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Report:  Design for Diplomacy – New Embassies for the 21st Century

In July 2008, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) asked the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to provide assistance in reviewing the manner in which new U.S. embassies are planned and designed.

In response, in September 2008 the AIA formed the 21st Century Embassy Task Force, comprising nationally recognized architects, engineers, and landscape architects familiar with embassy design; former ambassadors; and representatives of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD), the Foundation for Art and

Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and OBO.

The primary goal of the Task Force was to prepare a report for OBO that provided recommendations on:

• Ensuring that all diplomatic facilities meet the security requirements as identified by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) to protect all Embassy personnel

• Integrating security and design excellence to create high-performance diplomatic facilities

• Providing American taxpayers with the best value for diplomatic facilities.

Through the report, Design for Diplomacy - New Embassies for the 21^st Century, the AIA and the 21^st Century Task Force made a series of policy suggestions, but ultimately recommended that the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations adopt Design Excellence as a mandate to advance a new generation of secure, high performance embassies and diplomatic facilities that support the conduct of American diplomacy.

OBO Takes on AIA’s Call for a Design Excellence Program

On April 14, 2010, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations announced their intent to create a Design Excellence Program for U.S. Embassy and Consulate Facilities and unveiled a set of Guiding Principles to serve as the foundation of a comprehensive effort that will include the development of a Strategic Plan which will, in turn, be the basis for OBO Design Excellence Policies.

Legislative Action

Senator John Kerry also took the AIA’s report to heart and on April 25, 2010, introduced the Embassy Design and Security Act, a ground-breaking piece of legislation that for the first time recognizes the vital role building design can play in transforming America’s embassies into high performance structures throughout the world. 

Design for Diplomacy

• Full Report (PDF)

• Letter to Adam Namm, Acting Director, Overseas Building Operations (OBO)

• Preface

• Introduction

• Issues Facing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities

• Recommendations

• Appendix



Action on Embassy Design

Overview of OBO’s Design Excellence Program

Senate Briefing on Design Excellence

House of Representatives Briefing on Embassy Design

Embassy Design and Security Act of 2010
> Fact Sheet: Embassy Design and Security Act of 2010

OBO Guiding Principles



Media

State Department to Roll Out new Embassy Design Excellence Initiative April 26 (AIA Press Advisory)

Chairman Kerry Introduces Legislation To Advance U.S. Embassy And Consulate Design (Office of Senator Kerry, April 16, 2010)

AIA Applauds Senator Kerry’s Introduction of Embassy Design and Security Act of 2010 (April 16, 2010)

AIA Commends State Department’s Design Excellence Program for Diplomatic Facilities (April 14, 2010)

Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Launches Design Excellence Program During National Architecture Week (U.S. State Department, April 14, 2010)

Sen. Kerry Commends AIA Call on State Department to Integrate Security and Design Excellence (July 9, 2009)



Other Resources

AIA and Coalition Send Letter to Sen. Kerry in Support of Embassy Design and Security Act of 2010 (April 15, 2010)

USGBC Letter of Support for Embassy Design and Security Act

AIA Testimony by Barbara Nadel, FAIA, on Building Security before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management



Contact

For general inquiries, contact:
Billie Kaumaya | Manager, Federal Relations
Email | bkaumaya@aia.org
Phone | (202) 626-7381
Twitter | @aialobbyist

For media inquiries, contact:
John Schneidawind | Director, Public Affairs and Media Relations
Email | johnschneidawind@aia.org
Phone | (202) 626-7457



Photo: Beijing, China, NEC.
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Photo courtesy of SOM