In the latest move by some countries to construct new embassies
or give their missions in Beijing a makeover, the Australian
embassy will spend $20 million refurbishing its already elegant
building, the Australian ambassador announced yesterday.
The refurbishment will cover much of the embassy's high-traffic
areas and incorporate all four levels of the Chancery building.
A new 2,500-sq m annex building will also be constructed on the
site, the ambassador added.
The project will begin immediately after the 2008 Olympics and is scheduled for
completion in 2010.
Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, said the number
of embassy staff had increased to 190 resident Australian diplomats
and their families and 120 Chinese staff.
He recalled there were about 32 Australian staff and 60 Chinese
employees when construction of the embassy was completed in 1992,
making it one of more iconic buildings in Beijing.
"The Australian embassy in China is one of our biggest embassies
in the world," Raby said.
It is a sign that Australia attaches more importance to its
relations with China, the ambassador said.
Woods Bagot, a global studio specializing design and consulting
that operates in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, will
implement the project with Chinese local design institute UAD and
multinational engineers Arup.
"The (Australian) government demanded new thinking for a new
diplomatic era in China," Jason Marriott, managing principal of
Woods Bagot, said.
The Australian embassy is located in the second diplomatic
neighborhood on Dongzhimenwai Street.
The first diplomatic neighborhood is near Jianguomenwai and a
third one is north to Liangmahe.
The US has plans for a new embassy project in the third
diplomatic neighborhood after South Korea and Malaysia finish their
new buildings.
Wang Fan, a researcher of international relations with China
Foreign Affairs University, said the embassy building and
renovation boom symbolized how important China was to foreign
countries' diplomatic strategies.
(China Daily October 17, 2007)
