Embassy number one: The London office of American-owned architect RTKL has won a Foreign Office competition to design an embassy in Rabat, Morocco. Although the practice has designed several US embassies, this is its first commission from the British government. The design had to incorporate traditional North African courtyard house elements but retain a British identity. It also had to present a welcoming image while ensuring that the building was secure. Whitby Bird & Partners is the structural engineer, with TME as services engineer and Derek Lovejoy as landscape architect.