Floating layers

WIZO

Project idea

According to the Collins dictionary, an embassy is “a group of government officials, headed by an ambassador, who represent their government in a foreign country.” Today, in the 21th an embassy is much more than that. It connects people and cultures, enables social and technological assimilation, and serves as a home to ambassador and staff. The interconnection is not only at government official’s level, but rather across all walks of life. The embassy facilitates businesses, tourism and cultural interchange as well as cooperative development projects, to name a few.
Connection and contribution to the local people and environment is one of the main goals of an embassy in this day and age. The Czech embassy in Addis Ababa promotes different projects in Ethiopia. These project tighten the bonds between the countries for mutual benefit and growth.
The embassy is a liaison between societies, embracing the differences and similarities. The embassy design, therefore, will strive to combine the Czech and Ethiopian cultural, social and architecture heritage. It should provide a home to the Czech representatives in the foreign land yet be a part of the local environment. It should also be a welcoming place for locals visiting or working with the embassy.

Project description

The concepts of Interconnection and connection to the local site guided my design of the architectural solution. To showcase the Czech metal craftsmanship heritage, I have included several metal artifacts in the roofs and walls.
I suggest a spatial floating box that holds all the layers of the embassy life: public, work and private spaces. The majority of the plot has been allocated for the garden. The garden provided recreation space for the embassy staff, a place to hold receptions and reflects the natural beauty of the land. The main building appears as a large statue in the garden. While, each section of the garden reflects a part of the building.

Technical information

The building is divided to vertical functional units. Horizontally the building holds 3 floors. The ground floor, serves the general public and guests. The first flow holds office and work spaces. The top floor is the residential area, where embassy staff and their families dwell. The roof is designed to collect rain water into a well, connecting the top of the structure with the garden, the structure is immersed in nature from top to bottom.
The suggested solution reflects the Czech rich heritage as well as the respect and connection to local culture and environment.

Co-authors

Prof.Arch. Baruch Baruch, Dr.Arch. Dana Margalith, Arch. Ori Ronen