# NEW Chinese Embassy in D.C. & NEW US Embassy in Beijing



## hala (Jul 18, 2004)

*Architecturally, which of these designs do you like better?*



*Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the USA*
Washington, D.C.

*Designed by: Pei Partnership Architects*

The Chinese government has asked Pei Partnership Architects to assist them in evaluating a building site offered by the United States government for the construction of a new embassy building. The functional program consists of three separate components: office space for Embassy employees including the Ambassador, extensive public space where visitors would be received for working meetings and public receptions and employee parking. 

This *260,000 square-foot (25,000 square-meter)* project is *the largest embassy in Washington, D.C.* The project is *designed by IM Pei*, in associated with his sons Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei. This may probably be *the last large-scale project that designed by the legendary 89-year-old architect*.










































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*Embassy of the United States of America to China*
Beijing

*Designed by: SOM*

The U.S. State Department’s *largest project ever built on foreign soil *is currently under construction in the Peoples Republic of China. The new U.S. Embassy in Beijing’s Third Embassy District broke ground February 10. The *500,000 square foot (46,000 square-meter)* embassy sits on a 10 acre parcel of land in the city’s northeast quadrant. Architect Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s goal for the project is to create a “pleasant, yet secure, environment for the embassy’s 600 plus employees.”

Led by design partner Craig W. Hartman, FAIA, SOM’s San Francisco based team designed a complex of low to mid rise buildings in a garden setting. “The design intent was to reflect American values through contemporary, clear, direct, and open architecture, with its foundations resting upon the traditions of Chinese design and culture in the landscape,” Hartman says. “Like archeology, it is a subtly layered bringing together of cultures.”

The facility juxtaposes modern, light filled American style buildings with contemporary gardens and courtyards designed in accord with ancient Chinese planning principles. The ring of trees surrounding the embassy’s perimeter and a series of gardens, courtyards, and reflecting pools offer natural and unobtrusive protective barriers, enhancing the security of the complex while maintaining an elegant, open, and welcoming feel for public and staff alike. Landscape architect Peter Walker and Partners collaborated with SOM to create the desired environment.

Organized in three neighborhoods, the embassy’s design enhances necessary functional and safety requirements while encouraging interaction among staff. The first neighborhood contains the embassy’s public spaces, with the consular building prominently placed as the public’s front door to the complex. This neighborhood also includes gardens along the primary public entrance and a commissioned site specific work of art by Ellsworth Kelly. Designed according to sustainable principles, the consular building will boast a skylighted roof that inundates the space with natural light. Its concrete and stone thermal mass will provide temperature control.

The second neighborhood, located behind and adjacent to the consular building, houses the primary office facilities of the embassy within an eight story tower and a low and long three story pavilion. “A veil of patterned ceramic frit coated glass, supported on a tensile net structure, encloses the tower, creating a sense of lightness and delicacy,” according to the architect.
The third, and multipurpose neighborhood houses quarters for the U.S. Marines guards and offers diverse leisure facilities for embassy staff and their families. Tucked away behind the office structures, this region offers a series of low pavilions and outdoor spaces designed to promote social, intellectual, and professional engagement. In addition to the Marines’ quarters, it contains a coffee shop, cafeteria, store, and recreation space.

In announcing the selection of SOM, the client review panel praised the concept for its “innovative, modern design that respects China’s cultural and environmental qualities, while honoring and expressing American values.” The embassy is scheduled to open prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
—Heather Livingston


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## MâF (Mar 29, 2006)

U.S., of course


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Both are very functional buildings.


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## TallBox (Sep 21, 2002)

I'm disappointed by the Chinese embassy... by an architect as talented as IM Pei, who gave us the BoC, his embassy seems... well... shit.


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## duskdawn (May 13, 2006)

Obviously the US's one is better.
But I would say both fits each city's style.
In China the governments buildings are always huge, no matter which government.


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## James Saito (Nov 6, 2002)

OMG the Chinese embassy looks so ugly.
How come it got so much blank walls?
Even shopping malls from 60s look better than that.


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

The Chinese embassy looks like it fits in with 1960's style and if it were built then id be ok with it, but the US embassy looks to fit in more with todays style.


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## godblessbotox (Jan 3, 2006)

eh, i like them both


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## ladolcevita (Aug 11, 2005)

duskdawn said:


> Obviously the US's one is better.
> But I would say both fits each city's style.
> In China the governments buildings are always huge, no matter which government.


Well the Chinese embassy is in Washington D.C., while the US embassy is in Beijing.


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## InfoAddict (Oct 20, 2006)

gosh, the chinese one is ugly indeed, i cant believe it. in some degree its like the suzhou musem wich i dont like either.


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## duskdawn (May 13, 2006)

ladolcevita said:


> Well the Chinese embassy is in Washington D.C., while the US embassy is in Beijing.


Yes, that's where my logic lies. 



duskdawn said:


> Obviously the US's one is better.
> But I would say both fits each city's style.
> In China the governments buildings are always huge, no matter which government.


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## crossbowman (Apr 26, 2006)

I don't like either of them but i guess the US embassy is kinda better.


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## Ted Ward (Apr 16, 2005)

The American one looks like a fortress and is uninviting - the Chinese one looks more open. 

Neither of the buildings particularly catches my eye though.


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

Both are nice, but I like the US one better.


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## InfoAddict (Oct 20, 2006)

the chinese embassy is more like a university student apartment in some remote provinces of china. i really cant agree the master's taste in this case, tho his BOCHK is no doubt the No 1 skyscraper in the world IMO.


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## EL_AMERICANO (Nov 4, 2006)

Ekk. not to be offensive , but, the chinese one sucks! The american one is way, way way better!


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## EL_AMERICANO (Nov 4, 2006)

oh and, the chinese one looks like an apartment complex.. does anyone agree?


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## Il_Milanese (Jan 31, 2006)

US Embassy is much better.
The chinese one looks like a college campus..


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

Not a fan of the Pei building. The Chinese one is nice.


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## LordCarnal (Sep 27, 2005)

^^

Looking at those pictures, the embassy of the U.S. in the Philippines, in my opinion, is much bigger and far more sprawling.


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## LordMarshall (Jun 26, 2005)

the US one looks great


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## Johan (Nov 14, 2004)

Things i like with the chinese embassy, is the skygarden and eeh nothing else, and things i like with the US embassy is the Moat! (Yeah medievel-style!) the tall office part and the entrance is really great and modern with all that glass, the overall looks are also very good... The US embassy is by far the best looking one.


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## ladolcevita (Aug 11, 2005)

Perhaps Beijing and Washington D.C. each personally approved and selected the design of the embassies that is going to be in their city. Did people think that maybe these two embassies actually fits the architectural style of these two cities?


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## duskdawn (May 13, 2006)

^^ That's what I said in my previous post. 


duskdawn said:


> Obviously the US's one is better.
> But I would say both fits each city's style.
> In China the governments buildings are always huge, no matter which government.


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## Erebus555 (Apr 21, 2006)

I like the US one better because it is taller :tongue2: The Chinese one is boring but I guess the surrounding area may suit that architecture. I just dont know.


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## Cannonball (Mar 24, 2006)

I thought the US embassy in Iraq is the largest embassy the US has built overseas. I guess the large thick walls and barriers over a large space are needed.

I have to say the Chinese embassy is different. The area probably allows something to look like that. The US embassy looks like it fits a big city.


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## Sbz2ifc (Apr 16, 2006)

I vote for the US embassy, but mostly for the smaller building.


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## oriental_horizon (Aug 28, 2005)

the buildings needs to be taller and more creative.


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## Chad (Oct 10, 2002)

>


This could had been one of DC's Landmarks if I'M Pei didnt copied his on work, Four Seasons New York so obvious.

I'm not saying I dont like it, but I'm just calling for something more unique, some little more creativity within a "formal" feelings and a little more "LESS"....kay:


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## khoojyh (Aug 14, 2005)

Chinese embassy get my vote me, more high class 
American embassy design have nothing special, square shape.... look like a common office design.


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## ROYU (Jul 19, 2004)

U.S one is better by far.


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## deli (Dec 12, 2004)

don't like either, the chinese embassy look a better one though. 

US one may fit beijing skyline but it remind me a new chinese railway station, not so recognizable...


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## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

USA's


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## indistad (Apr 21, 2004)

By Cannonball



> I thought the US embassy in Iraq is the largest embassy the US has built overseas. I guess the large thick walls and barriers over a large space are needed.


That's cause its not an embassy. Its a colonial administrative office..


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## zerokarma (May 29, 2005)

I don't like either of them


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## levine (Nov 18, 2005)

hmm both are quite outdated...which design can be sustained to next decades?


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## levine (Nov 18, 2005)

*Bureaucracy-Building*

Or i think both of them are playing neutral


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## philip (Jan 13, 2005)

The Chinese embassy in US looks like a museum.

The US Embassy in China looks like any ordinary courthouse in Los Angeles, square and makes you feel like you are in a government building.

I think embassies are supposed to be subtle, and they both look pretty plain to me.

It's funny how some people said a boxy building is more "Today" and a geometric-shaped building is more 1960s.


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## kamil.bukowski (Mar 14, 2006)

I thing The NEW U.S. Embassy in Beijing looks great


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