Meeting the challenge of providing a modern, open and secure American diplomatic facility in London, the U.S. State Department today signed a conditional agreement with the real estate developer Ballymore to acquire a site in the Nine Elms Opportunity Area in Wandsworth for the construction of a new Embassy.
“This has been a long and careful process,” said Ambassador Robert Tuttle, who has led the search for a new site. “We looked at all our options, including renovation of our current building on Grosvenor Square. In the end, we realized that the goal of a modern, secure and environmentally sustainable Embassy could best be met by constructing a new facility. I’m excited about America playing a role in the regeneration of the South Bank of London.”
A design competition will ensure the new facility reflects the best of modern design, incorporates the latest in energy-efficient building techniques, and celebrates the values of freedom and democracy.
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The United States is leaving behind an imposing 1960 stone and concrete embassy in London’s upmarket Grosvenor Square - an area known as ‘Little America’ during World War Two, when the square also housed the military headquarters of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The new embassy on the South Bank is a veritable fortress set back at least 100 feet (30 meters) from surrounding buildings - mostly newly-erected high-rise residential blocks - and incorporating living quarters for the U.S. Marines permanently stationed inside.
The $1 billion construction, overlooking the River Thames, was wholly funded by the sale of other properties in London.
I'd never previously been inclined to thing of this man as an assemblage of foods.
