US Embassy N'Djamena

The U.S. Embassy in Chad is located near the Chari River in a relatively undeveloped quarter of Chad’s capitol city. The region is the Sahel, the increasingly arid southern “shore” of the Sahara desert. Its dry climate is characterized by extreme heat, alleviated by heavy monsoon rains.

Response to climate is a central theme in the design. The Chancery is designed to provide an oasis of greener, shaded courts, maintained by judicious use of recycled water. Sun-shading bris-soleil structures characterize the architecture, with monumental water-collecting canopies sheltering the entry court and café garden. A network of lower canopies provides shaded walkways, reducing site temperatures while mediating between building mass and surrounding landscape. Exterior walls are constructed from concrete with an outer rain screen of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) panels. The limited material palette is intended to create a dignified and calm aesthetic, responsive to the harsh climate and modest context, while using a readily available, durable and practical system for shipping and assembly.

Taking inspiration from regional textiles, the architectural character of pierced screens continues inside the buildings at ceilings and feature walls. Together with the vibrant colors and patterns of concrete floor tiles they bring the culture of the Sahel into the modern, high-performance workplace.

This United States Embassy campus features spectacular views of, and visibility from, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, where cruise ships and passenger ferries pass by on their way to the harbor. Its leafy neighborhood context in Helsinki’s historically significant Kaivopuisto District includes the embassies of France and the United Kingdom.

Planning and design comprised multiple approaches to a topographically challenging site with two historic buildings. A 1916 apartment house  underwent a dramatic transformation to office use and become the LEED Platinum Innovation Center. A 1939 ambassador’s residence—one of the earliest purpose-built U.S. Embassy buildings– received targeted remodeling and restoration. Complementing these historical landmarks in style and function, a new office annex  was introduced, housing U.S. agency headquarters plus an ambassador’s suite. Its curved, sculptural  form is connected to the Innovation Center  via a glass enclosed entry lobby that also serves as an event space offering views of the gulf.

Materiality further distinguishes the new annex. An Alvar Aalto inspired white brick façade, adorned with bay windows, faces the main street front. Its vertical ribs capture Finland’s horizontal light, with gray stone accents that recall the speckled bark of its indigenous birch trees. As an iconic statement  along the waterfront, a dramatically back-lit glass channel façade infuses warmth and vibrancy into the presence of the American Embassy on long, gray winter afternoons.

This new embassy campus in the Dominican Republic serves an island nation with close cultural ties to the United States, exemplified by a consulate large enough to feel like a border crossing. In response to its warm tropical climate, the new Chancery has been designed to allow abundant natural light into the interior spaces while providing deep canopies to shade exterior terraces, plazas and walks.

This expansive campus is thoughtfully organized into distinct zones related to their respective uses: Public and Consular functions at the front, Diplomatic and Embassy Community uses in the center, and Support and Service areas at the back, separated by garden walls and landscape. Giving order to the whole, a parallel system of massive limestone walls frames layers of interior and exterior space, recalling the stony architecture found in historic Santo Domingo. Landscape by Pamela Burton & Co. complements this geometric pattern with a continuous flow of sinuous curves inspired by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle-Marx. The arc-like shaping of movement continues into the heart of the Chancery, where a dynamic full-height atrium ushers light into the center of the workplace. Beneath its floating surfaces infused with color and light, the main lobby, dining, and meeting spaces for visitors and employees are gathered into a central place of culture and community.