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Demysifying American
Diplomacy
Embassies are often seen as a reflection of a
nation’s identity to the world. And perhaps the most
suitable face for American diplomacy is a powerful
visual representation; as energetic and heretic as
Gehry’s revolutionary Experience Music Project at
Seattle or Eisenmann’s theoretically dynamic and
practically controversial Aronoff Centre at
Cincinnati. On the contrary, the new U.S. Embassy in
Kathmandu doesn’t reflect the bombastic imagery.
Even so, the general public, oblivious to the
function and importance of the embassy, judges it as
extravagant for a government building. They often
view the building with fear and suspicion,
intimidated by the fortified construction. While the
history of terrorist bombings on several embassies
explains why the building poses a more defensive
position, unfortunately, the residue of detached
visual cues obvious in the fortified architecture
has consequently led the world to criticize most
U.S. embassies as a triumph of security over
transparency - the symbol of democratic principles,
which is the expected image of any foreign mission
on the international landscape. On investigating the
misunderstood American identity, the facts that
contribute to building of diplomacy are surfaced;
giving new insights on the logics and complexities
of the design that advocates unfolding the true face
of the departments of diplomatic missions including
USAID, the American Library, and the Consular
Section under one roof of a secure work environment
facilitating easy interdepartmental access. The new
embassy is open for business since the end of August
under the leadership of the new U.S. Ambassador
Nancy J. Powell.
U.S.
Mission in Kathmandu. The property was named ‘Brahma
Cottage’ when the Embassy acquired the site in the
1960’s.
Named after the Hindu god Brahma, regarded as the
protector of the world and the source of knowledge
and understanding, the American Embassy has
analogical mission to assist Nepal’s development as
a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic nation that
contributes positively to regional stability. In
correlation to this goal, USAID-Nepal contributes
more than $40 million each year to the country’s
development. The new U.S. Embassy was formally
dedicated on July 11, 2007 by the then Ambassador
James F. Moriarty. The ceremony signaled the
consolidation of previously scattered departments of
diplomatic missions including USAID, the American
Library, and the Consular Section under one roof of
a secure work environment facilitating easy
interdepartmental access. The new embassy is open
for business since the end of August under the
leadership of the new U.S. Ambassador Nancy J.
Powell.
The construction of the new embassy was overseen by
the State Department’s Overseas Building Operations
Office (OBO). Caddell Corporation, an American
company, was the primary contractor of the new
embassy in Kathmandu, responsible for selecting an
architectural firm, Sorg and Associates of
Washington, D.C., for design, and hiring various
subcontractors for construction including nine
Nepali firms and a Turkish firm, Enka Corporation.
The total of 576 employees included 41 Americans,
375 Nepalese and 160 Turkish nationals. Caddell has
utilized Enka’s experience in building embassies,
and the services of local Nepali consultants for
design, soil analysis, concrete testing, earthquake
analysis, accounting, legal services and public
relations. Caddell also hired local transportation
and shipment companies for material deliveries from
overseas. The project cost was more than $80 million
and is claimed to have added almost $15 million to
the local economy. In this regard, the embassy’s
former Management Counselor, Michelle Esperdy, noted
that the project represents “the long-term
commitment of the American people to the people of
Nepal.”
Building the embassy at Maharajgunj, in close
vicinity to royal residences, might be in somewhat
at odds with the traditional design briefs for two
reasons. Firstly, Maharajgunj is nowhere near to
being an out of town site, which is the general
practice for the building of a US embassy. Secondly,
although the site of six acres may be viewed as
large in the local context, it defies the American
standards of essential 15 acres. However, regardless
of that, lying amongst such ‘royal company’, without
rising dramatically above the surrounding cityscape,
one does feel that the building has claimed a
harmonious presence in our city skyline making it
both less alienated and more in context with Nepali
surroundings.
Contextual also are the chosen colors of the
building envelope, be it perchance or intended. The
warm presence of earthen reds and ochre hue, the
tones that are reminiscent of our village landscape,
subdues the building’s heavily reinforced stretch of
concrete earthquake-resistant structure and adds to
the building a sense of belonging to the host
country. Concomitantly, the subtle play of building
forms in conventional composition, and the
symmetrical windows, with rhythmic exterior shade
devices, which aptly ornament the embassy throughout
its extended latitudinal stretch, act as dividers
and subvert the overbearing horizontal continuity.
The embassy compound includes the four storied
Chancery building of 10,650 sq. meters, the two
storied Marine Security Guard quarters of 767 sq.
meters and other utility buildings. The ground floor
of the embassy houses the American Library and
multipurpose halls, accessible to the general
public. Separated by the atrium are the special
facilities for employees - a health unit, a gym,
dining and other services. The upper floors have
offices dedicated to various sections. Although the
building represents the very best high-tech
facilities of the United States for American and
local employees at the embassy, the unmistakable
simplicity of the embassy’s architecture somehow
disappoints the great expectations associated with
America’s predilection towards imposing and
controversial architecture, and unconventional
architects.
Despite the building’s subdued outlook, the embassy
is not free from misjudgment. The preconceived
notion of American diplomacy, as domineering, has
shadowed public’s vision resulting in undue and
hasty judgments. It is not unexpected that a
majority of the public have no idea what embassies
do or why they are important, evident from one of
the comments recently published in a leading news
daily which states, “An embassy is an office of an
ambassador. To be more precise, it is a residence of
an ambassador. The purpose of opening an embassy is
to maintain diplomatic relations between two
countries. When I behold the newly-built American
embassy building, I feel like it is something more
than an embassy. The infrastructures give an
impression that it is some sort of international
corporation. Comparing these infrastructures with
those of our ministries would be just incredible. I
don’t think a diplomatic mission needs such a big
investment in a small country like Nepal. I think a
small and simple building would suffice. I would
like to suggest to the American ambassador that it
would be better, if he has further plans to
construct another residence for himself, to
construct it outside the Valley”.
The new U.S. embassy does not house the ambassador’s
residence but her offices and staff, and its
corporate facet is intended to reflect the
seriousness of a permanent mission. The core mission
of the U.S. Embassy involves “promoting and
protecting American interests, providing service to
American citizens in Nepal, as well as to Nepalese
seeking to travel to the United States, and most
importantly, supporting the development of a
peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Nepal”.
According to the 2006 survey data, there are 1,500
Americans living in Nepal; 19,000 tourists came to
Nepal that year; and the embassy received 33,000
non-immigrant visa applications which is a 40%
increase over the previous year. When a small
country like Nepal holds he 19th position in the
survey of international students in America, the big
investment becomes necessary aimed at providing
better management and services in a secured
environment. In fact, I believe that the embassy’s
efficient workflow should be incorporated in our
government ministries as well.
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