US Embassies of the Cold War: The Battle of the Curtain Wall vs. the Iron Curtain

During the Cold War, the US State Department used Modern architecture as a powerful form of cultural diplomacy, designing embassies to express the ideals of a progressive, democratic society. David B. Peterson, author of US Embassies of the Cold War: the Architecture of Democracy, Diplomacy and Defense, will expand on the US State Department’s bid to win international hearts and minds through strategic use of cultural diplomacy, as those embassies are being decommissioned and sold today.

David B. Peterson is the Founder & President of the Onera Foundation in New Canaan, which engages the public about historic preservation and significant architecture. He has spent the majority of his career in investment banking at Rothschild, Citibank, and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Peterson is the Board Chair of the Harlem Academy school, a Board Member of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (a public/private partnership with the US State Department), and serves on the Advisory Council of the Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site in New Canaan, Connecticut. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.B.A. from New York University, and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.