The Foreign Service Journal, June 2011

56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 1 1 O n April 14, AFSA’s first Book Notes programof 2011 presented Jane C. Loeffler, historian and au- thor of The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies , published earlier this year by Princeton Architec- tural Press and now in a second edition. The event attracted a large audience of AFSA members, architects and person- nel from the Bureau of Overseas Build- ings and Operations. Dr. Loeffler began by taking the au- dience on a tour of the history of Amer- ica’s embassy buildings, beginning in the 19th century and ending with Leader- ship in Energy and Environmental De- sign–certified embassies. In addition to architectural and aesthetic issues, she ad- dressed the effect that modern security and safety regulations have had on the look, feel and openness of America’s em- bassies. Her presentation included photos of many embassies built over the last half- century, during which periodAmerican embassies morphed from inviting, modernist symbols celebrating democ- racy and transparency into forbidding, military fortress–like structures. The August 1998 bombings of the U.S. em- bassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and the 9/11 attacks accelerated this trend, but now the most recent designs are using architectural landscaping to solve security issues, while returning to a more inviting streetscape. Her book is the latest installment to the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series. Library Journal calls it “a fascinating, readable and scholarly chronicle,”while American Studies Inter- national says it is “an indispensable con- tribution to understanding our current diplomatic problems and an invitation to think seriously about how to solve them.” Dr. Loeffler is a graduate of the Har- vard School of Design and received her Ph.D. from The George Washington University. She teaches architectural his- tory in the Honors College at the Uni- versity of Maryland, College Park. The next Book Notes event will be held at AFSA headquarters on Fri., June 24 at 10 a.m. The book, Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War , is by noted author, academic and com- mentator Andrew J. Bacevich (see the March Foreign Service Journal for a re- view). Please RSVP to events@afsa.org. Book Notes events aremade possible by donations to AFSA’s charitable or- ganization, the Fund for American Diplomacy. Learn more about the FAD at www. afsa.org/fad, wh ere youmay alsomake a contribution part of our “$20.11 for 2011” campaign. A F S A N E W S Book Notes: The Architecture of Diplomacy BY DONNA AYERST Jane C. Loeffler’s April 14 talk on the architecture of diplomacy drew a diverse crowd of diplomats, architects, civil servants and other interested parties. OBO Acting Director Adam Namm (with OBO’s Joe Toussaint, Rob Nolan and Christy Foushee) de- scribes the shift toward excellence in design and placing future embassies in urban locations when- ever possible. DONNA AYERST DONNA AYERST