The FCO decided to build a new Embassy in Berlin early in 1994

1.1  In October 1993, following the reunification of Germany, the German Cabinet decided to move the seat of government from Bonn to Berlin by the year 2000. The German Parliament moved to its permanent location in Berlin in September 1999, and most of the German ministries are now located there.

1.2  The FCO wanted offices of approximately 7,000 square metres in Berlin to accommodate an estimated 200 staff at this stage. The FCO also identified the need for a good-quality representational and functional building to serve and advertise Britain in the new capital of unified Germany.

1.3  In February 1994, the Treasury gave approval to the FCO to proceed with the construction of a new British Embassy in Berlin on the site of the former pre-war Embassy in central Berlin, at a net present cost then estimated of £19 million (Figure 1).

1.4  The project began as a conventional procurement. The FCO organised a design competition and in February 1995 appointed a team of architects, Michael Wilford and Partners, and consulting engineers, Whitby and Bird, to develop their winning scheme. Design work began in March 1995, and the FCO proceeded with the purchase for £6.5 million of that part of the site which they did not already own.