House of Sweden in Washington D.C by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Article source: Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

The Rock Creek meets the Potomac in a thin peninsula. It’s the site of a lifetime. The needle with water on three sides commands a spectacular view of such landmarks as Georgetown, Watergate and the Kennedy Center. The protruding setting called for an emblematic building, illuminating the idea of the open society.

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

• Architects: Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB
• Project: House of Sweden
• Location: Washington D.C, U.S.A
• Responsible architect: Gert Wingårdh
• Architect in charge: Gunilla Murnieks
• Competition: Gert Wingårdh, Thomas Hansen, Ulrika Davidsson, Fredrik Gullberg, Pål Ericksson, Jacob Sahlqvist, Jacek Zalecki, Petter Leyman, Ola Frödell, Henrik Schulz, Tobias Fasth, Robert Hendberg.
• Building: Gert Wingårdh, Thomas Hansen, Gunilla Murnieks, Susanna Ringnér, Birgitta Stenvaller, Andreas Henriksson, Gustav Appell, Markus Furby, Björn Nilsson, Therese Ahlström, Taito Lampinen, Robert Hendberg, Daniel Frickeus, Fredrik Gullberg, Sven Nestgaard, Sara Helder, Pål Ericsson, Maria Olausson, Fredrik Prytz, Anna Palm, Hanna Samuelson, Alexandra Pripp.
• Interior: Gert Wingårdh, Lena Arthur, Sara Helder, Björn Nilsson, Vanessa D´Hooge
• Project management: National Property Board Sweden
• Project Director: Jan Thews
• Project Manager: Gunilla  Persson
• Property Manager: Michael Blomqvist
• Building Project management: Forsen Projekt AB, Jan Ahlinder, Rikard Wiss, Susanne Rosjö
• Building Project Management (Washington D.C.): Karchem Properties Inc. , Daniel B Karchem

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

• Architect of Record, Washington: VOA Associates Incorporated
• Electrical, MEP, Washington: Joseph R. Loring & Associates, Inc.
• Electrical: MIAB (Mikaelssons Ingenjörsbyrå AB)
• MEP: L.E.B Consult AB
• Lighting design: Ljusarkitektur P & Ö AB
• Structural Engineer: Flygfältsbyrån AB
• Acoustics: Akustikforum AB
• Audio-visual: WSP Systems
• Signage, graphics and permanent exhibition: Mikael Bergquist Arkitektkontor AB in coorporation with Daniel Bjugård Design

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

• Project manager: The National Public Art Council Sweden, Eva Rosengren
• Artist: Ingegerd Råman

Contractors

• General Contractor for Base building: Armada Hoffler Construction Company
• General Contractor for Tenant Improvements: Monarc Construction Inc.
• Glass Facade and interior glass: Skandinaviska Glassystem AB
• Exterior and Interior Stoneworks: Appari Sweden AB
• Carpentry: Snickerikontakt AB (Wood doors, wood panels, Wood partitions)
• Flooring: Miljögolv I Stockholm AB
• Interior: Senab AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

The House of Sweden rejects the conventional embassy typology. The architecture emphasizes transparency instead of borders. This can be interpreted as an illustration of the welfare state, but is also an answer to the new agenda of diplomacy. Marketing has stepped in to the world of politics and information has replaced the communiqué. The translucent exhibition space on the entry level, where sliding doors will open over the corners in suitable weather, is a solution for the expanded ambitions of the chancellery – so is the auditorium by the lily pond downstairs and, in a more abstract sense, the façade where the Swedish tradition of wood painting is revived by a computer-generated print.

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

The risk of flooding called for water-resistant solutions below the first floor. This is reflected in the structure, where the offices and apartments are raised above the open entry level. The materials are white stone for the podium, blond maple for the interior, which penetrates the thin glass shield and becomes exterior wall treatment only to be covered by a second glass layer containing a mist of white printed dots. A gradient in the printing makes the glass shift from opaque to transparent round the stairs as well as on details in the interior.

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

This shift from presence to absence juxtaposes the general disposition of the building, a contradiction that illustrates a general theme, where a transparent lower part carries the more solid upper levels. The balconies carry the third layer of glass, where the wooden theme of the building is exposed on the abstracted level. This wooden ring provides privacy to the apartments and shade to the offices. In the night it is all back-lit and the building will glow like a wicker-lamp. A Nordic light in the dark southern night.

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Image Courtesy © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Tags: U.S.A., Washington D.C

Category: Embassy

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 14th, 2013 at 5:59 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.