
These are the first photos of the world’s most expensive moat ever to be built, which it’s hoped will make the new US Embassy in London impenetrable to terrorists.

The 100 foot, half moon strip of water in front of the building is meant to be able to withstand any type of attack although US officials have euphemistically called it a ‘water feature’.

The embassy, being built in the Nine Elms area of London, is already the world’s costliest embassy - costs have spiraled upwards of $1 billion - and it's well past its due date.

The new U.S. Embassy will be located on the southern bank of the Thames just east of the iconic Battersea Power station

This is the first glimpse of the moat which is supposed to defend the embassy from any form of terror attack

The 100 foot, half moon strip of water in front of the building is meant to be able to withstand any type of attack although US officials have euphemistically called it a ‘water feature’

The embassy, being built in the Nine Elms area of London, is already the world’s costliest embassy - costs have spiraled upwards of $1 billion - and it's well past its due date

The new high-tech Embassy will have a bomb-proof exterior and anti-ram barriers - which are just being built

Security delays meant that it was pushed back from the end of 2016 to Spring 2017, but as these exclusive images prove, there's still a long way to go until it's finished.

After the project was announced in 2008, critics slammed the record construction costs, wavy glass cube design and moat entrance, while nearby residents expressed fears that their homes would become inadvertent terrorist targets.

But the current US Embassy, in Grosvenor Square, is too small and too old-fashioned as it was built in the 1950s, and fraught with security issues for the modern world.

The new high-tech Embassy will have a bomb-proof exterior and anti-ram barriers - which are just being built judging from our pictures - but its designer Kieran Timberlake didn’t want to put in the usual security measures such as high security walls and a defensive perimeter.

It’s not the only spectacular building to be developed as we show the first images of the Embassy Gardens, which will feature the world’s first ever sky pool

Swimmers will be able to paddle between two buildings that are close to the embassy. The outdoor swimming pool is suspended 10 story's up in the air and acts as a bridge between two apartment blocks

After the project was announced in 2008, critics slammed the record construction costs, wavy glass cube design and moat entrance, while nearby residents expressed fears that their homes would become inadvertent terrorist targets

The building will be carbon neutral and virtually self-sufficient, which means that even if there was a power failure across London, it would virtually be able to operate off-grid for long periods of time.

Energy efficient: The building is a towering glass cube covered with a thin sheath of photo-voltaic cells

Unlike most glass office buildings, which appear slick and hard-edged, this one will look soft and pillowy thanks to the lightweight plastic scrims that will be attached to the facade like boat sails

Instead, he wanted to achieve natural barriers through ‘gradings, walks and plantings,’ according to the US Embassy website.

'Instead of a perimeter-walled precinct, the site to the north and south is a welcoming urban amenity, a park for the city that fuses the new embassy to the city of London. Alternatives to perimeter walls and fences are achieved through landscape design,' the website states.

It will be carbon neutral and virtually self-sufficient, which means that even if there was a power failure across London, it would virtually be able to operate off-grid for long periods of time.

Unlike most glass office buildings, which appear slick and hard-edged, this one will look soft and pillowy thanks to the lightweight plastic scrims that will be attached to the facade like boat sails. They will be embedded with photovoltaic cells that can convert sunlight into energy.

The new U.S. Embassy in London will be a $1billion modernist glass cube protected from attack by an earth bank, a semi-circular lake and bomb-resistant glazing

The new 12-storey building, which will be able to house 1,000 staff, covering 485,000 square feet

The exterior scrims will be embedded with photovoltaic cells that can convert sunlight into energy

The building's glass will also trap sunlight, but the strong reinforced dark glass will also stop the glare from filtering inside and keep the building temperature cool

The Embassy brings along with it many other development opportunities including shops, hotels, restaurants and offices

The glass will also trap sunlight, but the strong reinforced dark glass will also stop the glare from filtering inside and keep the building temperature cool.

The Embassy isn’t the only development in the area, the immediate vicinity is being built into a project called 'Embassy Gardens'.

Almost 2,000 new homes as well as a number of shops, restaurants and businesses, a 100-room hotel, health club, playgrounds and sport fields will be built according to Wandsworth Council, who approved the project.

Acclaimed American architect firm Kieran Timberlake was selected to design the carbon-neutral structure

In the past, the U.S. State Department has been harshly criticized at home and abroad for its dreary embassies

Pictures show that a metal barrier will also surround the bomb-proof building

The new building sparked controversy when it was first announced in 2008, as critics slammed record-high construction cost, giant glass cube design and moat-like entrance

The new Embassy in Nine Elms, London, is set to open later this year at an unknown date. Its neighbours will include the disused Battersea Power Station

In June, 25 apartments were released for sale by EcoWorld Ballymore with a $1.35million price tag on homes that overlook a 'sky pool', which will be a world’s first

In June, 25 apartments were released for sale by EcoWorld Ballymore with a $1.35million price tag on homes that overlook a 'sky pool', which will be a world’s first.

The outdoor swimming pool is suspended 10 story's up in the air and acts as a bridge between two apartment blocks.

It enables residents to swim between two buildings with views across the capital.

Its new neighbours in Nine Elms in the Wandsworth borough of south London, will include the disused Battersea Power Station and Britain's biggest fruit and vegetable market

While the structure's architecture has come under question, it is also the inspiration for a program intended to bring beauty to government buildings

Security delays meant that it was pushed back from the end of 2016 to Spring 2017, but as these exclusive images prove, there's still a long way to go until it's finished

The Embassy isn’t the only development. The immediate vicinity is being built into a project called Embassy Gardens