Tuesday, April 26, 2011

AIT set to move to bigger compound in 2015

Can an office-building project symbolize the United States' commitment to U.S.-Taiwan ties? The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, hopes and believes the answer is "yes."

The U.S. and Taiwan are engaged in a bitter dispute over Taiwan's ban on imports of U.S. beef and in a discussion of a trade agreement, with increasing appeals from U.S. academia to "abandon Taiwan" to improve U.S.-China relations.

William Stanton, the AIT Taipei Office director, has always pointed to the US$216 million new office project as solid proof of U.S. support, saying that it "symbolizes the importance and vibrancy of U.S.-Taiwan ties."

The official overseeing the relocation of the office, which is likely to happen in early 2015, agreed with Stanton.

Located in Taipei's eastern district of Neihu, the project will replace AIT's current compound in downtown Taipei as "a flagship project" and "one of our top overseas projects, " said Lawrence Ostrowski, project director under the Overseas Buildings Operations of the U.S. State Department.

The existing 60-year-old AIT compound is too crowded and too expensive to maintain, AIT spokesman Chris Kavanagh told CNA in the first media tour of the construction site of the new complex.

The 6.5 hectare new office compound, planned for more than a decade, will include 15,000-square meters of office buildings that will be home to all of AIT's Taipei facilities, including the Agricultural Trade and Commercial offices, the American Cultural Center, and the Chinese Language School.

The project prides itself on its "green initiative, " using only 14 percent of the maximum 40 percent of land upon which it is allowed to build, Ostrowski said.

It will also be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, and will meet international design, construction and operation standards for high performance "green" buildings, he said.

With this goal in mind, he went on, solar panels, most of which will be Taiwan-made, will be used to generate around 15 percent of the total electricity demand of the compound, which will also utilize rainwater for irrigation of its grounds and will preserve most of the existing vegetation on the site.

Ostrowski described the project as a "hybrid, " that has creativity in its design process and is not limited to the standard U.S. embassy design program announced by the State Department in 2002 that produced "boxy, prison-like embassies."

Construction of the project is still in the soil preparation segment of a 30-month long Phase One, during which all elements except the main building will be constructed.

Ostrowski brushed aside media rumors that materials and even the construction workers were shipped from the U.S. for security concerns and that "secret basements" were being built.

"As you can see, all the work in Phase One will be done by locals, while in Phase Two, the great majority will also be done by local workers, " he said.

All construction materials, except for special items such as security doors and windows, will be purchased from local manufacturers, he went on.

"And we don't have a basement," he added.

Ostrowski also denied reports that the construction had blocked local traffic, and added that AIT is working with the local authorities, including the Taipei city government, the Executive Yuan, the Foreign Ministry and the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office, on issues such as soil and water conservation, soil disposal and pollution control. By Chris Wang Staff reporter ENDITEM/J