The new U.S. Embassy in Asunción supports the continued expansion of U.S.–Paraguayan diplomatic, security, and commercial relations. Located on the existing 14-acre embassy site, this multi-building project embodies the State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ (OBO) mission to provide safe, secure, functional, and efficient facilities that provide a robust platform for U.S. diplomacy abroad that will make the United States safer, stronger, and more prosperous.  The project’s design, construction, and operations display the best of U.S. architecture, engineering, and construction execution.

Design & Construction

Curvilinear structures like garden walls complement the garden areas surrounding the chancery, creating a contrast with the modernist geometry of the main buildings. The site incorporates simple, cohesive building forms with the existing landscape design to create opportunities for outdoor meetings and events.  This integrated approach uses breezeways, deep overhangs, and porches to create shade and reduce solar heat gain. Canopy structures enable circulation across the site, directing staff and visitors to their destinations while providing protection from the sun and rain.   

Natural Hazards Prevention & Utility Optimization

The new embassy achieves rigorous energy-saving goals, optimizing building performance.  Rain is collected and stored on site to supply 100 percent of the embassy’s irrigation needs and manage any increase in stormwater runoff from the site. Adaptive vegetation reduces the quantity of irrigation needed, while inside water consumption is significantly reduced with low flow plumbing fixtures.  The chancery’s exterior shell responds to the building’s orientation and the surrounding site to mitigate heat gain and effectively reduce energy consumption. Additionally, the campus is recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

Arts & Cultural Heritage

The permanent art collection, curated by OBO’s Office of Art in Embassies, includes art in a variety of media, including painting, photography, textiles, and sculpture that seek to create a dialogue of shared values between the people of both countries.  Highlights include large-format canvases, mixed-media art, textile art, glazed ceramics, and pen drawings.