Chargé d’Affaires Kimberly R. Furnish, Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) Principal Deputy Director J. Douglas Dykhouse, U.S. Northern Command Brigadier General Maurizio Calabrese, U.S. Mission personnel, and Bahamian officials, gathered during the Embassy Nassau’s July 4th celebration to recognize the near completion of the new U.S. embassy in Nassau with a ribbon cutting.
A symbol of the United States’ commitment to The Bahamas and the Caribbean region, the new embassy will enable the continuation and expansion of the mission’s important bilateral relationship. An estimated $80 million was invested in the local economy throughout the project, and more than 160 local workers were employed during its construction.
The new embassy design is inspired by local Bahamian architecture and focuses on a visually appealing and accessible experience for staff and visitors that adds to the integrity of the existing neighborhood. Energy-efficient features include LED lighting, solar panels, storm water collection system for onsite re-use, water cooled chillers, sun control and shading devices on the façade to reduce energy usage, and indigenous landscape plantings. The art collection is a true cross-cultural collaboration, featuring works by both U.S. and Bahamian artists. Of note are site-specific wood sculptures including a 200-year-old tamarind tree repurposed from the site whose transformation promotes conversations around storytelling and Bahamian mythology.
The result is an embassy that combines cultural sensitivity, functionality, and sustainability to ensure that the facility not only meets the operational requirements of the diplomatic mission but also serves as a model of innovation and responsible development in international diplomacy.
Ennead Architects of New York was the design architect, and Caddell Construction of Montgomery, Alabama, constructed the embassy, with Integrus Architecture of Seattle serving as the Architect of Record.
Learn more about the project at https://oboportfolio.state.gov/nassau.
OBO provides the most effective facilities for United States diplomacy abroad. Since the start of the Department’s Capital Security Construction Program in 1999, OBO has completed 180 new diplomatic facilities and has more than 50 active projects in design or construction worldwide.