Will the GSA Scandal Harm Design Professionals?

After being rocked by a scandal over extravagant spending, Tom Stoelker wonders whether the General Services Administration (GSA) and their hallmark initiatives, such as the Design Excellence Program, will suffer in the political fallout.

1 minute read

June 7, 2012, 5:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


The GSA's lauded Design Excellence program, which was established by former chief architect Ed Feiner in 1996, established an important partnership with the architecture community by promoting and mandating high quality and innovative design in federal government building projects. Politically vulnerable from the start, architects now fear that the recent scandal could have a far reaching impact on the design of federal projects and on the Design Excellence program itself.

"Rob Rogers of Rogers Marvel Architects, who has worked on GSA projects both in New York and Washington, D.C., fears that now any design element could be interpreted as an extravagance and even high-profile projects will be forced to have heavy rounds of value engineering," notes Stoelker.

Although Feiner, who now runs the Design Leadership Forum at Perkins+Will, "is not too concerned about the program's staying power since it's codified in law," architects working with the GSA have already noticed significant changes in the agency's practices.

"There's definitely been a tightening of the belt," ZGF Architects principal Todd Stine said of his firm's work with the GSA. "Normal things like basic travel have been tough. It makes it a bit more challenging when the client can't come to the site."

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 in The Architect's Newspaper

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

5 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

6 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

7 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press