<P> Exterior of the Oval Office as viewed from the South Lawn, July 15, 2006 . </P> <P> Dissatisfied with the size and layout of the West Wing, President Franklin D. Roosevelt engaged New York architect Eric Gugler to redesign it in 1933 . To create additional space without increasing the apparent size of the building, Gugler excavated a full basement, added a set of subterranean offices under the adjacent lawn, and built an unobtrusive "penthouse" story . The directive to wring the most office space out of the existing building was responsible for its narrow corridors and cramped staff offices . Gugler's most visible addition was the expansion of the building eastward for a new Cabinet Room and Oval Office . </P> <P> The modern Oval Office was built at the West Wing's southeast corner, offering FDR, who was physically disabled and used a wheelchair, more privacy and easier access to the Residence . He and Gugler devised a room architecturally grander than the previous two rooms, with more robust Georgian details: doors topped with substantial pediments, bookcases set into niches, a deep bracketed cornice, and a ceiling medallion of the Presidential Seal . Rather than a chandelier or ceiling fixture, the room is illuminated by light bulbs hidden within the cornice that "wash" the ceiling in light . In small ways, hints of Art Moderne can be seen, in the sconces flanking the windows and the representation of the eagle in the ceiling medallion . FDR and Gugler worked closely together, often over breakfast, with Gugler sketching the president's ideas . One notion resulting from these sketches that has become fixed in the layout of the room's furniture, is that of two high back chairs in front of the fireplace . The public sees this most often with the president seated on the left, and a visiting head of state on the right . This allowed FDR to be seated, with his guests at the same level, de-emphasizing his inability to stand . Construction of the modern Oval Office was completed in 1934 . </P> <P> The basic Oval Office furnishings have been a desk in front of the three windows at the south end, a pair of chairs in front of the fireplace at the north end, a pair of sofas, and assorted tables and chairs . The Neoclassical mantel was made for the Taft Oval Office in 1909, and salvaged after the 1929 West Wing fire . A tradition of displaying potted Swedish ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus) atop the mantel goes back to the administration of John F. Kennedy, and the current plants were rooted from the original plant . </P>

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