germany, there are places where you can see where the border existed between them. That’s what we asked for—to recognize that this is history, and needs to be designated in a visible, dignified way that aligns with this historical icon.”
“You’re standing up for a history, a culture, and a way people connect with buildings and engage with their communities. To disregard that with a building as significant as the White House is problematic.”
Azza Kamal, associate teaching professor, environmental design
When she looks at the pile of rubble that used to be the East Wing of the White House, she sees “a much worse and utterly negligent” disrespect for the history and culture associated with an important building.
“There is a complicated process for a building like this. It should take years,” said Kamal, who is not involved in the White House project but has served in a preservation role in Gainesville, Florida, in addition to San Antonio. “Typically, anytime you’re talking demolition with a historic landmark, a preservation committee is among the first steps in your due process.”
The destruction of the East Wing was undertaken by Donald Trump to add a ballroom to the White House, and is the second time he’s embarked on a controversial renovation project to the building and its grounds: Earlier this year, he paved over the Rose Garden to install patio seating.
A great deal of media attention on the ballroom project has focused on the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which was adopted to create processes to protect historic resources. Notably, the act exempts the White House, U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court building, but in proceeding immediately to demolition, Trump is ignoring the precedent established by other presidents, who have sought approvals to make smaller renovations.
Potentially illegal
While she’s not a legal scholar, she said it may also have been illegal.
“If you read the text of the act, it specifically says those exemptions must be consistent with the purpose of this act,” Kamal said. “And the purpose of the act is historic preservation, and these buildings are designated landmarks importance sense of our shared cultural heritage, in the sense that important decrees, decisions and discussions happen in these places. This should not have been allowed to happen.”
Scholars are trying to build the legal case against this action, but Kamal pointed to another important dimension—the environmental impact. Something she talks about to students in her sustainable planning courses is the impact new development has, including energy use to tear something down, filling landfills with destroyed materials and extracting raw materials to enable new construction.
Alternatives like rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of a building, or deconstruction—where the building materials are kept intact or repurposed—can alleviate the environmental impact of a new building or prevent materials from ending up in a landfill. Neither appears to have been considered for the East Wing.
“It seems like demolition was the first step in the process, and for that to happen, you have to skip a lot of steps,” Kamal said. “And people will say the only function preservation committees have is to make life difficult for people, but serving in these roles is a great responsibility and honor that I cherished. You’re standing up for a history, a culture, and a way people connect with buildings and engage with their communities. To disregard that with a building as significant as the White House is problematic.”
Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.