New Delhi, India
WEISS/MANFREDI has been commissioned by the Department of State to re-envision the iconic embassy compound in New Delhi, India. The new design restores the early modernist Chancery Building by Edward Durell Stone and recasts the 28-acre embassy compound into a multifunctional campus.
The project includes a new office building, a support annex, and a transformed landscape that will provide a secure campus for America’s growing mission to India.
A new tree-lined central green offers shade, connects functional zones across the campus, and introduces reciprocal relationships between the buildings and gardens.
Inspired by India’s enduring tradition of weaving together architecture and landscape, a series of cast stone screens, canopies, and garden walls introduce a resilient integrated design language that brings the campus into the twenty-first century.
“Nearly sixty years after the opening of the Edward Durell Stone-designed embassy, the new master plan by WEISS/MANFREDI will support the next generation of U.S. diplomats in India,” said Kenneth I. Juster, U.S. Ambassador to India.
“This design defines a new foundation and sustainable vision for diplomacy, while drawing from the architectural traditions of both countries.”
“Our goal is to create an open, unified campus that is safe and secure,” said architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. “To do that, we drew upon traditional Indian garden elements such as walls, screens, moats, and reflecting pools that provide not only a level of security, but also a connection to the great legacy of Indian architecture. The new embassy buildings and gardens reference Edward Durell Stone’s historic chancery, introduce a resilient design language and transform the campus to meet the needs of twenty-first century diplomacy.”
The Office of Art in Embassies is curating an art collection that will showcase works from both Indian and U.S. artists in a variety of media, including paintings, photography, textiles, and sculptures. Highlights include a site-specific work by contemporary Indian artist Bharti Kher whose stone inlay piece will be integrated permanently into the India-sourced marble flooring for the consular area and a glass installation by American artist Spencer Finch that will be positioned below the office building’s entry skylight, filling the space with colorful, dappled shadows.
Anticipated completion of the entire campus project is Fall 2027.
Architects: WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism
Client: U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO)
