MI6's Vauxhall Cross Headquarters Officially Opens · Chronopin

ArchitecturePosted 09/15/202609/15/2026 at 4:27 am@BuildDesk To timeline

Secret Intelligence Service

Starts 07/14/1994 CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCEHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on 14 July 1994".

Start: Jul 14, 199490% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

MI6's Vauxhall Cross Headquarters Officially Opens

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) moved into its purpose-built Vauxhall Cross headquarters, ending decades of hiding in increasingly compromised office buildings.

The SIS Building at 85 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, was completed in April 1994 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 July 1994 as MI6 headquarters^[2]
It is a postmodern design by Terry Farrell and Partners, built by John Laing plc, with 60 roof areas, 25 types of glass, two moats and large parts below street level^[2]
SIS moved from Century House, which a 1985 NAO report called "irredeemably insecure"; Margaret Thatcher approved the purchase in 1988^[2]
NAO final cost was GBP 135.05 million for site and basic building, or GBP 152.6 million with special requirements^[2]
Nicknames include Legoland, Ceausescu Towers and The Ziggurat; the building was attacked with a Russian-made weapon in September 2000^[2]

References 387% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
youtube.com/watch?v=RQEVVt_WEA0
youtube.com· Posted Sep 15, 2026· Starts Jul 14, 1994 ✓· 33% of score
Happened as dated, per the source: "officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on 14 July 1994".
[2]84%
SIS Building - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 15, 2026· 33% of score
Wikipedia states the SIS Building "was completed in April 1994 and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II... on 14 July 1994," matching the pin's stored date exactly.
[3]86%
MI6/SIS Building | Britannica
britannica.com· Added Sep 15, 2026· 33% of score
Britannica's own entry on the SIS Building is a respected general reference, though the page itself could not be fetched to quote directly.

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