U.S. Embassy Port Louis, Mauritius

A New Chapter for an Island Nation

Mauritius has long been an important strategic way point for international commerce and shipping, with Port Louis serving as a major hub for replenishing ships traveling around the Cape of Good Hope. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Port Louis prioritizes promoting education, fostering democracy, and encouraging development in Mauritius. With a new U.S. Embassy, that mission will continue charting an environmentally and financially sustainable future for the island nation.

The new U.S. Embassy will relocate the facility from a tower in downtown Port Louis to a new campus in the emerging and highly anticipated Moka Smart City development. The new chancery will house diplomatic and consular facilities and services, conveniently connected via arterial roads and public transit to a new mixed-use commercial hub that is driving economic and technological development on the island.

The 113,709 square-foot complex will include a chancery, support annex, warehouse, utility building, recreation facilities, an American Center to promote community connections to the region, and space for future residential facilities—all ensconced in terraced gardens that aim to support efforts to reintroduce native Mauritian flora to an area that had previously been stripped for planting as a sugarcane fields. Entrance pavilions for consular applicants, visitors, and employees will control access to the site, which features expansive views of the island's diverse geologic regions.

Energy- and water-efficient systems will lessen the facilities' reliance on the island's resources, while photovoltaic arrays will take advantage of one of the island's biggest resources: sunlight. Mitigating solar heat gain and interior glare is a major driver for the project. The landscape will include plantings that provide shade and water features to create a more comfortable microclimate. The buildings use overhangs to reduce the heat gain on the facades while allowing in natural light, reducing need for artificial lighting.