WEISS/MANFREDI design to transform iconic compound

The groundbreaking ceremony has taken place for a new U.S. Embassy chancery building in New Delhi, designed by multi-disciplinary practice WEISS/MANFREDI, with B.L. Harbert International as general contractor. The Embassy will remain on the existing 28-acre site in the city’s diplomatic enclave — the Chanakyapuri neighbourhood — next to the original chancery building, which was designed by Edward Durrell Stone and is listed on the Secretary’s Register of Culturally Significant Properties.

WEISS/MANFREDI was selected as design architect by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), with the remit to create a secure, functional, sustainable and resilient platform for U.S. diplomacy in India. The new multi-building campus is intended to bridge the past and the present, while providing a modern chancery and office annex, staff residences, and support facilities. The initial construction phase includes the new buildings and a water-efficient, weather-resilient landscape, with future plans including a renovation of the original chancery building.

A new tree-lined central green will offer shade, connect functional zones across the campus, and introduce reciprocal relationships between the buildings and gardens. Inspired by India's enduring tradition of weaving together architecture and landscape, a series of cast stone screens, canopies, and garden walls will form an integrated design to bring the campus into the twenty-first century.

As a result of this project, an estimated US$200 million will be invested in the local economy and an estimated 800 Indian workers will be employed at the peak of construction activities. The OBO anticipates completion for the entire campus project in Autumn 2027.

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

This tender was first published by TenderStream on 22.07.2016 here

Start your free trial here or email our team directly at customerservices@tenderstream.com