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Shades · Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 5:05 pm Post subject: U.S. Embassy in London to move

U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis B. Susman, and Acting Director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Adam Namm, announced today that KieranTimberlake of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has won the design competition for the New London Embassy.

KieranTimberlake's design met the goal of creating a modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and energy efficient embassy for the 21st century. Their concept most fully satisfied the requirements outlined in the design competition's mission statement. The concept holds the greatest potential for developing a truly iconic embassy and is on the leading edge of sustainable design. KieranTimberlake is an architectural firm known for its commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility.

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For those of you 'Colonials' who keep being told how broke you are and how you haven't got two dimes to rub together, think again:-

The U.S. Embassy in London is moving from its' current location in Grosvenor Square, Central London to Battersea, South London (this is even South of the Thames and an area which the British amiably refer to as "Saaf Lahndun", due to local vernacular/pronunciation).

All this for the paltry estimate of U$D 1 billion.
Subscribers may be interested to learn that this is, in fact, only $1,000,000,000 (one thousand x one million), as opposed to the more correct $1,000,000,000,000 (one million x one million) definition of a billion.
Hopefully losing those three extra 0's will make you feel a little better about it.

The architectural design does sound / look lovely.
Unfortunately, in an effort to reduce costs, you'll be almost out in the 'burb's and away from most tourist sites; other embassies; and even security facilities.
If it's any consolation.., you will have a moat (as in 'castle' moat).

Shades

Oh, and this is how the site currently looks:-
www.biocrawler.com/w/i...020504.jpg

The more 'Floyd'ian among you may recognise this as the rear of the building (the now redundant Battersea Power Station) from the 'Animals' cover:-
sleevage.com/wp-conten...nimals.jpg

It is a five minute walk from Clapham Junction, one of the main railway terminuses in Greater London, and will thus be of spectacular attraction to the organisers of demonstrations and other 'interested parties'.

If ever something could be labelled an 'accident-waiting-to-happen'....

*sigh*

Snorre

Strange indeed considering the enormous efforts the US undertook to get the security situation right for their Berlin embassy..

JG300-Ascout

Are we actually going into the old power station, or a new structure? I'd hate to see anything happen to the old "Floydian" bastion. (We could even hang the big pig over it again, in honor of a certain squad that flew around it a lot in the CFS3 races).

That's gonna' be way out there, over that quaint little government building in the foreground that sits above the bridge with the name it shares with that cute little church over there to the right. Wink

Shades

Nope, it's a site adjoining the Power Station (which has been under threat of one re-development or another for decades and never is).
The "artist's impressions" of the new building are in the first link.

It will be sited close to the Thames in order to divert water for the intended moat.

The Houses of Parliament [above], by the way, are on the North bank of The Thames some way down-stream from the intended re-location.

JG300-Ascout

- Shades

It will be sited close to the Thames in order to divert water for the intended moat.

The Houses of Parliament [above], by the way, are on the North bank of The Thames some way down-stream from the intended re-location.

How might the tides affect the moat thing? There at Westminster Bridge, I've seen the tide affect water levels by 15 feet or more. (Stayed at the County Hall Marriott quite a few times. Damn that Big Ben when you're on the Thames side...every fifteen freakin' minutes. Rolling Eyes

)

HF_SlowHand

jeez only a billion... when we are talking trillions of dollars of debt and government spending eating up our GNP why not spend a billion in one of the safest countries in which we have an embassy... Good Lord...

Go Jenson!

Shades

Good point Ascout.
It is sited far enough downstream to be within the tidal area of the Thames.
I believe they're intending to draw water from the river and then clean and re-cycle it within the facility itself.
This would possibly involve a one-way valve system where the resource is only topped up from the river supply.
It's due to be completed in 2017.

The Nine Elms site was established in the nineteenth century by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and was named after a line of nine elms on the site.
It was a Locomomotive works and is primarilly known because of its' most famous loco driver/engineer; Grandpappy Skwirrell, who ran out of Nine Elms.
It was also where I had my breakfast, cooked in the boiler and served on his fireman's shovel, when I was but a wee nipper skwirrell.

Unable to expand and suffering serious damage during WWII, the locomotive works were mostly transferred to Eastleigh in Hampshire.
It was finally closed and demolished, becoming part of the New Covent Garden Market, at the end of the 1960's.

The South bank of the Thames at Westminster Bridge is quite an interesting stroll, if you ever get back there. It's the old dock and wharf area which has all been re-developed into apartments and cafe's now.
Don't stroll too far though, Lewisham's only a hour further downstream and you don't want to be caught in there unless you're a local these days.

@ Slow'
Yeah but one of your trillions is only a billion to us 'proper' English speakers.

JG300-Ascout

- Shades

Good point Ascout.

The South bank of the Thames at Westminster Bridge is quite an interesting stroll, if you ever get back there. It's the old dock and wharf area which has all been re-developed into apartments and cafe's now.
Don't stroll too far though, Lewisham's only a hour further downstream and you don't want to be caught in there unless you're a local these days.

Done that many times, actually (I had business at St. Thomas')

Nice walk past Waterloo back to the IWM via St. George's Rd., then back along the Kennington's, but not going upstream past Vauxhaull bridge.

After a day in the IWM, one's dogs get tired. I've done it 3-4 times. Smile

Shades

:o)

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