Built: 1997-1999 Cost: CAN$54,450,000.00 Designed by: David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Type: Government Building Location: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Canada
S ome derided this building as a "fortress" and a "monstrosity" when it was built, but since then tempers have moderated and the United States Embassy has become an accepted figure on Sussex Drive. Because it is located on the last available piece of land in the neighborhood, the designers tried to be sensitive to its varied and historic environment. This task becomes even more difficult when you realize that there is no "throwaway" side or "back" that can be victimized with loading docks and utilitarian needs. The Embassy has to be presentable from every angle. The solution was to situate the embassy on a stone base that not only creates a level platform on the sloping plot, but also helps conceal entrances to loading areas and the parking garage. The building's towers are another example of how it tries to blend into its neighborhoods. The south tower is square and low to blend in with other York Street structures. But its companion, the north tower, uses a lantern shape to ingratiate itself to Sussex Drive sensibilities. The pinnacle that gets the most attention, however, is the atrium which joins two office buildings into one embassy. There are a number of quotations carved into the embassy's exterior walls.
Most of the furniture in the building is made of maple, since the maple leaf is a symbol of Canada. The same company that made the furniture for the U.S. Embassy in Canada made the furniture for the Canadian embassy in the U.S.
"Here, on this continent, we present an example that other nations some day surely will recognize and apply in their relationships among themselves."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower, November 14, 1953
"Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies."
-John F. Kennedy, May 17, 1961
"Let the 5000 mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future. Let it forever be not a point of division but a meeting place between our great and true friends."
-Ronald Reagan, September 28, 1988
"As we stand on the threshold of a new millennium, let us build a future of peace and prosperity, of freedom and dignity for our continent and beyond."
William J. Clinton
8 April, 1997
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New York, United States
