and another.
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| Britain |
| US adds moat to expenses at $1bn London embassy |
| 2010-02-24 |
| The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London — the most expensive it has ever built. The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy's Mayfair neighbours and the residents and developers of the Battersea wasteland where the vast crystalline cube, surrounded by a moat, will be built. The decision to abandon the former site in Grosvenor Square by 2016 came after a prolonged battle with residents angered by the security measures demanded after the September 11 attacks. More than a hundred residents took out a full-page advertisement in The Times to oppose tighter measures that they said would leave the area more vulnerable to attack. The new embassy, on a former industrial site behind Battersea power station known for its gay clubs, will be designed by Kieran Timberlake, the Philadelphia architect. A moat 30 metres (100ft) wide and rolling parkland will separate the building from the main road, protecting it from would-be bombers and removing the need for the blast barriers that so dismayed the people of Mayfair. The State Department sought to play down the cost of security measures, noting the expense of London building work. But the price puts the London embassy above the US's most fortified missions, including the Baghdad embassy, which cost $600 million (£390 million) but required a further $100 million of work on air conditioning, and the Islamabad embassy, still under construction, which has cost more than $850 million. My reason for posting this is the picture of the architect's model with the article. The embassy is surrounded by much taller buildings. It is going to be np for other governments to keep tabs on it, and the antenna-farm on the roof will be somewhat blocked. Our state department has an AWFUL record of letting other governments bully us into building embassies in the worst locations. |
| Posted by:Free Radical |
| #15 Moat? Two oceans and the Rio Grande failed to keep illegals out of the US, and I thought Obama liked illegals. |
| Posted by: Heriberto Uloth5220 2010-02-24 22:34 |
| #14 I understand Shamoo is looking for a new home. Just say'n. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-24 20:16 |
| #13 we'll probably be forced to put British dragons in the moat instead of American ones. I dunno, would alligators or crocodiles Qualify? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-02-24 19:54 |
| #12 Eurocon... I wonder if the Citadel of Bitche might be available. For the money being discussed, it could be disassembled and moved to London at half the cost. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-24 17:22 |
| #11 No drawbridge? |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-02-24 17:19 |
| #10 Now to fill it with "sharks with fricken' laserbeams" |
| Posted by: flash91 2010-02-24 16:10 |
| #9 Nice Castle. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-02-24 13:35 |
| #8 I personally have no problem with the expense- or the moat. We need a serious embassy in Londonistan. The moat-monsters should be American, however. Obama can claim them as stimulus jobs. Would someone mind posting the photo from that article, so people can see if my comments about the design are plausible? I have a fear of breaking the Burg's format/margins. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-02-24 12:08 |
| #7 and another. |
| Posted by: Flereth the Eponymous7167 2010-02-24 11:20 |
| #6 Gee. Does an unnecessary $1B expense seem more like payback for a wartime favor? |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-02-24 11:16 |
#5  From the design short-list another design not selected. |
| Posted by: Flereth the Eponymous7167 2010-02-24 11:12 |
| #4 Land's probably a bit cheaper in Baghdad than London... When they sell the land from the old embassy they'll probably make quite a lot of that cost back. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-02-24 10:37 |
| #3 From the design short-list, not selected. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-24 10:02 |
| #2 Mullah, I'm sure you're right and I gaurantee that those Brit dragons have had their teeth pulled and their fire ignition systems removed. They also probably had their tails docked and wear blindfolds too. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2010-02-24 09:57 |
| #1 Agreed FR. Plus we'll probably be forced to put British dragons in the moat instead of American ones. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2010-02-24 09:40 |
