Who designed Dulles Airport’s $22.5 billion update? Maybe Trump himself

FastCompany: On July 29, President Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed major plans to redesign and modernize Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, D.C. Glowing press releases from United Airlines, USDOT, and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) tout the project as a “landmark transformation” that will make it into a “world-class gateway.” But one crucial detail is missing from the announcement: Who actually designed the project? [Photo: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images] Plenty of architecture firms tried to get the job, including some of the biggest firms in the world.

In December 2025, USDOT issued a call for proposals to “revitalize” Dulles Airport. By late January, the department released submitted design concepts from more than 30 global architecture firms , including HNTB, AECOM, Zaha Hadid Architects (recently rebranded ZHA), Adjaye Associates, and Grimshaw. One proposal, from ZHA and Bermello Ajamil & Partners, even put Trump’s name on the main terminal building . Six months later, a design for the Dulles modernization has been selected. But during the project’s announcement, none of the 30 firms were named as the project’s designer.

Instead, Trump himself appeared to take at least some of the design credit. A conceptual rendering of the proposed design for Dulles International Airport. [Image: Airports Authority/United Airlines/U.S. Department of Transportation] “We’ve had over 30 architects and 30 different designs. And we did a little cherry-picking and we spoke to a lot of people about it, and we’ve come up with a plan that’s efficient and really beautiful,” Trump said during the announcement in the Oval Office.

Duffy, standing beside Trump during the announcement along with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and MWAA CEO Jack Potter, framed the revitalization as Trump’s mash-up of the submitted designs. A model of planned renovations on Dulles International Airport (IAD) in front of President Donald Trump during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images] “We are blessed that not only does he give his time to really important matters, but he gave his building skill to take the best of all the designs and come up with this concept,” Duffy said.

“I think this is one of the best designs, Mr. President, probably because you actually did it.” [Image: Airports Authority/United Airlines/U.S. Department of Transportation] “I was involved with Sean [Duffy] and with a lot of other people actually, but Scott [Kirby] was very much involved,” Trump added. Few other details on the Dulles modernization’s design authorship were offered. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. United Airlines declined to offer any additional information.

MWAA spokesperson Emily McGee noted only that “more details will be developed and shared as the project moves forward.” [Image: Airports Authority/United Airlines/U.S. Department of Transportation] The project could be just the latest major Washington, D.C.-area building project in which Trump has gotten directly involved. From the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and the construction of a new ballroom to the design of a proposed monumental arch and announced renovations of the Kennedy Center , Trump has taken an aggressive interest in reshaping the capital’s built environment . [Image: Airports Authority/United Airlines/U.S.

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The article discusses a significant infrastructure project that emphasizes strategic design collaboration, which is highly relevant to brand strategy professionals, though the concept of cohesive branding in public projects is not entirely new.