US Dedicates New Embassy Compound in Kyiv, Ukraine
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington,
DC
February 29,
2012
________________________________________
Following
the 20th Anniversary of American-Ukrainian diplomatic
relations celebrated on January 20, U.S. Ambassador John F.
Tefft dedicated the new embassy facility in Kyiv today.
Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Volodomyr Lytvyn;
Foreign Minister, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko; as well as Under
Secretary for Management, Patrick F. Kennedy; Deputy Chief
of Mission, Eric Schultz; and Deputy Director of the Bureau
of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), Heather Townsend
participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Occupying a
10-acre site in the capital city of Kyiv, the multi-building
complex is a platform for increased U.S. interaction with
the Ukrainian people. The embassy’s permanent art
collection celebrates the exchange of artistic expression
between the United States and Ukraine through work by
contemporary Ukrainian, American, and regional artists,
curated by OBO’s Office of Art in Embassies.
The new
embassy incorporates numerous sustainable features, most
notably advances in engineering design to maximize
efficiency and minimize energy use, a green roof system, and
rain gardens which pre-treat stormwater before it is
infiltrated on-site. The compound is registered with the
Green Building Certification Institute and is entering the
formal review process; it is the first LEED® registered
project in Ukraine. B.L. Harbert International of
Birmingham, Ala., constructed the project, which was
designed by Page Southerland Page of Arlington, Va. The $247
million project generated hundreds of jobs in both the
United States and Ukraine.
Since 1999, as part of the
Department’s Capital Security Construction Program, OBO
has completed 88 new diplomatic facilities and has moved
more than 27,000 people into safe, secure, and functional
facilities. OBO has an additional 41 projects in design or
construction.
OBO’s mission is to provide safe, secure,
and functional facilities for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy
and the promotion of U.S. interests worldwide. These
facilities should represent American values and the best in
American architecture, engineering, technology,
sustainability, art, culture, and construction execution.
For more information, please visit http://www.state.gov/obo, or contact Christine
Foushee at FousheeCT@stategov or (703)
875-4131.
ENDS