US Embassy

Originally designed in 1958 by Edward Durell Stone, the Embassy is one of the largest and most active diplomatic missions in the world, with a daily intake of up to 1,000 visitors. The first phase of this major campus rehabilitation envisions a new chancery office building integrated directly across from the historic chancery, recasts the 28-acre chancery compound as a multifunctional campus setting, and meets collocation requirements by relocating 200 at-risk desks from the off-compound American Center.

The new design precedes restoration of the historically significant chancery building. The project’s new office building, staff diplomatic apartments, and transformed landscape provide a secure campus for the US’s growing mission in India. Central to the design is the integration of new buildings into an existing campus in a manner that complements rather than mimics the historic and legacy buildings on-site. KCCT led the design of the general office areas within the new office building, prioritizing densification, space planning, and a functional interior layout that ties to the design of the public spaces, facilitates diplomatic use, and invokes the common theme of the local vernacular.

A refined central spine forms a resilient landscape that connects the chancery and enclave campuses. The project redefines functional zones to create a clear service and support zone with a new support annex and a residential zone with new staff diplomatic apartments. The new support annex provides secure on-site office and consular swing space during construction before conversion to its intended use.

Blocking and stacking was a particularly complex element for this project. The team devised an innovative design strategy that allows the new buildings to maintain a size and scale that balances the historic buildings on site rather than overpowers them.