Berrel Kräutler Architekten Berrel Kräutler Architekten

Embassy Beijing

Exterior view administration building
View from the ambassador’s residence looking towards the event hall (left) and the administration building (right)
Lounge on the ground floor of the administration building
Site plan
Site plan
Ground floor
Ground floor
Upper floor
Upper floor
Basement floor
Basement floor
Section
Section
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Location: Peijing
Date: Competition: 2018, 2nd Place

Berrel Berrel Kräutler Architekten AG
Maurice Berrel, Raphael Kräutler

Competition: Thomas Merz, Kerstin Spiekermann, Tilmann Weissinger,

Project participants
Client: Bundesamt für Bauten und Logistik BBL
Landscape architecture: ASP Landschaftsarchitekten
Construction engineer: Dr. Neven Kostic
Visualisations: maaars

0254Embassy Beijing
Swiss Embassy Beijing

Emerging together with the ambas­sador’s residence are an ensemble of three build­ings, set in a garden, which are linked by a 3-meter-tall wall and screens it from the street, as well as from adja­cent proper­ties. This element pulls the archi­tec­ture together while gener­at­ing a frame­work for a multi­face­ted garden land­scape within. The archi­tec­ture devel­ops out of the wall, which becomes a space-con­tain­ing element.

While just one block away, the city­scape is char­acter­ized by a sky­scrapers and hectic traffic, the vicin­ity around the Swiss Embassy at the heart of Beijing is notice­ably verdant, tranquil, and dispersed in develop­ment. The build­ing is based on a lucid mas­ter­plan with a spacious ortho­gonal structure. The design seeks to inte­grate itself into this frame­work, thereby adopt­ing the small-scale urban texture of the neigh­bour­hood.

The archi­tec­ture occupies the edges of the parcel, while emerg­ing within is a versa­tile, spacious, cohesive garden realm — a green oasis for residents and employees of the Swiss Embassy, as well as visitors.

The administrative build­ing is organised on three floors. Found on the ground floor is a cafe­teria with an out­door terrace, a travel centre and a large confe­rence room. Stair­cases, contained in four concrete columns, ascend to the upper floor, where the offices are located. The centre is formed by a glass-covered atrium.

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