us embassys new off location digs
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

US embassy's new 'off location' digs

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today US embassy's new 'off location' digs

President Donald Trump has boycotted the opening of the new US embassy.
London - Arab Today

The new US embassy in London is located in a former post-industrial wasteland on the south side of the River Thames -- a world away from its historic home in the capital's luxurious Mayfair district.

Announcing on Friday that he would not come for the embassy's inauguration, US President Donald Trump said it was in an "off location" and that the former embassy had been sold to Qatar for "peanuts".

While Republican Trump put the blame on his Democrat predecessor Barack Obama, the decision to move from Mayfair to Nine Elms was in fact taken by the administration of Republican former president George W. Bush in 2008.

It followed the 1998 US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, which made security considerations paramount.

The most striking feature of the new embassy is a half-moon shaped moat surrounding it, which gives the 12-storey cube building a fortress-like feel.

It has had its share of critics even before Trump.

"Those desperate to find a symbol of the current American administration in the new embassy in Nine Elms will find one all too easily: it is a squat, fortified cube inside a moat," The Economist magazine wrote.

Peter Rees, the City of London's former head of planning, was quoted by The New York Times newspaper as saying that it was "like moving from New York's Upper East Side to New Jersey".

Trump said the building cost $1.2 billion (990 million euros) -- a price tag that reportedly makes it the most expensive embassy building in the world.

Architects KieranTimberlake, based in the US city of Philadelphia, were selected to build it in 2010.

- 'Centre stage' -

The new embassy is located in a formerly rundown area now seeing vast construction projects where there were once warehouses and railyards.

Asked whether British Prime Minister Theresa May shared Trump's views about the area, her spokesman on Friday said it was "a vibrant and important part of London".

Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, the borough where the area is located, rejected Trump's comments about being "off location".

"It is certainly centre stage today," he said.

Govindia called it an "iconic new zone", pointing out that Apple were moving their offices to the area.

He said a £15-billion ($20.5 billion, 17 billion euro) regeneration of the area would bring 20,000 new homes and 25,000 permanent jobs.

The Dutch embassy is also planning to move to the area and luxury apartment buildings are sprouting up, including one which will have a glass-bottomed swimming pool spanning a void between two towers.

- 'Wear and tear' -

Embassy staff have gradually been transferred to the new building in recent months and it is due to open officially for consular services next week.

The US flag was lowered for the final time on Tuesday from the top of the former 600-room embassy in Grosvenor Square, where US General Dwight Eisenhower had his headquarters during World War II.

The area became known as "Little America" at the time.

Current ambassador Woody Johnson, a Trump appointee who owns the New York Jets American football team, called the lowering of the flag "a poignant moment".

The modernist embassy building by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen was completed in 1957 and sold in 2009 to Qatari Diar, the real estate investment arm of Qatar's governme nt.

The price tag for the deal was never disclosed and Qatari Diar plans to turn it into a luxury hotel.

At the time of the selection, then ambassador Louis Susman said the old building was "over-crowded, does not meet modern office needs and required security standards" and was showing "wear and tear".

Asked about the prospect of Trump's visit, current ambassador Johnson said he was looking forward to it, adding: "I think he will be very impressed with this building and the people who occupy it."

He said the new embassy was a "signal to the world that this special relationship that we have is stronger and is going to grow and get better".

Source: AFP

 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

us embassys new off location digs us embassys new off location digs

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

us embassys new off location digs us embassys new off location digs

 



GMT 12:48 2016 Sunday ,27 November

Cilic, Dodig push Croatia to brink of Davis Cup

GMT 05:24 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Erdogan says 'terrorist' Assad cannot be part of Syria

GMT 12:59 2016 Saturday ,05 November

WB welcomes economic reforms in Egypt

GMT 18:40 2016 Saturday ,05 November

Egyptian GDRs in London down

GMT 10:57 2017 Wednesday ,06 December

Peru striker Guerrero has doping ban extended

GMT 17:51 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Trump Signs New Travel Ban on Six Muslim Countries

GMT 10:30 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

Saudi Information Ministry praises media role during Hajj

GMT 15:29 2017 Tuesday ,24 January

Mind games really do help your brain

GMT 06:55 2015 Thursday ,01 October

Boston Red Sox beat Yankees

GMT 08:17 2017 Monday ,28 August

Bahrain celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2017

GMT 02:07 2017 Tuesday ,28 February

Opposition seeks Russian support at Syria talks

GMT 11:06 2017 Wednesday ,27 December

Bahrain tourism projects valued at over $ 13 billion

GMT 20:35 2011 Tuesday ,10 May

New exhibition of Islamic ornaments

GMT 19:52 2016 Friday ,19 August

Nice joins wave of French towns banning burkinis

GMT 03:46 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

US-backed Syrian forces seize Raqqa mosque

GMT 22:22 2017 Friday ,15 December

BDF Military Museum open on National Day

GMT 09:47 2015 Wednesday ,02 December

Ryanair launches court action against Google, eDreams

GMT 10:46 2017 Wednesday ,22 March

Japan's February trade surplus hits multi-year high
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday