Published: March 12, 2010

Good Design Is Good Business

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New Embassy in Beijing, China Wins Best Public Project in "Good Design Is Good Business" China Awards

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) and the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) accepted today the Best Public Project at the 2010 "Good Design Is Good Business" China Awards ceremony for the New Embassy in Beijing, China.

The "Good Design Is Good Business" awards, unlike most design awards, honors both the clients and the architects who work together to create projects that demonstrate the power of design in the advancement of business and civic objectives.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which was dedicated on August 8th, the morning of the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, represents the best of 21st Century American architecture.

OBO and SOM responded to the buildings' diplomatic role by creating a space that is welcoming, secure, and symbolic while combining Eastern and Western traditions. The landscape design borrowed heavily from Chinese planning principles to create a place that represents American values of openness and cultural diversity.

The sponsor of the award, "Architectural Record" and its parent, McGraw-Hill Construction, recognized 17 projects in six categories at their bi-annual awards program. The awards jury included editors from "Architectural Record, Bloomberg BusinessWeek "and" Time+Architecture".

The "Good Design Is Good Business" China Award is the second recognition for the Beijing Embassy. The Beijing Embassy won the American Institute of Architects (AIA) - San Francisco Chapter's Excellence in Architecture Citation Award in 2009.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Blyth at BlythJJ@State.gov or on (703) 875-4131.

Source: U.S. Department of State