Netherlands Embassy Berlin
Encyclopedia
The Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin
(Dutch
: Nederlandse ambassade te Berlijn, German
: Niederländische Botschaft in Deutschland) is the Netherlands's diplomatic mission in Berlin
, Germany
.
The Royal Netherlands Embassy by OMA
/ Rem Koolhaas
in Berlin is the new symbol and showcase for the Netherlands in Germany
.
‘Mitte
’ (Center). The Netherlands, having sold their former embassy site after the War, was free to choose a new location and preferred Roland Ufer in Mitte, the oldest Berlin settlement, next to the (new) government district of their main trade partner.
proposal for a freestanding cube on a - block completing - podium. The office in the end realized the building in a combination of obedience (fulfilling the block’s perimeter) and disobedience (building a solitary cube).
As the diplomats used the hallway in the old embassy building a lot for informal meetings OMA
gave them a building with an enormous hallway as centre: a continuous trajectory reaching all eight stories of the embassy shapes the building’s internal communication. The workspaces are the ‘leftover areas’ after the trajectory was ‘carved’ out of the cube and are situated along the facade. Reception spaces are activated inside the cube. Other semi-public spaces are located closer to the facade and at one point cantilever out over the drop-off area. From the entry, the trajectory leads on via the library, meeting rooms, fitness area and restaurant to the roof terrace. The trajectory exploits the relationship with the context, river Spree, Television Tower (‘Fernsehturm’), park and wall of embassy residences; part of it is a ‘diagonal void’ through the building that allows to see the TV Tower from the park.
The (slightly over pressurized) trajectory works as a main airduct from which fresh air percolates to the offices to be drawn off via the double (plenum) facade. This ventilation concept is part of a strategy to integrate more functions into one element.
of the Netherlands and Joschka Fischer
of Germany. After 5 years of construction works and a budget increase of 56 % the Netherlands had a new lush showcase for Dutch Design and Tolerance.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: Nederlandse ambassade te Berlijn, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Niederländische Botschaft in Deutschland) is the Netherlands's diplomatic mission in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The Royal Netherlands Embassy by OMA
OMA
-Communication:* .oma, extension for files encrypted by OpenMG Audio for Sony's ATRAC3 format* OMA, Open Mobile Alliance, a standards body for the mobile phone industry* OMA, Outlook Mobile Access, a mobile phone email program using Microsoft Exchange Server...
/ Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...
in Berlin is the new symbol and showcase for the Netherlands in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
In the wake of the reunification the German government decided to relocate the capital to BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
‘Mitte
Mitte
Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
’ (Center). The Netherlands, having sold their former embassy site after the War, was free to choose a new location and preferred Roland Ufer in Mitte, the oldest Berlin settlement, next to the (new) government district of their main trade partner.
Concept
A solitary building, integrating requirements of conventional civil service security with Dutch openness was needed. Traditional (former West Berlin) city planning guidelines demanded the new building to complete the city block in 19th century fashion, the (former East Berlin) city planning officials had an open mind towards the OMAOMA
-Communication:* .oma, extension for files encrypted by OpenMG Audio for Sony's ATRAC3 format* OMA, Open Mobile Alliance, a standards body for the mobile phone industry* OMA, Outlook Mobile Access, a mobile phone email program using Microsoft Exchange Server...
proposal for a freestanding cube on a - block completing - podium. The office in the end realized the building in a combination of obedience (fulfilling the block’s perimeter) and disobedience (building a solitary cube).
As the diplomats used the hallway in the old embassy building a lot for informal meetings OMA
OMA
-Communication:* .oma, extension for files encrypted by OpenMG Audio for Sony's ATRAC3 format* OMA, Open Mobile Alliance, a standards body for the mobile phone industry* OMA, Outlook Mobile Access, a mobile phone email program using Microsoft Exchange Server...
gave them a building with an enormous hallway as centre: a continuous trajectory reaching all eight stories of the embassy shapes the building’s internal communication. The workspaces are the ‘leftover areas’ after the trajectory was ‘carved’ out of the cube and are situated along the facade. Reception spaces are activated inside the cube. Other semi-public spaces are located closer to the facade and at one point cantilever out over the drop-off area. From the entry, the trajectory leads on via the library, meeting rooms, fitness area and restaurant to the roof terrace. The trajectory exploits the relationship with the context, river Spree, Television Tower (‘Fernsehturm’), park and wall of embassy residences; part of it is a ‘diagonal void’ through the building that allows to see the TV Tower from the park.
The (slightly over pressurized) trajectory works as a main airduct from which fresh air percolates to the offices to be drawn off via the double (plenum) facade. This ventilation concept is part of a strategy to integrate more functions into one element.
Opening
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the Embassy on March 2 2004 together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Ben BotBen Bot
Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot is a Dutch diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 3, 2003 until February 22, 2007 in the Cabinets Balkenende II and III....
of the Netherlands and Joschka Fischer
Joschka Fischer
Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005...
of Germany. After 5 years of construction works and a budget increase of 56 % the Netherlands had a new lush showcase for Dutch Design and Tolerance.