The U.S. Embassy in Switzerland embraces the foreign neutrality policy designed to promote peace and lessen security. The Embassy explores how this neutrality can be represented in spatial gestures of welcomeness to manifest transparency and human connection. The embassy creates an inviting atmosphere through transparency and honesty in the architecture itself. The building form is a nod to the standard vernacular houses lining the surrounding neighborhoods in Bern, Switzerland. The domestic form creates transparency through its unique window gestures, allowing visitors welcoming views inside while also capturing framed moments in time of Bern. Each program chunk creates a visual connection to a specific aspect of its surrounding through the form’s angle and the direction of the fenestration. The new embassy engages with the public through academic and social programs, and the building reflects this by housing a lecture hall, library, classrooms, and a cafe. The embassy truly takes on the role of a home, becoming a “living room,” a common space for gathering, conversing and relaxing.
STUDENT
Mollie Davis
FACULTY
Julia McMorrough