The Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Nederlandse ambassade te Berlijn'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Niederländische Botschaft in Deutschland'') is the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

's diplomatic mission in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Designed by

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) 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. He is often cited as a re ...

of OMA, the building was opened in 2004.

History

In the wake of the reunification the German government decided to relocate the capital to

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuzb ...

, Berlin. 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.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...

opened the Embassy on 2 March 2004 together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Ben Bot Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot (; born 21 November 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 3 December 2003 until 22 February 2007 in the Cabinets Balkene ...

of the Netherlands and

Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fis ...

of Germany.

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 OMA 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.

Awards

Koolhaas's design won the Architekturpreis Berlin in 2003 and the

Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, 'to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Eu ...

in 2005.Mies van der Rohe Award 2005
"Press Dossier"

References

External links

Royal Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, GermanyOffice for Metropolitan ArchitectureRoyal Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, Germany on Architecture-Page
{{Authority control Germany–Netherlands relations

Rem Koolhaas buildings