Mi6 Headquarters / SIS building, Vauxhall cross

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As filming of SkyFall is well underway in the United Kingdom and Turkey it is appropriate to look at one of the locations that will appear in the new film. Earlier this year, Dame Judi Dench were shooting on location at Vauxhall bridge, just outside the iconic building of Mi6 headquarters. The building has featured in some of the previous films during the Brosnan era and will now make a long awaited reappearance.


GoldenEye

Starting with GoldenEye, Bond's office has been housed in the real Mi6 building at Vauxhall Cross in London. 1995 was the first time the building was seen in the series. The previous film Licence to kill had featured the exterior of the old war office building in Whitehall as M's office.

Mi6 seen from Vauxhall bridge

In Tomorrow never dies 1997 Bond meets with M at the Ministry of Defence instead of Mi6, hence the exterior was never seen. The establishing shot of the Ministry was filmed at Somerset house (doubling for the Ministry) and Bond later gets his assignment as he travels around London in M's Daimler. But the Mi6 location would make a comeback two years later in Brosnan's third outing.

The world is not enough
In The world is not enough 1999 Mi6 played the biggest part to date, when it comes under attack in the pre-credit sequence. A suitcase of money that Bond has brought back from Spain explodes and blow a hole in the left wall.

"King, the money!"

Since the filmmakers were not alloved to blow up the real Mi6 they constructed a model. Another example of the brilliant production design from the Bond series. It is an excellent model almost impossible to distinguish from the real building.


Because of the attack the entire Mi6 have to move to Scotland while the building is being renovated. Hence, the HQ is set in a Scottish castle for the rest of the film.


Die another day
 In both Casino Royale and Quantum of solace Bond does not recieve a traditional assignment and is, therefore never in M's office. Even though M has a few scenes behind her desk the exterior is never seen.


Consequently, 2002 was the last time the building featured as the exterior of Mi6 Headquarters. It featured twice in Die another day, both in the middle when Bond returns to Q-branch and in Moneypenny's final scene at the end.

Q-branch is located under ground (supposedly an abandoned station), and on the wall you can clearly read "Vauxhall Cross". This refers to the real location which is located right next to the real tube station. The names of the stations seen behind John Cleese, except for Vauxhall, are all located along the blue Piccadilly line (South Kensington absent). Vauxhall Cross is not a station along that line and why these stations were used is unknown. These scenes were naturally shot in the studios.

"An abandoned station, 
       for abandoned agents..."
 

Mi6 seen for the last time in 2002

After 10 years it will finally return as Bond's headquarters. The SkyFall plot states that Mi6 will come under attack once again and it is therefore not clear how much we will see of the building in the film but it is certain that it will make a comeback. ©

Read the entire article on the Vauxhall filming and everything else about SkyFall on the website mi6-hq.com, one of the best Bond fan sites to date:
http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/gallery/skyfall_london_feb2012b.php3?t=&s=articles&id=03086

The reconstruction of the building started in 1989 after the property had been bought by the Government and it was finished in April 1994. It was Prime Minister Margret Thatcher who approved the purchase of the building in 1988 due to the need of a modern building that could accommodate new technology and IT connectivity for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as the Mi6. The building was officially opened in July 1994 by Her Majesty the Queen.* It was therefore brand new when it featured in GoldenEye for the first time.






*Source: Wikipedia