SIS (MI6) Building - Albert Embankment, London, UK
N 51° 29.195 W 000° 07.437
30U E 699674 N 5707859
This building is on the south east side of the River Thames and close, north east, of Vauxhall Bridge.
Waymark Code: WMHEBB
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/30/2013
Views: 4
The
Wikipedia website tells us:
The SIS Building, also commonly
known as the MI6 Building, is the headquarters of the British Secret
Intelligence Service (otherwise known as "MI6"). It is known within the
intelligence community as Legoland and also as "Babylon-on-Thames" due to
its resemblance to an ancient Babylonian ziggurat. It is located at 85,
Albert Embankment in the south western part of central London, on the bank
of the River Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge.
The building was designed by Terry Farrell and built by John Laing. The
developer Regalian Properties approached the government in 1987 to assess
their interest in the proposed building. At the same time, MI6's sister
service MI5 was seeking alternative accommodation and collocation of the two
organisations was considered. This proposal was ultimately abandoned due to
the lack of buildings of adequate size (existing or proposed) and the
security considerations of providing a single target for attacks. In July
1988 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher approved the purchase of the new
building for the SIS. The government proposed to pay for the building
outright in order to maintain secrecy over the intended use of the site—at
this time the existence of MI6 was not officially acknowledged.
The site was previously the location of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. These
were swept away in the 1850s and replaced by mainly industrial units,
including a glass factory, a vinegar works and a gin distillery.
The land was eventually bought by Regalian Properties Plc. in 1983. The
architect Terry Farrell won the competition to develop a building on the
site—originally an urban village. Gradually the development changed to
become an office block scheme and with a government agency as the final
occupier, the application for offices was accepted.
Regalian were unaware that the final occupier would be SIS who needed to
move from their HQ in Lambeth, Century House, as they had outgrown it and
also needed a modern building to accommodate new technology and IT
connectivity.
Farrell's influences for Vauxhall Cross speak of 1930s architecture
(Battersea and Bankside power stations) and Mayan and Aztec temples.
Regalian issued a press release in February 1989 stating that the building
had been sold for £130 million and that construction was to take three
years. During excavation of the site, the remains of 17th century glass
kilns, three barge houses and an inn (The Vine) came to light and there was
evidence of a river wall.
Layers of decks rising from the river produce no fewer than 60 separate roof
areas. 12,000 square metres of glass and aluminium covering the six
perimeter and internal atria were installed: the glass may look homogeneous
but 25 different types were required to meet specific needs in all parts of
the building. Even the doors were specially designed.
Vauxhall Cross was also subject to rather different security requirements
from those prevailing in the commercial sector. By early 1992 the quality
and complexity of the detailing was apparent.
The building was completed in April 1994 and officially opened by Queen
Elizabeth II in July of that year. It has been home to the last five Chiefs,
from Colin McColl to the incumbent, John Sawers.
The building's design was reviewed to incorporate the necessary protection
for Britain's foreign intelligence-gathering agency. While the details and
cost of construction have been released, approximately ten years after the
original National Audit Office (NAO) report was written, some of the
service's special requirements remain classified. The report omits certain
details, describing the cost and problems of certain modifications but not
their nature. Rob Humphrey's London: The Rough Guide suggests one of these
omitted modifications is a tunnel beneath the Thames to Whitehall.
The NAO put the final cost at £135.05m for site purchase and the basic
building or £152.6m including the service’s special requirements.
On the evening of 20 September 2000 the building was attacked by
unapprehended forces using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile, causing
superficial damage. British Police recovered the discarded launcher at
Spring Gardens park in Vauxhall, as well as finding remains of the missile
which had exploded against an eighth floor window.
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