Building Tradition Episode 29: Interview with Thomas E. Austin, Architect of the Capitol

Host Peter H. Miller, Hon AIA interviews Thomas E. Austin, the Architect of the Capitol. Austin talks about how the historic preservation work he manages helps “inspires future generations,” while inspiring him at work every day.

Thomas E Austin Courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol

Thomas E Austin is only the thirteenth Architect of the Capitol. Our first AOC was appointed by George Washington in 1793. Just over one year ago Mr. Austin was approved for his job by a Congressional Commission and sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The Architect of the Capitol manages over 500 acres and 18 million square feet of buildings on the Capitol campus including the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, The Cannon office building, the Thurgood Marshall Judiciary building, the Botanic Garden and the U.S. Capitol.

There are over 2,500 staffers who manage these facilities 24x7, a third of whom are tradespeople, craftspeople, and building artisans. The A.O.C. historic preservation staff do much of the restoration and maintenance work themselves, with in-house training and apprenticeships for building arts like decorative painting and plaster work. Private companies, outside building artisans, are also used for specialty preservation work.

"Our mission is to 'Serve, Preserve and Inspire' Mr. Austin tells us. "We are here to provide a home for American Democracy." Three million tourists enter the U.S. Capitol visitors center each year with as many as 20,000 per day during the summer.

The historic restoration and renovation work Mr. Austin's crew performs takes place while the buildings are in use, "this presents challenges for us," he explains, "for example we've been renovating the Cannon Office building for 10 years at a cost of $1 billion including a re-do of the interiors and a million square feet of space. All in our team handles 500,000 work orders per year.”