U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis B. Susman, and acting director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Adam Namm, announced that KieranTimberlake of Philadelphia has won the design competition for the New London Embassy.

KieranTimberlake’s design met the goal of creating a modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and energy efficient embassy for the 21st century. Their concept most fully satisfied the requirements outlined in the design competition’s mission statement. According to the announcement, the concept holds the greatest potential for developing a truly iconic embassy and is on the leading edge of sustainable design.

The process began with 37 architectural submissions, which the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations narrowed down to a shortlist of nine firms. A distinguished jury of both American and British leaders in the fields of architecture, academia and diplomacy selected four firms for the final phase of the competition.

The four firms explored the symbolism of the embassy, its presence and position in the cityscape of London. Their goal was to create a building and site complex with a timeless quality to appropriately represent the United States of America in the United Kingdom.

In addition to KieranTimberlake, the other competing firms were Morphosis Architects, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Richard Meier & Partners. All worked for nearly a year and made presentations to the jury, which then recommended the winning design.

Moving forward with the design of the building, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations and KieranTimberlake will be actively engaged in the consultation and planning process involving the Mayor’s office, the Wandsworth Borough Council, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, as well as residents in the area to ensure that the new embassy provides an appropriate home for the United States of America in London.

The anticipated ground breaking on this landmark embassy will be in 2013 with a goal to complete the construction in 2017.