UNIT 5

In the future world of post-embargo Havana, the US and Cuba are allies. While the new Embassy presents itself as a gift to the city and a gesture of friendship, the history of conflict casts an inescapable shadow on the newly reinstated relationship - the Embassy is prepared for an attack. The project explores the tension between the need for security and a US message of transparency and diplomacy. The Embassy holds a comprehensive catalogue of security devices - subtle takes on traditional defence mechanisms; from the moat and drawbridge, to escape pods and water cannons, which take advantage of its position on the Bay of Havana. T.M.