The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has recently opened the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. The design by Ennead Architects aims to balance transparency and openness with security, according to a press statement. The design also seeks both to honor Turkey’s architectural traditions and to meet OBO’s goals of sustainability, resiliency, and stewardship.
“By reinterpreting Turkish design history in a contemporary way, we’re proud to deliver a civic-minded and purpose-driven facility that reflects U.S. values of transparency, openness, and accessibility,” Felicia Berger, Ennead principal and project manager, said in the statement.
On the sloped, nine-acre site, the project’s series of courtyards draws inspiration from Turkish courtyard design. The inclined procession eliminates the need for stairs, creating a direct path from the public way to the front door.
The Embassy’s main arrival plaza serves as the first courtyard. Set back from the street, the landscaped courtyard, with trees and other plants, blurs the boundary between the Embassy and the city, while offering a respite from the surrounding business district.
Internal courtyards bring light into the building. They also create outdoor spaces for both large, formal gatherings and quieter diplomatic exchange.
Ennead selected regionally sourced materials that reflect the history of masonry in Turkey. Materials also were chosen for their low embodied environmental impact, high recycled content, durability, and responsible sourcing. In addition to stone, the Chancery façade’s concrete screen offers daylight and views of the outside, and security and privacy on the inside. Referencing Turkish materials, the interior and exterior incorporate marble, travertines, native wood varieties, and local ceramics.
The Embassy is a LEED Silver Certified building. Energy demand is reduced with highly insulated exterior walls; efficient mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems; and solar thermal water heating. Water consumption is minimized with ultra-low flow plumbing fixtures, climate-appropriate landscaping, and harvested rainwater.
On the Building Team:
Owner/developer: Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO)
Design architect and architect of record: Ennead Architects
Local architect: Emre Arolat Architecture
MEP engineer: Mason & Hanger
Structural engineer: LERA
Protective design engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
General contractor: B.L. Harbert International
Related Stories
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 27, 2013
LEED for Healthcare offers new paths to green
LEED for Healthcare debuted in spring 2011, and certifications are now beginning to roll in. They include the new Puyallup (Wash.) Medical Center and the W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 15, 2013
Greenbuild 2013 Report - BD+C Exclusive
The BD+C editorial team brings you this special report on the latest green building trends across nine key market sectors.
| Nov 15, 2013
First look: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center renovation and expansion [slideshow]
The massive upgrade included a 110,000-sf expansion – Javits North – as well as the installation of 240,000 sf of energy-efficient glass curtain wall on the existing facility and the region's largest green roof.
| Nov 13, 2013
Government work keeps green AEC firms busy
With the economy picking up, many stalled government contracts are reaching completion and earning their green credentials.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 8, 2013
Oversized healthcare: How did we get here and how do we right-size?
Healthcare facilities, especially our nation's hospitals, have steadily become larger over the past couple of decades. The growth has occurred despite stabilization, and in some markets, a decline in inpatient utilization.
