Our Blog

The new U.S. Capitol Materials Cart Program showcases a variety of AOC trades, including masonry, sheet metal, paint and wood-crafting. The cart's trays allow Capitol visitors to see and touch elements of the building often out of reach or hidden to an untrained eye.

The preservation of the Cannon House Office Building's historic windows and doors allows the building to retain much of its original character and charm, while increasing the building's functionality for those who work and visit within its walls. Learn more about the process.

During the process of renewing the Cannon House Office Building, workers have found hidden treasures that had been lost or discarded by the laborers who constructed the building more than 100 years ago. Here's a small sampling of what has been discovered since the start of the project.

How a successful immigrant family left their mark on the U.S. Capitol campus, and Architect of the Capitol's work to clean and preserve a historic treasure: the Cannon House Office Building basement rotunda with a Guastavino tile vaulted ceiling intact as it was originally constructed in 1907.

LaTisha Williams finds and gives encouragement by serving with her community church.

All around the U.S. Capitol campus, there is something that you cannot avoid seeing as you look at the historic buildings: stone. Stone preservation will continue to be a priority of the Architect of the Capitol as the best way to maintain these buildings is to constantly monitor them.

One of the Architect of the Capitol's strategic goals is to foster an innovative and empowered workforce. Here are a few examples of what that looks like in day-to-day operations at the AOC from a team in the House Office Buildings and from the Capitol Grounds crew.

Described during his lifetime as hardworking and humble, our sixth Architect of the Capitol can be considered an American success story.

The entry sequence and progression through spaces are carefully thought out by architects as buildings are designed. Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers describes how we can experience Capitol Hill's magnificent national treasures the way they were originally imagined.

A new technology now allows waterlines to remain filled while workers install a new valve. By deploying this construction best practice, the Cannon Renewal Project will save a tremendous amount of natural resources, require less manpower and result in savings to the American taxpayer.

This year has been one of many great moments at the Architect of the Capitol and on Capitol Hill. As 2015 comes to a close, relive some of the highlights through our photos.

The Cannon Renewal team explores a new way of viewing drawings in the field, bringing a 21st-century approach to field coordination and quality control as a model for the future of construction.

The U.S. Capitol's rotunda is closed this month to prepare for restoration, but there are six other rotunda areas visitors should be sure to see.

The Cannon Renewal team is using ground penetrating radar to help workers see what's inside the concrete of the Cannon Building.

High in the sky, about 50 feet above the roof, a crane is peeking out of the Cannon House Office Building. This tower crane is part of the AOC's renewal project to improve and preserve the building, making it more efficient, comfortable and safer, while retaining its historic grandeur.