The new US embassy in London has a MOAT and is not well liked by the Brits

[Mari333]

* News
* UK news

Ambassador, you are spoiling our view of the Thames with this boring glass cube

British jurors, including Richard Rogers, have argued the building is unfit to represent the US in Britain









http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/feb/23/us-ambassador-spoiling-view-embassy

I think it is ugly as sin.

[Warpy]

1. It looks like one of the rides in Nazi Disneyland

so it fits the present day Reaganized US just fine.

[KittyWampus]

16. It's a typical modern building with landscaping around it that includes a water feature-

how the hell you get "Nazi Disneyland" is beyond me.

[Warpy]

18. Ever been to Disneyland?

that landscaping is very much like it, all it needs is some topiary.

As for Nazi, that Borg like cube of faceless conformity tells that tale.

[Occulus]

20. It's not half as bad as the Green Bird Building will be

Every time people complain about the new US Embassy, I think how much WORSE it could be:



Yes, it's a real design. A giant dildo on the Thames.

Look! It's even ribbed!

[The Genealogist]

26. Ribbed...for the Queen's pleasure? N/T

[comrade snarky]

60. London seems to be going for a theme

The Gherkin isn't curved for her pleasure but ahhhh....

[Soylent Brice]

48. perfect.

:rofl:

[MadHound]

2. What was wrong with the old embassy?

Why the need to put up this monstrosity on the Thames?

[Mari333]

6. according to an article I read, not secure enough

they kept having to shut down whole neighborhoods due to bomb threats.

and this embassy wont allow foreigners to peruse the library there. you know, possible TERRAists.

national security state indeed.

[rasputin1952]

53. "Not secure enough"? So they wan tto put up a giant glass cube?

:wtf:

This has to be a bush idea!...

[tammywammy]

57. It's a blast resistant glass. n/t

[rasputin1952]

66. Yep...

I wonder how "resistant" to blast it really is...;)

The equation of escalation..."blast resistant glass" ^ blast potential = catastrophic failure.

[Stinky The Clown]

75. Also, the old embassy was on land far too valuable ......

The US is selling off a lot of its older embassies because the dirt on which they sit is extraordinarily valuable. They sell the land, use the proceeds to build a new embassy on cheaper land, and pocket the profits.

[htuttle]

3. The Borg have landed in London!

[Double T]

4. Damn thing looks like a chandelier laying on the ground.

What ever happened to architects and architecture; todays architecture is dull and ugly.

[Deep13]

5. Hideous. Too much windowless interior space. nt

[Ian David]

7. Resistance is futile.

[Mari333]

8. LOL

[ThomWV]

9. How is this 'sky scraper' any more or less offensive than the thousands of others in London?

I can see a half a dozen more building in the picture that are equally offensive, including that ugly brick-colored complex of buildings right on the river.

[DevonRex]

15. Yep. I'm not feeling outraged either. nt

[dionysus]

49. you better wipe that latte foam away and start hating your country right now young lady!!11!!

:hi:

[KittyWampus]

17. That was my observation and at least the US Embassy has some outside landscaping.

[WolverineDG]

22. It's not; it's just all the rage to be anti-anything US on DU right now

or haven't you picked up on that?

FYI, the Brits supposedly hated the Faberge egg building at first too.

dg

[DevonRex]

32. Is that the one they call the Gherkin? nt

[WolverineDG]

42. I don't know; the Londoners I met called it the "Faberge Egg"

and it kind of looks like that from the Thames. I think it was built by an insurance company. :shrug:

dg

[spoony]

28. Architects use London like a competition

of who can build the ugliest damn thing imaginable.

[LeftishBrit]

72. I admit that was my first thought too

I don't like the looks of the building but people in glass (or dirty brick, or concrete) houses shouldn't throw stones.

[MuseRider]

10. Is there a drawbridge

to keep out the riff-raff?

[Mari333]

11. will they throw cows at people or pour boiling oil down on the heads of the peasants?

[Javaman]

12. Giant ice cube in water.

pretty good example of US foreign policy.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KittyWampus]

14. It's no uglier than any other building around it & it's not a moat, it doesn't surround the building

what an idiotic thread.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. It is a moat. You think moat= water, but that is not the case

A moat is a ditch, which might have water. And ugly is subjective. Do you live in London?

[WolverineDG]

24. I've been to London many times

& that building is no "uglier" than those surrounding it, or any other building in London either. And, as has been pointed out, there is at least green space around it as well.

What they're probably doing is building an embassy that, should it be bombed, would IMPLODE rather than EXPLODE. They have been building federal courthouses in this fashion since 2001---the one in my town was even delayed a year so they could re-design it to do this.

dg

[WolverineDG]

21. US=automatically wrong no matter what they do

There's no end to the "US is evil/imperialist/wrong" BS, is there?

:eyes:

dg

[Mari333]

25. not as long as they keep behaving like warmongering corporate imperialists

who serve only the interests of multinational lobbyists and corporations.
chest thumping adolescent knuckledragging testosterone addled prick waving gets real old and deserves nothing but mockery.

[WolverineDG]

29. Yeah, the US has never done ANYTHING right in the history of the world

not contributed a damn thing & is the sole reason for everything that is wrong on this planet from the beginning of time.

dg

[Mari333]

31. well, they did give us BB King

[WolverineDG]

43. But since he's an American, he's bad too

gotta keep up with your "US is always bad" meme!

dg

[Mari333]

45. here is a hanky

the military industry and military policies, you seem to like so much, are the downfall of this country.
in the meantime, nationalism is silly.

[WolverineDG]

67. So move

And where did you get "the military industry and military policies, you seem to like so much" just from the fact that (a) I think this building looks ok & (b) I called you out on your anti-anything US bias (which is the ONLY reason you're whining about this building plan). Dial your poutrage back a notch.

dg

[Quantess]

62. Imagine that was the British Embassy in the US

Can you see there might be a little resentment?

[tammywammy]

65. What resentment?

The article talks about 2 people, TWO, that don't like the design. They preferred another one. From all the articles I've read, there isn't an outpouring outrage against the embassy.

[WolverineDG]

68. No nt

[Posteritatis]

64. And the buzzword:sentence ratio award goes to... (nt)

[Mari333]

70. .

[WolverineDG]

71. I'm tired of the anti-anything US hysterionics, so sue me

Because, whining about a BUILDING? :eyes:

dg

[DevonRex]

35. And security? Pfft. Who needs a secure building in London, right?

It's not as if there has ever been a terrorist attack there.

:sarcasm:

:hi:

[WolverineDG]

44. Ever wonder why there are no mailboxes or trashcans on the street?

:think:

Yup, no need to worry about terrorism in London. None what so ever. (said to further enlighten those who don't get the sarcasm in the above post)


dg

[Bill McBlueState]

54. sounds to me like people just don't like the building

but feel free to extrapolate.

*yawn*

[tammywammy]

23. It doesn't look any worse than the other buildings around it

I like that it has a lot of greenery around it.


BTW, if it's so hideous why did only two of the judges fight against it?

[TwilightGardener]

27. Looks like a boxy glass and steel building set on landscaping.

Oh, the horror and shame...

[tammywammy]

30. More drawings here:

I really don't think it's bad at all when you see more drawings.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022302193.html





"It also helps the building, which is estimated to cost about $500 million, put a transparent face to the city and maximizes natural light for workers inside. Photovoltaics in the building's skin and on its roof will generate electricity."

[DevonRex]

39. Looks like it fits in with all the buildings around it, doesn't it?

Just not getting what all the fuss is about.

[tammywammy]

40. Fuss? Bitch about anything the US does.

:shrug:

The cost to build it is covered by the money made from selling the old one, and I don't think it looks that bad either.

[TK421]

56. Thats just it....it fits in TOO well, something dastardly is afoot!

[WolverineDG]

46. God forbid office workers have natural light!

Evil evil capitalist pigs!

dg

[tammywammy]

47. I have an office with a window

Love it. :)

Yesterday morning I spent a good 3 hours in an area of the building that has no windows due to security restrictions. It sucked.

[Mimosa]

63. Oooh, those drawings are NICE.

Thanks, TammyWammy.:)

[hunter]

33. All they really need is a public park and a tiny one room post office.

A little log cabin Post Office would be a nice touch, with a life size statue of a smiling Abe Lincoln standing outside. Tourists would get their pictures taken with Lincoln. (The Paris Embassy would be similar, but the statue would be of Ben Franklin wearing a coon-skin hat.)

The U.S. National Park Service could maintain the park, raise and lower the U.S. flag, mow the lawn, shoo away homeless shiftless Americans, etc.. A few U.S. Postal Service workers could maintain the Post Office.

All other embassy business could be conducted over the internet.

[Alcibiades]

34. I ilike it

But it looks expensive to build and maintain.

[tammywammy]

38. The cost to build is covered by the money from selling the old embassy. n/t

[LibertyLover]

36. Actually, I kind of like it -

the current US embassy in London is not much to look at - very cementy, blockhouse-like and 1960s with a gigantic eagle on the front. This has some style. And I like the landscaping. I think that including the water feature emphasizes the Thames. And heck - the Gherkin will have a run for its money.

[marmar]

37. It is ugly as sh*t.......And where's the moat monster?

Here are a couple of moat monster candidates:

[hunter]

41. The Secret Weapon is Rush Limbaugh.

When the protesters get rowdy and start wading into the water Limbaugh cannonballs in from the third floor.

Nude.

[dionysus]

50. folks, here we are taking poutrage to newer and more exciting lows.. er heights...

[nuxvomica]

51. Regardless of how bad this one looks, what they want is worse

The one Rogers and Palumbo like is a typical piece of post-modernist crap architecture that looks like it would fly away from the slightest breeze. You can see it here:
http://morphopedia.com/files/new-u-s-embassy-in-london-avatar

[Mimosa]

58. You are so RIGHT!!!

I don't even like much current architecture and I think the embassy in the offing is attractive. It looks better than the existing modern glass boxes in the background.

Nuxvomica, the building at that Morphopedia link resembles Frank Gehry cr*p. Thank god, they didn't choose Gehry!

[nuxvomica]

61. Yeah, not quite Gehry, but too close for comfort

Do these guys ever consider that human beings have to enter a building with some sense that they'll get out before it collapses?

[Berry Cool]

73. Aw, that's nothin'! You want a real Gehry, you need this:

Now THIS building I can't even go past in the summertime without sunglasses!

[Iggo]

52. I like it.

Then again, I'm not in its shadow.

[apocalypsehow]

55. Looks like a cool building to me. Much ado about nothing, IMO. n/t.

[rockymountaindem]

59. I like that. I don't know much about architecture, but I like glass buildings

I, like others on this thread, don't see what the problem is. It's got decent landscaping (I like water features as well), generates some of its own electricity, and looks like all the other buildings in that picture. What's the big deal?

Maybe people are upset that it's at an oblique angle to the road on the right.

[NeedleCast]

69. I like it

I wish my house had a moat =(

[eShirl]

74. Is it alligators one puts in a moat, or is it crocodiles?

Maybe they should fill the moat with sharks, with freakin laser beams

[daleo]

76. On the bad side, it's a little Borg cubey

But it also looks kind of light and playful in the photo.

I could go either way.