Netherlands Embassy in Rome | cepezed

The Netherlands embassy in Rome was seated in a richly decorated urban villa, built in Renaissance style in 1929, and flanked by a vaguely similar but vastly less-detailed extension dating from a few decades later. In the course of the years, the premises had undergone several renovations, but had become somewhat run-down and ready for a radical revamp. Partly because Italy is a country of design and culture, the client could easily justify the high level of ambition present in this project. It was a splendid opportunity to demonstrate what the Netherlands is capable of in the field of architectonic design. In addition, aspects such as functionality, pragmatism, transparency and a modern environment were taken seriously into account. Because the Renaissancistic building contained many original details, it was deemed appropriate to restore to its former glory. With a modern COR-TEN steel shell around the extension, cepezed has attempted to realize as great a contrast as possible between the older and newer building segments. The main building can now be viewed in its full grandeur against the abstract background of the steel. Moreover, the rusty metal harmonizes well with the stone pines in the surroundings. On the inside, the building had no particularly striking details and actually suffered from poorly organized logistics and lack of orientation. For this reason, the interior was stripped down to the concrete skeleton and allocated a new, radically revised organization oriented toward light, transparency, spatial clarity, and good mutual communication between the units. As a result, there is little difference between the interiors of the two premises. On all floors, the offices, work stations and meeting rooms have been grouped around a central traffic and repose area that allows the possibility of spontaneous encounters. On completion of the renovation, the head of cultural affairs exhibited abundant enthusiasm: ‘The building is a pearl, and all my colleagues share this opinion. Besides it being a pleasure to work here, it is also a feast for the eye.’