<p class="title">The new American Embassy in South London is finally complete. The 12-storey, 518,000 sq. foot building in Nine Elms, just off the banks of River Thames, has been designed by Philadelphia-based architect firm Kieran Timberlake, who were the winners of a competition launched by the US Department of State in 2008.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The new state-of-the-art structure is said to be the most expensive embassy building in the world, although diplomats say it has been funded entirely from the sale of properties in London.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It has taken four years to complete and replaces the embassy on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, which is being turned into a hotel. The location next to the river, and a half-moon- shaped 'moat' around one side, are designed to give the building a high security which was not possible on the current site in the midst of a residential neighbourhood.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The building stands out as a crystalline cube from its brick-clad neighbours. On three sides of the 213-foot [65-metre] structure are ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) sails, which act as a shading device. James Timberlake, a partner in the firm, stressed the need to "filter all that enters", listing "people, air, and even materials." Even birds are kept out through star-spangled fritting found on the northern-facing facade, the only side free from the ETFE sails.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The building will have a staff of 800 people and attract about 1,000 visitors a day. They will be greeted by curving walkways into the interior, with gardens on every floor, each representing a different landscape of the US artworks in the building, which includes a monumental cast of a typical US suburban house in the lobby, created by English artist Rachel Whiteread.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Geetha Balachandran</p>
<p class="title">The new American Embassy in South London is finally complete. The 12-storey, 518,000 sq. foot building in Nine Elms, just off the banks of River Thames, has been designed by Philadelphia-based architect firm Kieran Timberlake, who were the winners of a competition launched by the US Department of State in 2008.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The new state-of-the-art structure is said to be the most expensive embassy building in the world, although diplomats say it has been funded entirely from the sale of properties in London.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It has taken four years to complete and replaces the embassy on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, which is being turned into a hotel. The location next to the river, and a half-moon- shaped 'moat' around one side, are designed to give the building a high security which was not possible on the current site in the midst of a residential neighbourhood.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The building stands out as a crystalline cube from its brick-clad neighbours. On three sides of the 213-foot [65-metre] structure are ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) sails, which act as a shading device. James Timberlake, a partner in the firm, stressed the need to "filter all that enters", listing "people, air, and even materials." Even birds are kept out through star-spangled fritting found on the northern-facing facade, the only side free from the ETFE sails.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The building will have a staff of 800 people and attract about 1,000 visitors a day. They will be greeted by curving walkways into the interior, with gardens on every floor, each representing a different landscape of the US artworks in the building, which includes a monumental cast of a typical US suburban house in the lobby, created by English artist Rachel Whiteread.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Geetha Balachandran</p>
