Vauxhall Building

The SIS Building or MI6 Building at Vauxhall Cross houses the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, MI6). It is located at 85 Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, a south western part of central London, United Kingdom, on the bank of the River Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge. The building has been the headquarters of the SIS since 1994. HistoryBackgroundThe SIS had previously been based at Century House, a 22-storey office block on Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, near Waterloo station. The location of the headquarters 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'. Century House was described as "irredeemably insecure" in a 1985 National Audit Office (NAO) report with security concerns raised in a survey; the building was made largely of glass, and had a petrol station at its base. Security concerns combined with the remaining short leasehold and cost of modernising the building were important factors in moving to a new headquarters. Design and constructionThe site on which the SIS building stands had been the location of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in the 19th century. 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. Archeological excavation of the site during building found the remains of seventeenth 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.

The SIS Building or MI6 Building at Vauxhall Cross houses the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, MI6). It is located at 85 Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, a south western part of central London, United Kingdom, on the bank of the River Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge. The building has been the headquarters of the SIS since 1994. HistoryBackgroundThe SIS had previously been based at Century House, a 22-storey office block on Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, near Waterloo station. The location of the headquarters 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'. Century House was described as "irredeemably insecure" in a 1985 National Audit Office (NAO) report with security concerns raised in a survey; the building was made largely of glass, and had a petrol station at its base. Security concerns combined with the remaining short leasehold and cost of modernising the building were important factors in moving to a new headquarters. Design and constructionThe site on which the SIS building stands had been the location of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in the 19th century. 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. Archeological excavation of the site during building found the remains of seventeenth 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.