The US Embassy in the UK, situated at London’s 30 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, is set to be transformed into a luxury hotel.
Through “sensitive and adaptive re-use” will become a 137-bedroom hotel with shops, restaurants, bars and a spa, Doha News reported.
Qatari Diar’s (QD) – the real estate arm of Qatar Investment Authority – received local authority approval after eight months of public consultation.
The re-use will include extending it to span nine stories, three of which will be underground, with a glass pavilion on the roof and the ground floor open to the public.
In a statement, UK-based David Chipperfield Architects said it will convert the mid-twentieth century building, designed by Eero Saarinen, into a hotel with additional restaurants, retail and events space.
The architects said: “The transformation centres around the preservation of the Modernist design while offering an accessible plan for its new purpose. All security measures and defensive characteristics will be removed, allowing the building to reconnect with the public realm of Grosvenor Square.
“The West side of the building will reopen the street, further reintegrating the site to its Mayfair surroundings. A vertically extended storey with a pavilion above will form a new crown for the building, and the landmark gilded eagle will remain on the façade.”
The developers assured planning officials that the main architectural features will be retained and the transformation would “breathe new life into this significant building”.
The US Embassy is now located at Nine Elms, Battersea, London.