Looking kind of like the world’s biggest Rubik’s Cube, the new ultra high security US embassy in London will feature a 100 foot wide moat to keep away would be attackers, and a one billion dollar price tag. That’s more than either of the new embassies in Iraq and Pakistan cost, where security concerns are much higher.

The new digs are needed because the neighbors near the current bunker like place in ritzy Mayfair, are ready to revolt if even tighter security measures are introduced near their fancy homes. The cube will be near the Thames in the gritty industrial area behind Battersea Power Station, a district currently known mostly for its gay bars. It has the benefit of falling just outside London’s infamous congestion zone, where you need to pay about $10 each day just to drive in. US diplomats have racked up almost $50 million in unpaid congestion charges driving to the current place.

Designed by Philadelphia based architect Kieran Timberlake, the new embassy is designed to be carbon neutral, and is expected to actually return power to the UK grid. Other than the moat, the designers are being tight-lipped about security features. Still, the layman in me wonders about the thinking behind using a glass structure. Perhaps all a future spy would need is lip reading lessons and a good pair of binoculars.

What’s that line about people in glass houses throwing stones?

Groundbreaking for the new US embassy in London is scheduled for 2013, with an expected completion date in 2017.

The Times (London)