VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNY #0032 0211605
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211605Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8123

UNCLAS OSLO 000032 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ABLD AMGT NO
SUBJECT:  PROGRESS TOWARD A NEW AMERICAN EMBASSY IN OSLO 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Meetings with the city planning agency, local 
architects, and the public have put Oslo on a clear path toward 
receiving its first building permit.  The redesigned chancery has 
won plaudits from city planners; their verbal approval and generally 
favorable comments from Oslo's Architectural Review Board have given 
us the green light to proceed with the formal process of requesting 
a frame permit.  While our prospective neighbors have not embraced 
the new embassy with open enthusiasm, many are willing to dialogue 
on issues of mutual concern.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Post participated in a round of largely successful meetings 
this month that significantly advanced our eight-year-long quest for 
a new embassy.  The first set of meetings took place with the Oslo 
Planning and Building Authority (OPBA) on January 7-8.  For the 
first time since OBO and post began meeting with the OPBA in 2005, 
we received verbal approval for the design of the new chancery. 
This marked a complete turn-around from the OPBA's former position, 
once shared injudiciously with the media, that the chancery design 
was too industrial in appearance. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A second meeting took place on January 19 with Oslo's 
Architectural Review Board, an advisory body that ensures that all 
new construction meets prevailing architectural standards.  OPBA 
reported afterward that the Board had made recommendations 
concerning the stream bisecting our property and on some of the 
building materials we were planning to use.  Neither, said OPBA, 
would pose any obstacle to its processing of our first building 
permit. 
 
¶4.  (U) As a courtesy, we scheduled an informational meeting with 
our prospective neighbors on the evening of January 19.  Some 200 
mostly elderly residents of the Huseby area crowded into a meeting 
hall to listen to briefings by our architects, OBO, OPBA, and the 
Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for several improvements, 
including a new athletic field and pedestrian bridge.  As expected, 
residents asked about lighting, security guards, traffic, and 
parking.  A few wanted us to start over with a higher building on a 
smaller plot of land, but we explained that the city's approved 
building plan did not allow us to build higher than three stories. 
Privately, some residents discreetly expressed admiration for the 
new chancery design. 
 
¶5.  (U) Public Affairs sent out a press release with OBO-provided 
images of the new embassy for inclusion in press reports.  Media 
reaction has varied.  A few stories carried only the residents' 
point of view, while other media commented on the "softer" embassy 
redesign that was more sensitive to the surrounding environment. 
For example, on January 20, the Oslo paper Aften (circulation 
125,000) included a two-page spread featuring three large pictures 
and favorable comments about the new design from the head of the 
OPBA. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  OPBA's verbal approval of the embassy redesign 
represented a major breakthrough after five years of ongoing 
negotiations.  The result is a unique structure incorporating the 
best of Norwegian and American design elements.  Our local 
architects have begun the formal process of requesting our first 
building permit, which we are now confident of receiving within the 
next three months. 
 
WHITE