netherlands embassy in rome
rome / italy
client
ministry of foreign affairs
realization
2007
Radical renovation of the Dutch embassy in Rome, which was residing in an urban villa built in Renaissance style in 1929, and a vaguely resembling annex from some decades later. The design is aimed at a strong contrast between these two parts. Because the main building had a lot of interesting original details, the splendour hereof has been restored and brought to the fore as much as possible. Around the much more ordinary annex, a secondary façade of weathering steel has been installed. In time, this gets a preserving, rusty patina. It serves as an abstract, neutral backdrop for the Renaissance building. On the inside, the buildings have been stripped down to their concrete skeleton and have been provided with a new, drastically revised arrangement aimed at lightness, transparency and good communication possibilities. In doing so, the two parts of the building have been forged into a unity, as a result of which the difference is hardly noticeable in the interior.
rome / italy
client
ministry of foreign affairs
realization
2007
Radical renovation of the Dutch embassy in Rome, which was residing in an urban villa built in Renaissance style in 1929, and a vaguely resembling annex from some decades later. The design is aimed at a strong contrast between these two parts. Because the main building had a lot of interesting original details, the splendour hereof has been restored and brought to the fore as much as possible. Around the much more ordinary annex, a secondary façade of weathering steel has been installed. In time, this gets a preserving, rusty patina. It serves as an abstract, neutral backdrop for the Renaissance building. On the inside, the buildings have been stripped down to their concrete skeleton and have been provided with a new, drastically revised arrangement aimed at lightness, transparency and good communication possibilities. In doing so, the two parts of the building have been forged into a unity, as a result of which the difference is hardly noticeable in the interior.
