Philadelphia-based practice KieranTimberlake beat the world's leading architects in the competition for the new US Embassy in London. Completed in 2017, it replaces the famous 1960 Eero Saarinen building in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair.
In this talk, founding partner James Timberlake explores how the new building reflects America's democratic values - transparency, openness, and equality - while still meeting the need for heightened security. He discusses the complex construction challenges; the environmental measures employed, including a facade made of laminated glass with an outer envelope of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE); and the hostile reaction from incoming President Donald Trump to the Embassy's relocation to South London's Nine Elms, an area undergoing intense redevelopment.
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