US Embassy in London / KieranTimberlake Architects
"The works of our artists, architects, and preservationists provide us with another language of diplomacy. A transcendent language that allows us to convey values that are at once uniquely American yet speak to all of humanity. Increasingly in this world, art and architecture help us maintain our sense of openness and liberation." -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, April 12, 2010
An embassy is much more than a building or a work of architecture; it functions as a symbolic representation of countries' relationships to one another. It represents the universal language of diplomacy - "communicating values and ideals, extending well beyond any moment in time". An embassy has the difficult task of representing two diametrically opposed concepts: security and openness. The former typically overpowers the latter in importance, which is most probably why when we think of foreign embassies, it conjures up images of stately monolithic buildings surrounded by tall fences and menacing guards or "bunkers, bland cubes, lifeless compounds", according to Tanya Ballard Brown of NPR's All Things Considered.
This bizarre looking creature is the world's first relocatable research facility. Located on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the Halley VI Research Station was officially opened on Tuesday, more than one hundred years after Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expeditions.
More on the building and its uncommon features after the break...
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.jpg?1414457627 "© Philippe Ruault")
.jpg?1414457629 "© Philippe Ruault")
.jpg?1414457632 "© Camilla Pongiglione")
.jpg?1414457635 "Courtesy of Studio Fuksas")
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