WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) and the Bureau of Administration announced on Friday that HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) has been selected for the planning and design of the New Office Annex (NOX) in Moscow, Russia.

HOK will move forward with the planning and design phase of the estimated $192 million project which will be followed by a construction contract award. The project’s ground breaking is anticipated for 2012 and construction is estimated to be complete in 2015.

The NOX is being constructed in order to continue to engage the Russian government, business leaders, and society to pursue foreign policy goals of common interest and enhance mutual understanding between the two nations.

The 15,000 square meter NOX will be constructed on the embassy compound and will accommodate a new consular section and 300 desks for State Department and U.S. federal agency personnel.

The NOX will achieve at Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) silver rating as several housing units will also be constructed to replace housing that is on the site of the modern state-of-art facility.

The NOX project will be managed by OBO’s Office of Special Projects Coordination (SPC) with its mission to plan, design and construct large complex projects in challenging environments.

SPC successfully completed the construction of the New Embassy Compound in Beijing, China in 2008 and is building the New Consulate Compound in Guangzhou, China to be completed in 2012.

After reviewing the submissions of 27 architectural firms proposing to plan and design the NOX, OBO determined that HOK provided the best approach to planning and designing a multi-story NOX and sequencing the multiple-phased approach on an existing operating facility.

In the last nine years, OBO has completed 72 new diplomatic facilities and has moved more than 21,000 individuals into safe, secure and functional facilities. The Moscow NOX will be added to the 33 projects that OBO has in design and construction at the present time.

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