Several New, Renovated Chanceries to Debut in Active Building Season by Alan B. Nichols Diplomatic staff at the embassies of Greece and CÙte díIvoire will soon be settling into their new chancery buildings. Construction has entered the final phases for these two embassies, which are located near each other along the Massachusetts Avenue corridor, otherwise known as Embassy Row. The soon-to-be-completed chanceries highlight an active construction season for Washingtonís embassies. In addition to Greece and CÙte díIvoire, Sweden will be premiering its long-anticipated new embassy overlooking the Georgetown waterfront in a few years, and renovations are currently nearing completion at the embassies of Luxembourg and Estonia. The Washington-based Angelos Demetriou & Associates was the design team behind the new Greek Embassy located on Embassy Row. The company also designed the ultra-modern Finnish Embassy and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the burgeoning International Center behind the University of the District of Columbia. Totaling 30,000 square feet, the Greek Chancery will comprise an underground reception and visa p rocessing area with a separate entrance for the public and four levels above ground that include office space, banquet rooms and kitchen facilities. There will also be three levels of parking for some 45 vehicles. The new chancery building will match the design style of the adjacent Greek consulate building, which was constructed in cast stone and brick and features an atrium and circular stairway. The chancery will house the administrative staff, which has outgrown the existing consulate, and both the consulate and ambassadorís quarters on the adjacent property will also eventually be renovated. The new chancery building is expected to open in late spring of 2004. The 22,500-square-foot Embassy of CÙte díIvoire sits two blocks north of Sheridan Circle on Massachusetts Avenue. A new 45,000-square-foot structure is being constructed to connect the two existing buildings that currently serve as the embassy. In addition, two levels of underground parking will be situated beneath the three levels of offices. Like many other Embassy Row complexes, the CÙte díIvoire site is located in the Massachusetts Avenue and Sheridan-Kalorama historic district, adjacent to Rock Creek Park. A lengthy review process culminated in October 1998 with the approval of the design plan by the Historic Preservation Review Board, the city and other governing boards. Wanchul Lee Associates, a Georgetown architectural firm, was commissioned to design the new complex. Korean-born Lee originally came to the United States in the 1950s to study architecture. In 1977, Lee introduced himself to the U.S. State Department and after five years, succeeded in getting a commission to redesign the security features of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen. Following the redesign in Copenhagen, Lee became a sought-after architect on the embassy circuit. The State Department has looked to him to design original complexes and renovate existing sites at some 60 U.S. embassies worldwide, including complexes in Finland, Denmark, Lebanon, Israel, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Chad, as well as countries in South America and Asia. Lee has also designed original office and apartment complexes in Washington, D.C., and he renovated the Korean Chancery not far from the CÙte díIvoire complex. As Lee explained during an interview with The Washington Diplomat, a subdivision of the two existing properties that make up the CÙte díIvoire Embassy was necessary to build the proposed new structure. The building at 2412 Massachusetts Ave. was built in 1930 and was designed in an Italian Renaissance style, and the building at 2424 Massachusetts Ave. was completed in 1941 in an eclectic style punctuated by classical revival elements. The existing garage and front entrance are being removed to make way for a restoration of the original faÁade, and the new connecting structure is being constructed on a vacant parking lot between the two original buildings. Lee noted that construction of the connecting building is being done with cast-in-place concrete and manufactured sandstone on the exterior. The aluminum windows and standing seam-metal roofing will be in keeping with the neoclassical tradition of the historic district. Both existing buildings will also be renovated to include a new staff lounge with kitchenette, a library and caretakersí living quarters in each building, as well as new office space and an area for consular functions on the ground floor. The new structure will join the two adjacent buildings by means of glazed wings and will wrap around the rear of one of the buildings. As Lee explained, the new structure will be symmetrically arranged with an entrance arcade that features a porte-cochere half-moon drive for the ambassador and other high-level dignitaries. A separate driveway leading to the underground parking lot will accommodate the rest of the staff. The completed embassy will be three stories high and four bays wide with a hipped roof. The existing trees in front of the old parking lot will remain, and new ornamental trees will be planted all along the front of the complex directly on Massachusetts Avenue. All three buildings that make up the embassy will feature their own security-controlled entrances, elevators and staircases. Public access will be through the main lobby of the new building. The CÙte díIvoire project began in 1999 but was interrupted by a coup in the country, according to Lee, who said he has worked with three ambassadors on the project, which was restarted in January 2003. Lee said he hopes the work on the building at the 2412 address will be completed in March of next year, with the remainder of the site expected to be finished by the end of 2004. Meanwhile, earlier this year Gert WingÂrdh and Tomas Hansen of the Swedish firm WingÂrdh Architects were selected to design the ìHouse of Sweden,î as the new Swedish Embassy is being dubbed (see the April 2003 issue of The Washington Diplomat). The firm also won a competition to design Swedenís new embassy in Berlin. The House of Sweden will be built directly on the Potomac River adjacent to the upscale restaurants and offices that comprise the Georgetown waterfront. According to an embassy press release, ìThe transparency of the building will reflect Swedenís desire for openness and dialogue in the most important capital in the world. Our embassy serves not only as a place for Swedenís representatives to work, but also as an arena for the exchange of culture and ideas.î The embassy will feature a dramatic yet simple glass-and-wood design ìenhanced by an intriguing belt of balconies for two floors of private residences above the embassy office.î The building will also include a conference center with exhibition areas and an auditorium. The House of Sweden is part of a larger development project by Lano International and Armada/Hoffler, which includes another office building north of the embassy. Construction will start in 2004 and the House of Sweden is scheduled to open in June 2006. Two foreign missions currently undergoing renovations are the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Estonia. The two embassies are close to each other on Massachusetts Avenue, and completion of the work is expected within the next few months. The Embassy of Luxembourg is a semi-detached, three-story house plus basement with tan limestone facing and five bay windows overlooking Q Street. Featuring a classical French design, the residence was styled in the era of Louis XV with a sprinkling of Louis XVI dÈcor elements. The house was originally completed in 1909 at a cost of $92,000. The original owner was Alexander Stewart, a Canadian-born businessman who was prominent in the lumber industry in Wisconsin and also served three terms as a U.S. congressman. His wife continued to live in the house after his death in 1912. When she died in 1931, she bequeathed the residence to her daughter, Mary, who in turn sold it to Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg in 1941 for a mere $40,000. The grand duchess did not actually live in the house, spending most of her time during the war in London and Montreal. In January 1962, the government of Luxembourg bought the property at 2210 Massachusetts Ave. to serve as its chancery, and three months later, it also acquired the house, which was at the time still part of the grand duchessís estate. The current renovations to the property include the addition of a separate entrance on the Q Street side for visa applicants and deliveries. The reception area is being enlarged, security cameras are being installed, the renovated office space upstairs will feature recessed lighting, and the kitchen an d archive library are also being redone. In addition, the ambassadorís office will move to the third floor, the heating and air-conditioning systems will be upgraded, and several bedrooms will be converted into offices. During this process, Luxembourg Ambassador Arlette Conzemius and her small staff have been renting offices at the Watergate complex. Fellow diplomats from the Estonian Embassy also had to find temporary office space after their embassy at 2131 Massachusetts Ave. was damaged by a fire caused by faulty wiring two years ago. The accident provided an opportunity for the government to renovate a residence that a spokesman described as ìnot functional as an embassy.î The government originally bought the neoclassical brick mansion, located on the northern corner of Florida and Massachusetts avenues, in 1994. Before the purchase, the building served as the Peruvian Embassy and the Landon School for Boys. The renovation work, which is being handled by Estonian architect Madis Valge, includes upgrading the wiring and plumbing and taking out several bathrooms. Also, several interior walls are being removed to create additional office space. The first two floors will include a banquet room, meeting rooms and a reception area. Since its construction in 1905, the Estonian property has been one of the most striking on Embassy Row. According to the embassyís Web site, the chancery buildingís tower-like faÁade was ìselected for its resemblance to the buildings of Estoniaís capital, Tallinn.î The building was refurbished for the Estonian government after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent recognition of the Estonian diplomatic mission. In fact, the breakup of the Soviet Union ushered in a number of new embassies in Washington, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and, more recently, Tajikistan. Alan B. Nichols is a freelance writer in Bethesda, Md.