The New US Embassy in London

01.05.2010 - 30.06.2010

1735 New York Ave, AIA National Headquarters,Washington, DC, USA

The new Embassy for the United Statesshould be welcoming without compromising security. It should reflect the timeless values of the United Statesfreedom, dignity, openness, and justice. It should incorporate the latest in environmentally sound building techniques.  Its should be alive to the celebrated cityscape of London.  Such a challenge requires a high level of design excellence, and the Department of State decided a competition to select the Architect for this project was the best way forward.  This is only the fourth time in our history this have been done.The competition process first involved producing an Architects Brief and Mission Statement for the project (see panel), second, selecting a distinguished Jury of both American and British leaders in the fields of Architecture, Academia and Diplomacy, third, evaluating the 37 Architectural submissions received in the first round of the competition to produce a shortlist of nine, and fourth, after formal presentations made to the Jury by the nine firms, narrowing the field to four for the final phase of the competition.The Jurys task has not been easy and the United States Department of State is grateful to its members for their dedication and hard work in arriving at their recommendation.The identification of the Architect is a major step on the road to the building of the New London Embassy.  The process will now continue with the evolution of the design concept in consultation with the Mayors office, CABE, Wandsworth Borough Council, residents in the area and other stakeholders to ensure the new Embassy provides an appropriate home and symbol for one of the United States of Americas most cherished and enduring relationships. The United States Department of State is grateful to the four finalist firms- KieranTimberlake, Morphosis Architects, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Richard Meier & Partners whose work is shown here. They are all commended for their creativity and professional approach to designing a building that reflects both the values of the American people and the spirit of our times. Congratulations to KieranTimberlake for being selected to take forward this challenge.

Contact:
Phone
800AIA3837 or 2026267300
Fax
2026267547
Email
infocentral@aia.org

How to Get There:
By Subway
From Farragut West (Blue/Orange Lines)
17th or 18th Street exit
Walk south 4.5 blocks (cross I and H Streets, Pennsylvania Avenue, and G and F Streets)
From Farragut North (Red Line)
K Street exit
Walk south 5.5 blocks (cross Connecticut Avenue, I and H Streets, Pennsylvania Avenue, and G and F Streets)

Driving Directions:
http://www.aia.org/about/directions/index.htm