US Embassy Tour

AIA Members in the Ground Floor Consular Lobby below the Great Seal of the United States of America 

On 16 Nov 2023, the US Embassy hosted the AIA UK in a private tour of their latest home in Nine Elms, Battersea.  There has been an official American presence in London since John Adams, the first US minister, in 1785.  Since then, the US “Embassy” -  or more properly referred to as a “Legation” in the early days of this long standing international relationship - has had a variety of homes in London, including Great Cumberland Place; Piccadilly; 98 Portland Place; and 123 Victoria Street in Westminster.  

In 1938, the Embassy was moved to 1 Grosvenor Square.  The next Embassy was designed by Finnish American, modernist architect Eero Saarinen, and constructed in the late 1950s at the same Grosvenor location.  This is the facility that many of us still relate to, having likely visited the iconic building in the past to renew passports and conduct other business as US citizens. It is now listed and is being converted into a luxury hotel. The latest Embassy, designed by KieranTimberlake, is no longer in well-established Mayfair but sits prominently in up-and-coming Nine Elms, overlooking the Thames. 

The Architect received the commission to design the new Embassy and surrounding water and green spaces via a competition.  Through the combination of the 100-foot set-back from the road and a series of water features, the site meets the State Department’s stringent security requirements at the same time it provides a fitting backdrop for a stately object building.  

The cube-shaped building has a laminated glazing envelop with a transparent framework of ETFE on three sides, giving a textured 3D effect against a tightly wrapped glazed wall system. The ETFE on the east, west and south facing facades controls excessive solar gain and mitigates glare. This allows daylight throughout the building, while reducing the energy required to cool and light it.

I admit I was initially sceptical of the move to Nine Elms; however, having had the opportunity to tour the new Embassy I am now delighted with the result.  On the evening of the tour, I approached the building from the northeast corner of the site, passing along curving pathways in the landscaped gardens to see the main building set on a large plinth above a protective pool.

Garden approach to the US Embassy London

Joining other waiting AIA visitors, we entered the Embassy through a pavilion on the eastern side into the main lobby where we were greeted by a large two storey space with a beautifully crafted US seal embossed on a limestone feature wall along with the engraved names of all previous ambassadors. We were then led through to the gallery, grand staircase, and events hall below.  

From the events hall, we were able to tour the “belly” of the Embassy and explore the mechanical spaces of the building, which boasts LEED Gold and BREAM Outstanding ratings. We were then escorted via a series of lifts to the functional parts of the Embassy where “processing facilities” allow citizens to renew passports and other government business. Here, the spaces and finishes were carefully detailed and crafted, offering an environment a far cry from the mere functionality the Grosvenor Square facility.  

The Embassy - with its emphasis on artwork and greenery - offers more than just traditional office interiors.  Art plays a significant role in the overall presentation of the Embassy with a total of 19 major pieces. One hanging sculpture, which occupies the entirety of the Embassy’s gallery atrium, is a three-storey structure comprised of 32 ten-foot square panels. A mural entitled “We the People” includes fragments and full articles quoted from the U.S. Constitution. Each of the interior gardens is inspired by a different region of the United States, including the Canyon Lands, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, the Potomac River Valley, the Pacific Forest, and the Mid-Atlantic Region.  

Upon completion of the tour, the AIA guests were fortunate to partake of refreshments in the “Embassy Bar/ Restaurant”, enjoying a beverage while admiring stunning views of the London skyline north of the Thames. It is also noteworthy that American Embassy in London was funded entirely from proceeds of the sale of other U.S. government property in London. 

The tour was hugely impressive, an evening to remember!

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

FROM THE DISTANT PAST / Two Design Charettes to Remember

AIA UK Newsletter Issue #01 - dated May 1994 – announced the formation of the 1st International AIA Chapter on 17 Jun 1993, ‘In the Beginning…’.  As there are several months left in this our 30th Anniversary year, we still have time to celebrate the past, to delve into the archives and see where and when the DESIGN CHARETTES started.   

From Newsletter Issue #04 dated Feb 1995 (extract below),  the first Design Charette with 75 students was held in Eero Saarinen’s previous US Embassy on Grosvenor Square in the days before security concerns prohibited general access to US government buildings.

LOOKING BACK AT THE 1994 DESIGN CHARETTE

The 1994 Participants / The Venue  One can only wonder where those first 75 students are now.  How many continued on a potentially glorious, potentially rocky career in architecture?  Given free student membership to the fledgling Chapter, how many ever became AIA members? How many of them thought about their own foray into embassy design when the replacement US Embassy was eventually opened years later?  Unlike one 1994 ‘fantasy solution’ mentioned in Newsletter #04, the new scheme does not include a baseball diamond… but it does have a fantasy façade…

The 1994 Team Leaders  Whereas the student participants are not named, some of the AIA UK team leaders were, and in later years they became increasingly important to London’s architectural community.  

Both Lee Polisano FAIA (who heads PLP Architects) and Pierre Baillargeon AIA (who is now MD of Mixity and has been an active Charette Team Leader on and off since 1994) remain in London as AIA UK Members. David Walker RIBA (who heads David Walker Architects) also remains in the UK, whereas Yann Weymouth FAIA returned to a very successful career in the US.  

The 1994 jurors   The 1994 Honorary Chairman was the US Ambassador to the UK, Admiral William Crowe; however, it is assumed that the actual jury work was conducted at least in part by the then Chief Architect of Foreign Building Operations, Patrick Collins AIA, who remained with the US State Department until at least 2015.

A distinguished group of new jurors are selected each year, with the Design Charette organisers keen for them to represent a diverse range of practitioners and educators.  However, one 1994 juror - Peter Finch OBE, then Editor of the Architect’s Journal - kept a keen interest in the Charette and continued in the Chief Juror role until 2012.  He remains Editorial Director of AR and AJ but is also now Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival and Deputy Chair of the Design Council.  

LOOKING BACK AT THE 2000 DESIGN CHARETTE

The Sponsors The 6th Design Charette - ‘High Dense + City Living’ - was held in 2000, based on the highly trafficked West Kensington Underground Station. The focused environs were near the Olympia warehouse of Call Print, the Charette’s (and the Chapter’s) long term sponsor and the Charette was held under the auspices of its enthusiastic and ever popular Manager, Steve Jolly.   

The AIA UK Board Member and event organiser, Yasin Visram (who now lives in Canada), prepared an excellent, comprehensive summary of the event, which was published as a bound brochure courtesy of Call Print (see HERE). Unfortunately, the format has been difficult to copy, but it remains a remarkable souvenir. 

The 2000 Jurors and Team Leaders For the 2000 Design Charette jury, Peter Finch and Steve Jolly, were joined by several distinguished practitioners, including the then up and coming architect Zaha Hadid.  The 2000 Team leaders were Christopher Stead, Michael Morgan, Paul Wellings-Longmore, Lester Korzilius FAIA, Martin Hall, Matthew Farrell, Peter Seidel AIA, Charlie Baker and Mike Hardiman AIA – several of whom are still familiar to AIA UK members after all these years.  One student participant – Amy Kaspar AIA – is now an AIA Board Member in Columbus Ohio and still in contact with AIA UK. 

Newsletter Issue #34 - dated Jan 2001 (see HERE) – devoted an entire page to the Event.  In the extract below, Peter Finch likened the arrival of the jurors to the excitement of the Stirling Prize.  It was not quite that important an event but was certainly still newsworthy as was the main topic of the day – ‘environmental sustainability’. 

The 2000 Star Attraction Zaha Hadid visited the warehouse  during the day and soundly chided the students - from Sheffield, Portsmouth, Greenwich, Westminster, Cardiff, Kingston, RCA, the Bartlett, Southbank, and North and East London (plus exchange students from Milan, Durban, Halifax and the US) – for not taking DESIGN seriously enough.   

Thanks to Yasin Visram and Steve Jolly an exclusive record of Zaha Hadid’s unique thought process remains.   Whereas other jurors kept simple notes on their jury cards, she took the time to draw futuristic thumbnail sketches with cryptic titles – ‘sugar cubes’ for the first one; ‘calm chaos’ for the last one; and ‘shining city’ along the way…  Did any of the student’s  designs inspire her future work? Or vice versa?

For many years – up to 2019 - the Design Charette was sponsored by the Roca Gallery and held in a building fittingly designed by Zaha Hadid as an unintended but well received legacy of the event.  Hadid remained an honorary member of the AIA UK Chapter and, on 27 Sep 2007, was given the President’s Award by then Chapter President Kevin Flanagan AIA in recognition of, ‘your office’s contribution in promoting excellence in design; as well as your past contributions of time to the AIA/UK Chapter and the AIA internationally’.  See her AIA UK Newsletter obituary HERE.

For the past several years, the Design Charette has been organised by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, who was himself a student participant back in 2009.  Perhaps participation as Charette student, team leader or juror is a right of passage all should consider…
More on past Design Charettes can be found in the AIA Newsletter Archives, found HERE.  Look for issues covering the last months of the year.

Written by Lorraine King, AIA

2023 AIA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Mexico City

Last month we embarked on a fascinating architectural journey through Mexico City for the AIA International Conference which took place from November 2 to November 6. Our destination was stunning, a city where historical and contemporary styles combine in a stunning visual spectacle. From the majestic remains of the ancient Aztec civilization in Teotihuacán to the iconic skyscrapers that adorn the city skyline, every corner of this metropolis tells a unique architectural story. Mexico City stands as an unparalleled destination for architecture enthusiasts, who will find delight and limitless inspiration at every turn.

The conference will opened Thursday 2 November at the Memory and Tolerance Museum and was followed by 3 days of morning tours and talks at Universidad Anáhuac from 3 - 5 November, and an optional extension day tour on Monday 6 November.

To find out more about what happened at the conference please click HERE.

2023 AIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

As President of the Chapter, I had the pleasure of representing AIA UK at ‘A23’, the AIA National Conference, held in San Francisco, California, earlier this year (June 7-10). This architectural and design event of the year brought together some 13,000 attendees and professionals who had the opportunity to engage in tours, learning sessions and networking programs over the four days.

The breath of the conference was impressive, including some 165 + seminars and workshop sessions that explored the current topics redefining the industry, over 110 architect-led tours and about 60 booths on the exposition floor showcasing the leading building product manufacturers. While the educational and learning tracks were varied and expansive, it was perhaps the Architecture Expo at A’23 – the networking hub for the industry representing over 500 brands and companies – that was one of the highlights of the event. The combination of content on offer to the attendees mixed with the ability to network with individuals across the industry representing a diverse range of expertise, project-altering ideas and revolutionary solutions was well worth the trip.

The conference was held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, America’s first and only convention venue to achieve LEED Platinum certification. This also permits it to achieve the world’s lowest carbon footprint per convention visitor, making it an appropriate environment for this year’s conference where sustainability led the agenda. The conference’s keynote host Mike Chapman, Executive Producer and Co-founder of the CBS television show, America ByDesign, added an entertaining overture as emcee for the keynote experience, introducing each day’s topics, big ideas, and speakers.

Keynote speakers were Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, who talked about a variety of key interest areas such as woman’s empowerment and climate action, and Architect Barbara Bouza, FAIA, who is Walt Disney’s Imagineering President, who about discussed “making the impossible possible.” Bouza provided the audience with a window into the world of Disney and how their imagineers bring Disney’s iconic characters and worlds to life. It was both surprising and gratifying to learn that prior to Disney, she was a Principal at Gensler.  

As the AIA UK president, I attended the Annual General Meeting. Topics at the AGM included streamlining proceedings at AIA meetings, updating the Code of Ethics, eliminating the requirement that AIA components submit bylaws and amendments to AIA for approval, and providing emeritus privileges to international members.

Emily Grandstaff-Rice, AIA President, highlighted her vision for the profession to the assembly. She delved into the many aspects from her seminal statement “Architects lead by using the power of design and the limitless potential of design thinking to make a positive, lasting and meaningful difference that changes the world we live in.” As some of you will recall, Grandstaff-Rice was in London earlier this year to witness the signing of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between NCARB and the ARB, and she and I were able to meet up again during the conference.

Coincidentally I also ran into Kimberley Dowdell the incoming AIA President after one of the keynote lectures and briefly touched base on her upcoming trip to the UK and potential of a meeting to discuss the AIA UK’s aspirations for the future. Her eventual visit to London on July was highlighted in our last AIA UK Newsletter (see HERE).

No conference, however, would be complete without a few field trips of which the educational, two- hour cocktail cruise of the San Francisco Bay aboard an all-electric Enhydra was the most memorable. The boat was equipped with three bars and plenty of space for viewing the scenic Bay’s architectural, historical, and cultural points of interest. We motored a loop around Treasure Island, up the Oakland Estuary, crossed the San Francisco Bay and then worked our way along city shoreline returning to Fisherman’s Wharf. The conference’s content, speakers, attendees, and special events all surpassed my expectations. I cannot wait to participate in AIA24 in Washington, DC!

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

Autumn Movie Nights 2023

For many of our regular Movie Night attendees, cinema is a passion, and one they love intimately. For those who joined us for the first time this autumn, welcome and thank you very much. I hope these movies have ignited a passion for cinema in you.

On a dark cold day on the eve of All Hallows’ Day, the first of our Autumn screenings brightened up this Tuesday. It was off to the heart of the Indian Ocean we sailed, to learn about the life & architecture of Sri Lanka’s most acclaimed.

‘Geoffrey Bawa: The Genius of the Place’ was about a man widely regarded as one of South Asia’s most important architects of the 20th century - the equivalent of Frank Lloyd Wright in America, Luis Barragan in Mexico, or Oscar Niemeyer in Brazil.

Despite many challenges throughout the years - the restrictions of building materials in post-war Sri Lanka, a thirty-year Civil War that fractured the country, opposition from environmental and religious groups to one of his projects, and a series of strokes that left him paralyzed - Bawa prevailed, creating a body of work that is legendary in scale, scope, and ambition.

While his work has been celebrated in books, his work has been undiscovered by global audiences utilizing the medium of film. This film showed the deep inter-relationship between Sri Lanka’s beautiful landscapes and these stunning buildings which blur the line between the inside and the outside - one of his signature contributions to the world of architecture and design.

The fireworks from Guy Fawkes Day had just settled, and back to the BFI cinema a week later we nestled. In our quickest back-to back screenings yet, it was to Thailand where our final screening of the year was set.

"Big Ears Listen with Feet” by acclaimed artist-filmmakers Bêka & Lemoine, takes us to Bangkok on a one-day hectic journey through the chaotic concrete jungle of the South-Asian megacity. Led by the moving personal story of Boonserm Premthada, one of today’s most important Thai architects, the film unfolds through a free wander, punctuated by stunning encounters, events and places, which have contributed to shape Premthada’s unique identity and sensibility.

Deaf from birth, the architect evokes how his disability led him to develop an alternative way of listening using his whole body as a resonance chamber of sound vibrations. Despite their large ears, elephants also perceive sound mostly through their feet. Learning from elephants, Boonserm has developed an architecture of the senses where sound vibrations become the voice of space.

Walking through the dark streets of the slum where he grew up, flying to remote rural communities living in symbiosis with elephants, and observing old ladies’ devotion towards the Buddhist monks of their village, the film reveals, through impressive sequences, the architect’s active commitment to work with people for whom architecture can have a strong social impact.

When a road movie merges with a film diary, here comes the one-of-a-kind style of Bêka & Lemoine’s performative cinema.

We enjoyed some refreshments for this last screening, a toast to all our audience members who have supported us this year. I hope you have enjoyed the varied movies screened, and I look forward to welcoming you back next year. Thank you!

Written by Christopher Musangi, AIA

2023 Noel Hill Award Winner

AIA UK is delighted to announce the winner of this year’s £3000 Noel Hill Award is Melis Ellen Gurdal, from the University of Cambridge.

Melis’ research focuses on water justice and hydro-social theory, with a focus on liminal territories within the Middle East. Melis’ work uses water distribution as a navigational tool to reveal pressure points and to rethink the notions of “identity”, “territory”, and “belonging.” The research aims to learn from locals and nomads of arid and desert lands who have lived with drought for a long time.

Melis presented fieldwork carried on the border of Turkey and Syria, which includes empirical research focusing on the water culture of border zones, as well as fieldwork in Central Anatolia which documented Seljuk Caravanserais and collected quantitative data. Melis will use the Noel Hill Award to complete research on the Aegean coast where uncontrolled migration and water scarcity are causing severe problems. The research will document hydro-social spaces and migration conditions, aiming to explore how a shared and just water future could be created in this territory by creating convivial spaces and water rituals.

The judges commended the work and had the following comments.

‘'The Water Caravanserais of Anatolia project showed a sensitive, human-led response to a pertinent global issue. We believe the research developed by the student can help to inform and suggest approaches and methods to tackle design for climate adaptivity - a spatial issue that architects can make a significant and impactful contribution to. The work was presented beautifully, and conveyed in a way that was both thoughtful and compelling’

The Noel Hill Award was judged by David Ogunmuyiwa (Architecture Doing Place), Bongani Muchemwa (McloyMuchemwa) and Sanaa Shaikh (Native Studio). AIA UK would like to thank the judges for their participation and careful evaluation of all of this year’s entries.

Written by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, RIBA