Editing SIS Building

{{Short description|Government office building in London, England}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = SIS Building
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| former_names     = 
| alternate_names  = {{plainlist|
*MI6 Building<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/937298.stm|title=MI6 attack weapon identified|date=22 September 2000|access-date=12 March 2015|publisher=BBC News|quote=Police are continuing extensive searches of the area around the MI6 building}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/934937.stm|title='Rocket' theory over MI6 blast|date=21 September 2000|access-date=12 March 2015|publisher=BBC News|quote=Police are searching all areas around the MI6 building}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/mi6-building-is-rocked-by-two-explosions-698855.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421075327/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/mi6-building-is-rocked-by-two-explosions-698855.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2009|first=Kate|last=Watson-Smyth|date=21 September 2000|access-date=12 March 2015|work=The Independent|title=MI6 Building is Rocked by Two Explosions|quote=Two explosions rocked the MI6 building in Vauxhall Cross, central London, last night.}}</ref>
*Legoland<ref>{{cite web|title=Spooks on Stella|work=The Guardian|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,1235335,00.html|date=10 June 2004|access-date=17 June 2008}}</ref>
*Ceaușescu Towers<ref name=TelegSep2300>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1356363/The-very-public-face-of-the-secret-service.html|title=The very public face of the secret service|author=Philip Johnston|date=22 September 2000|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref>
*Babylon-on-Thames<ref name=Newsweek00>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/85968|title=Mission: Possible|author=Carla Power|author-link=Carla Power|date=22 September 2000|work=Newsweek|access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref>
*Vauxhall Trollop<ref name=TelegSep2400>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4255238/One-in-the-eye-for-the-Vauxhall-Trollop.html|title=One in the eye for the Vauxhall Trollop|author=Alan Judd|author-link=Alan Judd|date=24 September 2000|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref>
*The Ziggurat<ref>{{cite web|url=https://londonist.com/2011/11/top-10-spy-sites-in-london|title=Top 10 Spy Sites in London|date=22 November 2011|website=londonist.com}}</ref>}}
| status           = 
| image            = SIS Building, Vauxhall Cross - geograph.org.uk - 4541871.jpg
| image_alt        = 
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = SIS Building viewed from [[Millbank]] with the [[River Thames]] in the foreground
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| altitude         = 
| building_type    = 
| architectural_style = [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodern]]
| structural_system = 
| cost             = 
| ren_cost         = 
| client           = [[Secret Intelligence Service]]
| owner            = [[HM Government]]
| current_tenants  = 
| landlord         = 
| address          = 85 [[Albert Embankment]], [[Vauxhall]], [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]]
| location_town    = London
| location_country = United Kingdom
| coordinates      = {{coord|51|29|14|N|00|07|27|W|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| groundbreaking_date = 
| start_date       = 
| completion_date  = April 1994
| opened_date      = 
| inauguration_date = 14 July 1994
| renovation_date  = 
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| floor_count      = 
| floor_area       = {{convert|252497|sqft|m2}}
| seating_type     = 
| seating_capacity = 
| elevator_count   = 
| architect        = [[Terry Farrell and Partners]]
| architecture_firm = 
| structural_engineer = 
| services_engineer = 
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| other_designers  = 
| quantity_surveyor = 
| main_contractor  = [[John Laing plc]]
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| parking          = 
| public_transit   = {{rint|london|underground|size=15}} {{rint|london|rail|size=15}} [[Vauxhall station|Vauxhall]]
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}}
The '''SIS Building''', also called the '''MI6 Building''', at '''Vauxhall Cross''' houses the headquarters of the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] (SIS), also known as Military Intelligence, Section 6 ([[MI6]]), the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence agency.  It is located at 85 [[Albert Embankment]] in [[Vauxhall]], London, on the bank of the [[River Thames]] beside [[Vauxhall Bridge]]. The building has been the headquarters of the SIS since 1994.

==History==

===Background===
Previously based at [[54 Broadway]],<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vCPGrWeK04gC&pg=PA12   |title=Jubilee Line Extension From Concept to Completion|first= Bob|last= Mitchell |year=2003|publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=978-0727730282|page=12}}</ref> the SIS relocated to [[Century House, London|Century House]], a 22-storey office block on [[Westminster Bridge Road]], [[Lambeth]], near [[Lambeth North tube station|Lambeth North]] and [[London Waterloo railway station|Waterloo]] stations, in 1964.<ref name=TelegSep2300/> Its location at Century House was classified information, though ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that it was "London's worst-kept secret, known only to every taxi driver, tourist guide and KGB agent".<ref name=TelegSep2400/> Century House was described as "irredeemably insecure" in a 1985 [[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]] (NAO) report with security concerns raised in a survey; the modernist building was made largely of glass, and had a petrol station at its base.<ref name=TelegSep2400/>{{sfn|Corera|2012|p=321}} Security concerns combined with the remaining short leasehold and cost of modernising the building were important factors in moving to a new headquarters.<ref name=TelegSep2400/>

===Design and construction===
The site on which the SIS building stands had been the location of the [[Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens]] in the 19th century.<ref name=SISBuild>{{cite web|url=https://www.sis.gov.uk/our-history/buildings.html|title=Buildings – SIS (MI6)|work=SIS|access-date=26 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704074447/https://www.sis.gov.uk/our-history/buildings.html|archive-date=4 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Several industrial buildings were subsequently built on the site after the demolition of the pleasure gardens in the 1850s, including a glass factory, a vinegar works and a gin distillery.<ref name=SISBuild/> Archeological excavation of the site during building found the remains of 17th-century glass kilns, as well as barge houses and an inn called ''The Vine''. Evidence was also found for a river wall on the site.<ref name=SISBuild/>

In 1983 the site was bought by [[Property development|property developers]] Regalian Properties.<ref name=SISBuild/> A competition to develop the site was won by architect [[Terry Farrell (architect)|Terry Farrell]], with an [[urban village]] as Farrell's original proposal.<ref name=SISBuild/> A scheme of office blocks was subsequently developed for the site, with a government agency as their occupier. The building had been sold for £130&nbsp;million in 1989, with construction planned to take three years, built by [[John Laing plc|John Laing]].<ref name=SISBuild/> SIS ultimately became the occupiers of the building.<ref name=SISBuild/> Farrell's design for the building was influenced by 1930s industrial modernist architecture such as [[Bankside Power Station|Bankside]] and [[Battersea Power Station]]s and [[Maya architecture|Mayan]] and [[Aztec architecture|Aztec]] religious temples.<ref name=SISBuild/>

[[File:SIS Building under construction in 1991.jpg|thumb|left|The SIS Building under construction during 1991]]
Regalian approached the government in 1987 to assess their interest in the proposed building.<ref name='Hans95'>{{cite web|title=Lords Hansard: Written Answers Thursday 20th April 1995|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199495/ldhansrd/vo950420/text/50420w01.htm|work=Hansard|access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> In 1988 Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] approved the purchase of the new building for the SIS. The NAO put the final cost at £135.05&nbsp;million for site purchase and the basic building or £152.6&nbsp;million including the service's special requirements.<ref name=INDOct15>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mi5-and-mi6-thames-side-headquarters-could-be-moved-into-other-government-buildings-in-whitehall-a6701946.html|title=MI5 and MI6 Thames-side headquarters could be moved into other government buildings in Whitehall|date=20 October 2015|work=The Independent|access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref>

The site is rumoured to include a tunnel under the Thames from the building to [[Whitehall]].<ref name=INDOct15/><ref name="AllinsonThornton2014">{{cite book|author1=Kenneth Allinson|author2=Victoria Thornton|title=Guide to London's Contemporary Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCKLBQAAQBAJ|date=12 May 2014|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4832-7834-6|page=58}}</ref>

The numerous layers over which the building is laid out create 60 separate roof areas.<ref name=SISBuild/> 25 different types of glass were used in the building, with {{convert|12000|m2|sqft|order=flip}} of glass and aluminium used in the building's construction.<ref name=SISBuild/> The windows in the SIS building are triple glazed for security purposes. Due to the sensitive nature of MI6's work, large parts of the building are below street level, with numerous underground corridors serving the building.<ref>Mark Henderson. "Heavy security at £75m building." ''The Times'', London, 21 September 2000</ref> Amenities for staff include a sports hall, gymnasium, aerobics studio, a squash court and a restaurant.<ref>[[Francis Wheen]]. "MI6's big secret: they're useless.", ''The Guardian'', 3 September, pg. 1</ref><ref name='SISLife'>{{cite web|title=Explore life at SIS|url=https://www.sis.gov.uk/explore-life-at-sis.html|publisher=Secret Intelligence Service|access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=6 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606222140/https://www.sis.gov.uk/explore-life-at-sis.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The building also features two [[moat]]s for protection.<ref>{{cite web|title=MI6 building 'like a fortress' |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/21/britain.mi6.building/index.html |date=21 September 2000 |access-date=16 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111040315/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/21/britain.mi6.building/index.html |archive-date=11 November 2014 }}</ref>
 
The building was completed in April 1994 and officially opened by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] accompanied by [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], on 14 July 1994.<ref>"Queen visits Mi6.", ''The Times'', London, 15 July 1994, pg 2</ref>

===Recent history===
[[File:The Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx Building, Vauxhall Cross - geograph.org.uk - 5671180.jpg|thumb|The [[Albert Embankment]] elevation during 2018]]In September 2000, [[2000 MI6 attack|the building was attacked]] by unapprehended forces using a Russian-built [[RPG-22]] anti-tank rocket, causing superficial damage.<ref name=BBC00>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/934937.stm|title='Rocket' theory over MI6 blast|date=21 September 2000|publisher=BBC News|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Police]] recovered the discarded rocket launcher at Spring Gardens park in [[Vauxhall]], as well as finding remains of the rocket which had exploded against an eighth floor window.<ref name=Ind00>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/missile-launcher-in-mi6-attack-was-new-to-uk-698787.html|title=Missile launcher in MI6 attack was new to UK|author=Kim Sengupta|date=21 September 2000|work=The Independent|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> Dissident [[Irish Republican]]s were believed to have been behind the attack.<ref name=Guard00>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/sep/21/uksecurity|title=MI6 missile attack: Irish dissidents suspected|date=21 September 2000|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'' after the attack, journalist [[Alan Judd]] referred to detractors who wished a less visible physical presence for SIS; writing that "Both sides of the Whitehall debate might now claim vindication by the rocket attack: on the one hand, the building's profile made it an obvious target; on the other, a headquarters with expensive security protection has been shown to be necessary."<ref name=TelegSep2400/>

On 1 June 2007, the building and its [[curtilage]] were designated as a protected site for the purposes of Section 128 of the [[Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005]]. The effect of the act was to make it a specific criminal offence for a person to [[Trespass in English law|trespass]] onto the site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trespass-on-protected-sites-sections-128-131-of-the-serious-organised-crime-and-police-act-2005|title=Home Office Circular 018 / 2007 (Trespass on protected sites – sections 128–131 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)|date=22 May 2007|website=GOV.UK|publisher=Home Office|language=en|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref>

In August 2010, two men from North Wales were arrested after a [[parcel bomb]] was found at the SIS building's postal handling centre.<ref name=Guard10>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/01/men-held-mi6-parcel-bombs|title=Two men held over MI6 and Downing Street parcel bombs|author=James Meikle|date=1 August 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>

The Queen visited Vauxhall Cross for a second time in February 2006,<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', London, 11 February 2006, pg. 78</ref> and [[Charles, Prince of Wales]] visited in July 2008.<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', London, 9 July 2008, pg. 55.</ref> In June 2013, [[Prince Harry]] visited Vauxhall Cross and was given a briefing on intelligence by staff.<ref name=TelegJun13>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10105171/Prince-Harry-given-briefing-by-MI6-secret-agents.html|title=Prince Harry given briefing by MI6 secret agents|author= Alice Philipson|date=7 June 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref> During the [[Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant]], part of the celebrations for the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II]] in 2012, the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] played the "[[James Bond Theme]]" as they passed the building. ''The Daily Telegraph'' wrote that "Even MI6 managed to join the party – just. Its headquarters at Vauxhall sported a few discreet rows of bunting. But its balconies remained empty."<ref name=TelegJun12>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9309898/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Flotilla-sails-into-history-books-on-a-river-of-goodwill.html|title=The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Flotilla sails into history books on a river of goodwill|author=Neil Tweedie|date=4 June 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=Teleg3Jun12>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9309856/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Happy-and-glorious-the-river-Queen.html|title=The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Happy and glorious, the river Queen|author=Gordon Rayner|date=3 June 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref>

The building was lit with pink lights [[Breast cancer awareness|to raise awareness of breast cancer]] in 2013.<ref name=TelegPink>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10402170/Iconic-landmarks-turn-pink-for-breast-cancer-campaign.html?frame=2712510|title=Iconic landmarks turn pink for breast cancer campaign|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref> In January 2013, the building was briefly put into a state of alert after the [[Vauxhall helicopter crash]].<ref name=TelegJan13>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9807170/Helicopter-crash-miracle-of-how-so-few-died-when-fire-rained-down-on-the-rush-hour.html|title=Helicopter crash: 'miracle' of how so few died when fire rained down on the rush hour|author1=Gordon Rayner |author2=Duncan Gardham |author3=Andrew Hough |date=16 January 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref>

==Cultural influence==
===Architectural criticism===
[[File:MI6 building lookup.jpg|left|thumb|Detail of the Vauxhall Bridgefoot elevation]]

The SIS building was reviewed favourably by [[Deyan Sudjic]] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 1992; he described it as an "epitaph for the architecture of the eighties".<ref name="GuardJun92">{{cite news |last=Sudjic |first=Deyan |author-link=Deyan Sudjic |date=19 June 1992 |title=The building of a not so secret service |format=pdf |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London (UK) |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/187395472 |id={{ProQuest|187395472}} |via= ProQuest Archiver |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sudjic wrote that "It's a design which combines high seriousness in its classical composition with a possible unwitting sense of humour. The building could be interpreted equally plausibly as a Mayan temple or a piece of clanking art deco machinery", and added that the most impressive thing about Farrell's design was the way he had not "confined himself to a single idea" as the building "grows and develops as you move around it".<ref name="GuardJun92" /> In their 2014 ''Guide to London's Contemporary Architecture'', Kenneth Allinson and Victoria Thornton wrote:{{blockquote|Some see this building as Farrell's most controlled and mature building&nbsp;– a rich diet, certainly, but not a cacophony of rhetorical features, nor without the unselfconscious virtuosity which can uplift and excite. But it is undoubtedly too [[Gotham City]] for the taste of many. Farrell's many critics and opponents&nbsp;... would call it a nightmare: a secret service fortress, provided by a private speculator, designed by an avowed populist, and sited on a most prominent river location. Indubitably, it is a bizarre phenomenon.<ref name="AllinsonThornton2014"/>}} Feargus O'Sullivan on the other hand mentioned the nickname "[[Nicolae Ceaușescu|Ceaușescu]] Towers" for the building, referring to the [[Palace of the Parliament|architecture]] of Socialist Romania, and derided the whole neighbourhood of newly constructed buildings in Vauxhall as "[[Dubai]]-on-Thames".<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Feargus|title=America's Passive-Aggressive New Embassy Arrives in London|url=https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/12/americas-passive-aggressive-new-embassy-arrives-in-london/548417/|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=19 Dec 2017|date=15 Dec 2017}}</ref>

===James Bond films===
Vauxhall Cross has featured in several recent [[James Bond in film|''James Bond'' films]], where it is depicted as the home base of the fictional [[00 Agent|00 Section]] and its associated [[Q (James Bond)|Q Branch]]. The building was first featured in ''[[GoldenEye]]'' (1995), and was depicted as having been attacked in ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'' (1999), ''[[Skyfall]]'' (2012), and ''[[Spectre (2015 film)|Spectre]]'' (2015).<ref name=Guard99>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/nov/28/philipfrench|title=James'll fix it&nbsp;... as usual|author=Philip French|author-link=Philip French|date=28 November 1999|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=Guard12>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/28/skyfall-james-bond-review|title=Skyfall – review|author=Philip French|author-link=Philip French|date=28 October 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> For ''Skyfall'' a {{convert|50|ft|m|0|abbr=off|adj=mid|-high}} model of the building was constructed at [[Pinewood Studios]].<ref name=SISBuild/> A special premiere of ''Skyfall'' was held at Vauxhall Cross for MI6 staff, who cheered when their headquarters was attacked in the film.{{sfn|Corera|2012|p=322}} Some filming for ''Spectre'' took place on the Thames near Vauxhall Cross in May 2015, with the fictional [[Controlled explosion|controlled demolition]] of the building playing a key role in the finale sequence of the film.<ref name=BBCMay15>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32777018|title=James Bond fans see filming of Spectre on River Thames in London|date=18 May 2015|publisher=BBC News|access-date=20 May 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Thames House]] – the headquarters of MI5, the British domestic intelligence agency
* [[The Doughnut]] – the headquarters of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British signals intelligence and cybersecurity agency

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book|last=Corera|first=Gordon|year=2012|title=MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service|location=London|publisher=Phoenix|isbn=978-0-7538-2833-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Secret Intelligence Service Building}}
* [http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/9900/thames_house_-_vauxhall_cross.aspx Report on SIS' Vauxhall Cross building] by the [[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]].

{{London landmarks}}

[[Category:1994 in London]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1994]]
[[Category:Intelligence agency headquarters in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:National government buildings in London]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1994]]
[[Category:Office buildings in London]]
[[Category:Postmodern architecture in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:MI6]]
[[Category:Terry Farrell buildings]]
[[Category:Vauxhall]]
[[Category:Ziggurat style modern architecture]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in the United Kingdom]]