1.2 General Design Philosophy
As addressed in Appendix A2, all program goals shall be
developed with integrated design practices. The following
objectives are to be reflected in project programming and
design:
Design Quality
GSA is committed to excellence in the design and devel-
opment of its sites and buildings. For GSA, this means an
integrated approach that achieves the highest quality of
aesthetics in meeting the requirements of the building's
users and accomplishing the mission of the Federal client
agency, while at the same time delivering a building that is
cost effective to maintain throughout its useful life and is
a lasting architectural legacy that will serve the American
people for many decades.
Most of the interaction between the Government and its
citizens occurs in GSA buildings. Federal buildings express
the image of the Government to the public. The Guiding
Principles for Federal Architecture, written in 1962 by
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then Special Assistant
to the Secretary of Labor, and issued by the Kennedy
Administration, embody GSA's commitment to produce
quality design and construction. See Figure 1-1.
Design Excellence and Construction Excellence
The GSA Design Excellence Program was formally
initiated in 1994 and the Construction Excellence
Program in 1998. These programs ensure GSA's long-
term commitment to excellence in public architecture,
engineering, and construction. The selection of private
U.S. Census Bureau, Bowie, MD.
04 F A C I L I T I E S S T A N D A R D S
FOR THE
PUBLIC
BUILDINGS
SERVICE
1.2 General Design Philosophy
Revised March 2005 PBS-P100
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