New Embassy Building on Pariser Platz
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits New Chancery
June 25, 2008. Following meetings in Berlin, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took the time to visit the new chancery building on Pariser Platz. After a tour through the building with Ambassador William Timken, Jr., Secretary Rice met the embassy staff and family members in the courtyard. In her address Secretary Rice stated: “What a great Embassy. It is testament to the American belief that nothing is impossible and anything can be done. I know it was not easy to bring the Embassy to this place, but it is absolutely fitting that the United States Embassy is here where it was before World War II, and this place, sitting right there, is also testament to the fact that nothing is impossible.”
» video and full transcript of the Secretary’s remarks
Opening Festivities July 4/5
In a press conference on May 19, Ambassador William R. Timken outlined the planned festivities to celebrate the opening of the new embassy building on Pariser Platz. The Ambassador announced that Chancellor Angela Merkel and former President George H. W. Bush will speak at the Grand Opening which will be combined with the Embassy’s annual Independence Day reception on the 4th of July.
As a tribute to the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, a group of Airlift pilots will also participate in the Embassy’s opening ceremony on July 4, among them Col. Gail Halvorsen, the original candy bomber. The traditional fireworks display will close the program on the evening of the 4th.
On July 5, the Federation of German-American Clubs is hosting the public Amerikafest on Pariser Platz and around the Brandenburg Gate.
Ambassador Timken emphasized the historical significance of the new embassy site where the old American Embassy had been “demolished to make way for a Wall that divided a city, a country and a continent,
” and characterized the new Embassy as a symbol of the German-American partnership.
Architect John Ruble was also present and provided first-hand information on symbolic and technical details of the building. » press conference photo Gallery
About the New Embassy Building
The United States government broke ground for the construction of the new American Embassy on Pariser Platz in October 2004. The building opened for business in the spring of 2008.
The structure rises four and a quarter levels above the intersection of Behrenstrasse and Ebertstrasse and closes the last frontage on the historic Pariser Platz. The Embassy project is possible and benefits from improvements to the street scape and historically sensitive renovations to the Platz and the urban gardens. A green band of trees, gardens and walkways is created along the street fronts. The overall design has been enriched by extensive critique and collaboration with the Urban Planning authorities of Stadt Berlin and a sensitivity to the surrounding historic quarter required by the client, the Office of Overseas Building Operations of the United States Department of State.
The project is by the acclaimed American architects Moore Ruble Yudell of Santa Monica, California. The palette of materials and design features have been carefully considered to complement the setting and to provide an open yet secure presentation of America.
The final design for the United States Embassy in Berlin is a transformation of the original 1996 competition design to meet new site, security, and program requirements. This new facility provides the USG with a safe, secure and fully functioning diplomatic platform.
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