Federal buildings

A federal building refers to a government building built to host the regional offices of various government departments and agencies in countries with a federal system, especially when the central government is referred to as the "federal government".

There are design issues specific to Federal Buildings, relating to their multipurpose functions and concerns related to the fact of their association with the government. For example, as symbols of the government, they may potentially be focus of protests or threats, so there are security issues. Also environmental impacts and environmentally sound design may be more important.

A committee set up by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 issued "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture". Towards improving design of Federal buildings, "the committee recommended architecture that would convey the 'dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American Government.' Designers and officials were encouraged to pay special attention to site selection and layout, including landscape development."

Some architects specialize in Federal Building designs.

The first U.S. Federal building authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1807, with an appropriation of $20,000 to build, in New Orleans, a post office, courthouse, or custom house.

Historically, the authorization and construction of the first Federally-funded building in a small town often has been a major event. Sometimes these were simply a post office or a courthouse; often they were combination buildings.

The Treasury Department of the U.S. established a Department of Construction office in 1852. From 1864 on the Office of the Supervising Architect handled design of Federal buildings.

William Gibbs McAdoo, the Secretary of the Treasury from 1913-1918, and the Supervising Architect at the time, James A. Wetmore promoted standardization of government building design. They instituted the policy that buildings were to be designed with "scale, materials and finishes" that directly reflected their "location, prominence and income". This push to standardization of public building design was in conflict with the Tarsney Act, which permitted private architects to design federal buildings after being selected in a competition under the supervision of the Supervising Architect. The act, under which several prior buildings were designed, was repealed in 1913 as it was felt that designing building with government architects would most efficiently cause the desired standardization.

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