Building[edit]
The building was designed by the Swedish architects Gert Wingårdh and Tomas Hansen, with VOA Associates in Washington DC as architect of record. It consists of five floors with a total surface of 7,500 m². The front of the building is made of glass. Construction began in August 2004 and was completed in the summer of 2006. The embassy moved into the building at the beginning of August 2006. Previously the embassy was housed in rented space, first at Watergate 600, and later at 1501 M Street NW.
The House of Sweden's design expresses many nods to Swedish symbols, including graphically matching materials such as marble, native Swedish maple wood, and expansive glass to relate associations back to the climate of the Swedish homeland. These materials were also intended to transcend into metaphors of Sweden's political transparency and purity. An integrated functional design is also showcased, from the moment you engage the steps, which seamlessly meld into the topography. All the above is executed with typical Scandinavian design precedents and finesse.[2]
The building was inaugurated on October 23, 2006, by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia. Also present at the inauguration were the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and then Ambassador of Sweden to the United States Gunnar Lund.[2]
Gert Wingårdh received the Swedish national architecture award – the Kasper Salin Prize – for House of Sweden in 2007.
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