The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Berlin
1998–2001
Introduction
The Norwegian embassy is part of the Nordic embassy complex on the south side of Tiergarten park in the middle of Berlin. It is one of Norway's largest foreign service missions, with just under 30 employees. Its location in the heart of the facility impacted both the design of the building and the choice of materials.
Technical details
Statsbygg (The Governmental Building Agency)
When Berlin once again became the capital of a united Germany in 1990, it was decided to co-locate all the Nordic embassies in a newly built complex. Snøhetta was commissioned to design the Norwegian building, which was completed in 1999.
The main concept of the house is based on 5 main elements:
- A simple floor plan with offices placed parallel to the outer facades.
- A final stone, a monolith, facing the main square of the facility
- A façade cladding consisting only of glass in different designs
- A warm and natural interior color scheme
- An outside garden
Photo: © Jiri Havran
The southern wall of the new Norwegian embassy is composed of a single, monumental slice of grey Norwegian granite. This monolithic stone weighs approximately 120 tons and is over 14 meters tall, 5 meters wide and up to 70 centimeters thick.
Photo: © Jiri Havran
Clarity and purity of form are important characteristics of the design. The form is free of excess decoration and solid and massive in its expression.
This can be interpreted as a symbol of strength and longevity and relates the building to the historical roots of Norwegian culture. In addition to this historical context, the monumentality of the form can also be seen as a contemporary expression in terms of its clearly individual form and directness.
The glass cladding is made of clear and milky white glass. The green tinge in the glass is almost similar to the glacier's green color and gives a cool expression. The glass slats are also made of milky white glass and screens against direct sunlight. These are led past the garden and delimit the garden area towards the common room.
The central part of the facade is a monolith stone, taken out of a quarry in Iddefjord in Østfold and transported to Berlin. It weighs 120 tons and is over 14 meters tall, 5 meters wide and up to 70 centimeters thick.
Photo: The Norwegian Embassy
The eastern and western facades are covered with glass screens, which act as a filter between the courtyard and the interior spaces, and give the building a feeling of coolness resembling the coolness of the Norwegian glaciers. This feeling contrasts with the warm feeling achieved in the interior spaces using warm colors and materials, such as wood. The glass screens also match with the copper band wall integrating the building with the whole complex.
Photo: © Jiri Havran
Corridors, lobbies and conference areas are designed in conjunction with daylight and view, and the addition of a garden atrium to the north of the building creates a controlled yet contemplative environment.
Photo: © Jiri Havran