How can a building represent a country?
An embassy is more than just a bricks and mortar,
it’s a symbol of a country abroad, proud, grand, sophisticated.
It should show all the airs and graces of a nation presenting itself on the world stage.
The US Embassy in London is not just America’s home away from home,
it’s the embodiment of a special diplomatic relationship and
the seat of one of the most coveted ambassadorial positions in the world.
When it opened back in 2018, this was not only the largest embassy in the UK,
but also one of the most technologically advanced buildings on the planet.
It’s an array of hi-tech security features blended seamlessly into a USD $1BN,
fortress that’s actually modelled on the castles of mediaeval Europe.
But building it was anything but diplomatic.
The US gave up what was seen as the best located embassy in London and a
site whose history dates back almost to the founding of the republic.
And they traded it for this, a post industrial wasteland that most cab drivers would refuse
to drive to. This is the story of America’s most advanced and most controversial embassy.
Ok, so you’re a newly established nation and
you want to open an embassy in London. There’s a few things you should know.
First off, you’re gonna need a headquarters. Now,
strictly speaking the building itself is called a chancery, the word embassy refers to
the people employed there and the work they do. But for our purposes, we’ll call it an embassy.
Contrary to popular belief, embassies are not actually the sovereign land of the
country they represent, but thanks to the Vienna Convention, you will get some pretty good perks.
The host country isn’t allowed to enter uninvited and while the
building remains under local jurisdiction, it’s exempt from pretty much most laws and
you as a diplomat will enjoy full, legal immunity while you’re here.
Appearances are everything in the diplomatic world, so you’ll want
to join almost all the other embassies in the capital by moving here to West London.
It’s normal to own your embassy outright but things are done differently in
Britain so like most countries based here you’ll have to take out a lease – more on that later.
Don’t worry though, because West London has plenty
of townhouses in fashionably exclusive neighbourhoods for you to set up shop in.
Belgravia is the obvious choice
but you’ll be in excellent company in Kensington…
or best of all there’s Mayfair.
Before you can start work, your ambassador will need to present their credentials to the King,
which until not so long ago required the use of some very fancy dress.
In 1932 when Ivan Maisky, the new Soviet ambassador arrived in London,
he asked Moscow if he should follow court protocol and wear knee breeches
at Buckingham Palace. ‘If necessary’ the Kremlin told him, ‘ you will wear petticoats’
Embassies take up a good chunk of the best real estate in London,
but the US diplomatic mission had one of the best deals of all.
You may know Mayfair as the most expensive square on a London Monopoly board and it’s here in
Grosvenor Square, in the very heart of Mayfair, that the US has had a toehold for centuries.
So much so, it even earned the nickname “Little America”. It all started in 1785 when John
Adams moved into this house on the corner and became the US’ first ambassador to Britain.
Since then it’s hosted two former embassies and
during World War II housed the European headquarters of the US Army and Navy.
In 1960 the US mission moved into
this purpose-built Embassy on the West side of the square.
It’s currently being turned into a hotel,
but its appearance hasn’t changed much since when it was first opened.
Built at a time when the US had reached superpower status,
it evoked a country showing its confidence overseas.
Designed by Finnish American architect Eero
Saarinen, this monumental building combined ancient and modern forms.
Like many buildings in London it’s clad in portland stone which,
along with its proportions help it sit well with its neighbours, despite its size.
Remember how I said Britain likes to do things differently? Well,
the land in this square and most of the rest of West London is owned by the Duke of Westminster.
When the US tried to buy the land to build their embassy on in the 1950s,
the Duke replied he would only sell up if America returned some of his land
confiscated off him after the American War of Independence: a little place known today as Miami
Understandably, the US refused but in a spirit of generosity the Duke
offered a lease with an annual rent of one peppercorn instead.
But you don’t have to feel sorry for the Duke of Westminster.
The current Duke, Hugh Grosvenor is currently worth over £9 billion.
He’s churning out billions off the 500 acres his family’s owned since 1677.
New UBS data shows that in 2023,
billionaires acquired more wealth through inheritance than their own entrepreneurship.
In addition to Grosvenor Square, the Duke’s father left him an art collection worth untold millions.
Meanwhile taxpayers in the UK are cutting Christmas spending to make ends meet.
But working investors can still collect assets like these, that have continued to gain value.
And thankfully, we’ve come a long way since 1677.
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Now let’s get back to the US embassy. By the early noughties, the building was facing
serious challenges. Post 9/11, security had become a major concern and not just for the embassy.
In 2007 a USD $15 million security upgrade created a ring of bollards
around the site and closed this side of the square to traffic.
The needs of the embassy began to outgrow the building, there was the security threat,
and regular protests outside the gates, so it became clear the embassy had to move.
But where to go from here? It really is the best located embassy in London.
It’s near all the best restaurants
Hyde Park is just next door if you fancy a stroll
And Buckingham Palace is just a short limo ride away
Well to the surprise, and horror of many, a new site was found in
South London. Now, for those of you who
don’t live here, South London was historically seen as the less glamorous side of the city.
Legend has it taxis would refuse to cross over the river after a certain time of night.
Of course, it’s not, but in a business where
appearances are everything, it was a pretty bold move.
At the time, this area was home to a wholesale market,
a sorting office, a cement factory, and not much else
The choice wasn’t completely out of leftfield. The
embassy would spearhead a wider $48BN redevelopment of the surrounding area.
But even today, despite a glut of luxury housing and an outdoor
sky pool, in tropical Vauxhall, there really isn’t much here.
When President Trump complained the embassy was
moving to an “off-location” he kind of had a point.
He was, of course, wrong about pretty much everything else in that tweet.
The hunt for a new site began in 2007 and a year later the new site was found. The
development was paid for by the sale of the old embassy and other real estate in London.
Around USD $800M was reserved for the building itself.
Construction on the winning design began in 2013. The building is a huge cube perched
on top of an artificial hill, a nod to motte and bailey style castles while
also attempting to represent the rock solid nature of American democracy.
Elsewhere, the plan is a monumental effort to soften and hide the vast
security features of this impregnable fortress.
The main building sits in the centre of a
spiralling park featuring a mix of American and British trees.
It’s a deliberate nod to the English tradition of urban parks,
while also providing the required 100 foot clear perimeter around
the building to cushion the building from blasts and provide a clear line of sight.
As you walk around you notice there's no imposing perimeter fence. Instead,
intruders are kept out through the constant use of sleight of hand.
The northern edge of the site is protected from the busy road by a hedge concealing a
row of anti vehicle bollards. If anything were to get through it would then career
down this meadow before falling into the eight foot moat below.
Its six inch thick glass is dotted with stars to prevent birds from crashing into it.
Elsewhere, the entrance is guarded by pavilions.
On the south side, the building is separated from the nearby plaza by
a rising meadow. Concrete seating doubles up as a vehicle barrier while further up,
another nod to traditional English gardens, the meadow grasses help to hide a trench.
Also known as a ha-ha, these were built to keep livestock out without spoiling the view,
now it does the same thing, but for people.
The building attracted criticism when it was opened and the comparison of the building with
a castle was taken the wrong way by some.
The city’s other famous castle, the tower of
london was built by an invading army to intimidate the local population.
The extensive security features, however well concealed, were seen by many as excessive,
even in an age where enhanced security measures are fact of life.
But as an embassy, it has to reflect America’s position in the world,
both symbolically and practically.
From the building housing the new superpower, confidently stepping into the shoes of the old
world powers, to the inconspicuous fortress, keen to play down its size and power.
As far as embassies go, it definitely breaks
the mould. Perhaps in the game of diplomacy that’s all that matters.
This video was sponsored by Masterworks.
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