All too often an enchanting architectural story, finely woven around beautiful illustrations and renderings, becomes something of a nightmare by the time the building is constructed. So with a promise to create a façade of golden silk for the French Embassy in Beijing,
SAREA Alain Sarfati Architecture's reputation was hanging by well ... a thread. Now completed however, the multi - layered façade appears so delicate that the photographs themselves look like fairytale renderings.
The building presents both formal and informal aspects to its users depending on their business at the embassy. When
WAN featured the building recently they quoted the architect as saying: 'With its concentric layout, each built component of the French Embassy is counterbalanced by an open area which seems to extend the space. Like the famed Forbidden City, it is a sanctuary where many pathways may be traced. Designed by a Moroccan-born French architect from Meknes, the ensemble speaks of the meeting of different worlds and inter-cultural dialogue.' I tend to agree!
