U.S. and local Chinese officials gathered to host the ribbon-cutting of the new U.S. Consulate General today in Guangzhou, China. Perceived as a symbol of the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and China, companies from both countries collaborated on the $267 million project, which broke ground in October 2009 and was completed in June 2013.

Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill's San Francisco office designed the complex while BL Harbert International, LLC, of Birmingham, AL and China Huashi Enterprises, Ltd., of Chengdu, China were the project's contractors.

Located on a 7.4-acre site in Guangzhou's blossoming Business Center District near the Pearl River, the seven-building complex includes a 4-story main consular building for visa services and public events, an office building for 400 employees, a residence for U.S. Marines, a warehouse with service shops, three entrance pavilions.

Building façades and landscaped areas integrate local stones from the Fujian province as well as trees and plants from local nurseries in southern China. Teak wood as a finish material provides exterior protection from seasonal monsoons and tropical heat.



Designed to facilitate the visa application process, the main Consulate building includes 67 service windows for visa applicants and U.S. citizens, and can accommodate up to 1,000 non-immigrant visa (NIV) and immigrant visa (IV) customers every day.

A permanent art collection installed throughout the consulate showcases the works of contemporary American and Chinese artists, notable Chinese photographers, and site-specific commissions.



And of course, each pavilion of the LEED® Silver-certified facility is equipped with a multitude of green and adaptable features to create a comfortable environment for employees, visitors, and consular customers. These include the white, reflective roof on the main consulate building that helps reduces cooling needs. Green roofs in the smaller provide insulation, capture and filter rainwater, as well as filter city air.

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