KCCT designed the renovation of the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, India. The 3.38 acre Consulate compound is located at the intersection of St. George’s Cathedral Road and Mount Road. Structures on the compound include the consulate office building, the warehouse and garage, two guardhouses, a covered consular waiting area, a bicycle parking shelter, and various small utility structures.

The COB was designed by Burk, Lebreton and Lamantia of New Orleans, LA in 1964 and constructed between 1965 and 1969. It has three stories and a Basement for a total area of approximately 76,000 SF.  The scope of design services included the following:

MSG Security Upgrade: In preparation for the arrival of an MSG detachment, the Consulate upgrade met current physical and technical security standards for existing facilities. Work included closing one entrance, creating a hard-lined PACs and new guard booths, design of new pedestrial and vehicular CACs, and physical security improvements to existing exterior windows and interior hardlines.

Consular Upgrade: The consular section was relocated and expanded to provide adequate work areas for the consular staff and waiting areas for the Visa applicants and American Citizen Services (ACS) visitors. The design enhanced the consular operation by providing flexibility to accommodate rapid growth and changing workload. A total of 15 new transaction windows now support the processing of a projected load of 1000 applicants per day. The upgrade also included a new prescreening building and waiting area to accommodate up to 700 applicants.

Systems Upgrades: Improvements included replacement of mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications systems.

Architectural Improvements: Improvements extended to the replacement of damaged windows, and renovated toilets and office finish materials.

Site Security: Parking areas were relocated to the front of the Consulate, and site conflicts between consular applicants and embassy vehicles were minimized for safety and security reasons.