Martina Hügli
MSc Architecture ETH
Projects
Writing
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Swiss Embassy London
Competition 2nd Prize
Conen Sigl Architekt:innen
2022
The Swiss Embassy in the UK was built in the 1960s. It faces Bryanston Square, is part of the Portman estate and thus is an integral part of the historic city fabric. Currently, the building reflects heritage through imitation. The house towards Bryanston Square itself was built as a replica of the original and thus seems to represent something that it is not. The project carefully lays itself on top of existing layers. It considers what is there, with all imperfections, as a prerequisite for its interventions. In an architectural dress up, materials found on site will be transformed into new objects and placed into new configurations, adding further layers to the building’s current design. Contrary to what the Georgian Style façade on Bryanston Square wants to display, the building is a modern skeletal construction with a reinforced concrete grid system as primary structure. In the restructuring of the Embassy, this modernist principle serves to implement two spatial compositions – the poché and the plan libre. Embassies serve the diplomatic exchange between countries. The setting in which discussions take place is of particular interest: In an Embassy, formal politics are made while having aperitifs, lunches, afternoon teas or dinners. What if this aspect of the embassy is expanded beyond its diplomatic realm? What if residents, neighbours, and visitors all gather on one table? What if all this takes place at the Swiss Embassy? The Embassy’s Roof could become a Pub – a public house – turning into a place of gathering and discussion for the entire neighbourhood.