New U.S. Embassy

To improve security and operations, the project relocated the U.S. Embassy to the "Bamboo Pen" site of the International School in the Liguanea district of Kingston. The design for the 3.79 hectare sloping site adjacent to an historic residential neighborhood collocates the Embassy with its existing support facilities on a single compound.

KCCT's design achieved security while blending in with the architectural vernacular of the urban neighborhood. The generously landscaped site includes a shady pedestrian oriented representational plaza and a consular garden sized to accommodate more than 100 waiting consular applicants.

The Chancery design addresses the challenge of a large program and a limited buildable area by using the sloping site to locate Chancery and consular operations on separate levels. The two story residentially scaled entrance with generous verandahs conceals an efficient four story office building with spectacular views in the rear of the site.  Due to boundary irregularities, the front and rear masses at different orientations are resolved using a dynamic three story trapezoidal atrium illuminated with carefully controlled clerestory windows.  Public facilities and open corridors surrounding the atrium contribute to a dynamic and collaborative central space. General access and controlled office space occupy opposite sides of the atrium with bridge connections. The indirectly lit trapezoidal gallery features a major art collection funded by the Arts in Embassies program and a 12-meter-tall mural by Dorothea Rockburne funded by FAPE.

Sensitive use of pastel stucco, tri-color stone cladding, and low slope metal canopies reinterpret traditional Jamaican materials in a modern idiom. Judicious application of exterior materials and landscaping on the interior and large shade structures outside obnubilate the building boundaries. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

 

Location:

Kingston, Jamaica

Size:

105,895 SF

Client:

Fluor

Cost:

$53M

Services:

• Architecture
• Master Planning
• Sustainable Design
• Security
• Construction Administration
• Interior Design
• Programming
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