 Gentlemen, the President of the United States. Well, thank you very much. Please be seated. I'm delighted to welcome all of you here today. And in a few minutes, it will be my great pleasure to present the first presidential awards for design excellence. But first, I want to thank the National Endowment for the Arts and its chairman, Frank Hotsel, your distinguished jury chairman, Mr. I.M. And do I have the name right? Is it pi? Thank you. And all the designers, engineers, architects, and others who helped select today's winners for the support that you've given to this worthy program. This building and this room is a fitting location to recognize our award winners for their important achievements in federal design. The grace and beauty of this architectural masterpiece remind us of the enduring contribution of excellence in design to the quality of civilized life. I believe it's fair to say that good design unites art with purpose and is an essential part of all that goes to make our nation without peer. But you know, here we are in the famous Indian Treaty Room. And no one is quite sure how it received that name. This being Washington, it should be no surprise that the room that witnessed the birth of the IMF, the signing of the treaties of peace with Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania, but never any Indian treaties, is known as the Indian Treaty Room. Now, it may also be true that the federal government is not known as a first world-class designer. But today's awards prove that inspired design, the genius that makes ordinary things work well and look beautiful, is possible from within the federal ranks. And that's exactly what today's winners have given us. Linco Viaduct is not just a roadway on North Carolina's Grandfather Mountain. The Viaduct has been designed so that it belongs to and is a part of the mountain. And it's that way with all the award winners. From NASA's visual communication system to the art and architecture program of the GSA, from Boston's Charles River Project to the Gardens of San Mateo, California, inspired design added much to the grace and beauty of our way of life. And there's something else. The federal government is the nation's single largest builder and user of design services. What we build, print, or cause to be manufactured for federal use affects us all. Our investments must be cost-effective. Well, our award winners have also shown that good design need not be a luxury added on to a project at extra cost. In fact, good design can help us to save money, and you know how much that warms my heart. America continues to build because America's never finished. And I'm delighted that all of the winners are helping here helping to build our tomorrow. So God bless you for what you're doing. Thank you on behalf of all Americans, and I commend you. And now for one of the most pleasant tasks that I've had so far this week is to help present the first presidential awards for design excellence and what a pleasure it is to honor all of you today. Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's a great honor to have you here to make what I consider a great boost for design, not only in the federal government, but also in the United States. The first award goes to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for their excellent visual communication system with Administrator James Beggs, Mr. Robert Schulman, Mr. Richard Danny, designer, Mr. Kenneth White, designer. Come forward to receive this award, please. The second award, Mr. President, goes to the Interior Department and the Park Service for their Unigrid program which provides for Park Service graphics. Secretary Clark, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Vincent Gleason, and Mr. Massimo Vignelli, designer. Would you please come forward? If you'll just stay, because you're the next one, too. I will. The next award, Secretary Clark, if you could stay here, please. The next award goes to the Interior Department and the Park Service for its evocation of Benjamin Franklin's house in Philadelphia. Secretary Clark, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Hobart Kaywood, Mr. Robert Venturi, architect. Would you please come forward? The fourth award goes also to the Interior Department for the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program. Secretary Clark, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Ward Jandel, who's Chief of the Technical Preservation Services Branch, would you come forward, please? We have an inside track. Have an inside track. The fifth award, Bill, if you could just stay put for a moment, I would like to ask Secretary Dole to come up, because this is a joint award to the Transportation Department and the Interior Department for the beautiful Lynn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In addition to Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Gary Everhart, Mr. Robert Schreffler, Mr. Harold Whelan of the Federal Highway Administration and Mr. Eugene Figg, engineer. And the next award goes to the Transportation Department and the Federal Highway Administration for the Intercity Bridge Connecting Pascoe and Kennewick, Washington. Secretary Dole, Mr. Stanley Gordon of the Federal Highway Administration, Mr. Arvid Grant, consulting engineer. The next award also goes to the Department of Transportation for its System of Transportation Symbol Sign. Secretary Dole, Ms. Carolyn Hightower, Director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Mr. Thomas Geismar, Chairman of the Institute of Signs and Symbols Committee, and Mr. Roger Cook, designer. The next award goes to the Veterans Administration for a Prosthetic Device, which enables lower leg amputees to participate in athletic activities. First Administrator, Harry Walters, Dr. Margaret Giannini of the Veterans Administration, and Mr. Donald Poggi, designer. Next, we have an award to the General Services Administration for their Art in Architecture program. Acting Administrator, Raymond Klein, Mr. Donald Thaliker, Director of the Art in Architecture program, would you come forward please? Next, we have an award to the Department of Defense and the Army Corps of Engineers. Deputy Secretary William Taft, Colonel Carl Seiple, Chief of the U.S. Army Engineer Division in New England, and Mr. John Slocum, President of CE McGuire Engineers. Next, we have an award to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the exceptional architecture and landscaping of the gardens in San Mateo, California. Secretary Pierce, Mr. Duncan Howard, Regional Administrator, Mr. Howard Bracken Architect, Mr. Thomas Pritchett, Landscape Architect. Here's if you could stay. The next award is also to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Scattered Infill Housing Project, which was so successful in addressing social, architectural, and urban goals. Secretary Pierce, Mr. Raymond Harris, HUD Field Office Manager, Joe Riley, the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, Donald Cameron of the Charleston Housing Authority, Richard Bradfield Architect, Edward Gale Jr. Architect. And finally, we have an award again to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the new partnership for restoring American cities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Secretary Pierce, Mr. Thomas Feeney, HUD Regional Manager, Mr. Wei Ming Lu, Lower Town Redevelopment Corporation, Mr. Eugene Kraut, Port Authority of St. Paul, Mr. Milo Thompson Architect, Mr. Craig Rafferty Architect, and Mr. Edwin Bell Architect. And that, Mr. President, concludes the design awards, except that Mr. I.M. Pei, the famous architect, would like to say a few words if he could. Mr. President, in your inaugural address in 1981, you spoke with pride to the people of this nation and the world of the magnificent monuments of Washington that stood before you. It was entirely fitting that in 1983, you initiated the first Presidential Design Awards program, which culminated in today's ceremony. This sponsorship, Mr. President, places the issue of design excellence at the highest level of government. On behalf of the design practices in the private sector, I would like to express to you and to the National Endowment for the Arts our gratitude and appreciation.