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.294 architects to the nationeffort to study older federal buildings and to preserve their historicalqualities while accommodating normal office functions.Despite these high-level efforts at fostering design excellence inpublic buildings, some critics questioned the commitment of the fed-eral government to this goal.Ada Louise Huxtable noted that severaloutstanding buildings came out of the General Services Administra-tion pipeline during the 1960s and early 1970s.However, she felt thatthe effort was sturm und drang all the way, and the only reason therewere any results was that Mr.Yasko had that Presidential directivefirmly in hand. After Yasko s transfer within the agency to conducta fine arts inventory, Huxtable concluded that the agency system had defeated any effort to continue the program.48The Continuing DebateThe issue of the quality of design for federal buildings continues.Historically, the Supervising Architect s Office was singled out whencriticism was raised about public architecture.After all, for manyyears, the Office was solely responsible for the designs.When privatearchitects participated in the federal architecture program, such asduring the Tarsney Act era, efforts were made to contrast the highquality of designs private architects provided with those governmentarchitects provided.For the past forty years, private architects havehad the upper hand in the design process and the debate about qual-ity endures.Some critics point to the General Services Administration as theresponsible vehicle in fostering excellence in design.Others, eventhose within the agency system, point to the private architects andwonder why they do not produce better buildings.As Yasko stated in1963 to an aia gathering:Then there is the other side of the coin which may even be themost fatal indictment.This is the architect who, given a publicproject, gives of himself only enough to get by.He is, in a sense, acriminal who has robbed the commonwealth of his talent if hehas it.Especially when the road is clear and the opportunity to cre-ate a piece of architecture is laid in his lap.No amateur architectson the public buildings committee to design for him, no bureau-crat to impose rigid rules on him, only people looking to him toproduce a fine piece of architecture.They stand before him naked
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