{"id":6578,"date":"2026-04-02T19:13:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=6578"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:34:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:34:59","slug":"planning-commission-approves-white-house-ballroom-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/planning-commission-approves-white-house-ballroom-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning commission approves White House ballroom design"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite a judge’s order to halt construction<\/a> on the White House<\/a> ballroom project this week, Washington DC<\/a> advisory committee National Capitol Planning Commission has approved the design of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a Thursday afternoon meeting, National Capital Planning Commission<\/a> (NCPC) Chairman William Scharf<\/a> pushed back against public critique of the project in a lengthy defence, stating that the White House has grown in “fits and spurts” since its first century.<\/p>\n

“The White House complex, in its first century, grew in fits and spurts, and it has continued to do so until the present day,” said Scharf.<\/p>\n

“My core point is that the White House is ever changing, ever evolving to meet the programmatic needs of an ever-changing\u00a0and evolving United States presidency,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“Never been symmetrical”<\/b><\/p>\n

“Any argument that relies on the idea that the White House is unchangeable or should be unchangeable flies in the face of the very history of the structure such critics claim they are trying to protect.”<\/p>\n

The chairman also pushed back against criticism of the asymmetry of the proposed new East Wing, which would be roughly three times the size of the current West Wing building, pointing to its growth throughout history.<\/p>\n

“The White House complex as a whole has never been symmetrical since perhaps the 1830s, if even then,” said Scharf.<\/p>\n

The vote was passed via majority by the commission, with two abstentions, seven yes, two present votes, and one no by DC council chairman Phil Mendelson.<\/p>\n