Swiss Embassy in Berlin
This is the only embassy situated in the government district of the city, close to the Chancellor’s office and the Reichstag building. Housed in an urban palais erected in 1870 by Friedrich Hitzig and redesigned by Paul Baumgarten senior in 1910, it was acquired by the Swiss Confederation in 1920. After the Second World War, it served as a consulate general. With the recent removal of the embassy from Bonn to Berlin, an extension became necessary to provide additional office space. At the same time, account had to be taken of the new urban situation in the capital. The existing building was carefully restored and renovated. The new structure, erected on the east side, was designed to contrast with the old. Neither the existing eaves or storey heights nor the materials or facade design were adopted in the new tract. On the west side is a concrete relief by the Swiss artist Helmut Federle. Together with the new tract, it provides a framing visual support to the existing building. A striking feature of the extension is the high quality of the exposed concrete – with sharp arrises and without visible anchor holes or joints between stages. The monolithic appearance was achieved by executing the entire facade in a single, continuous pouring process lasting 36 hours. All formwork anchorings were positioned in the areas of facade openings, and the shuttering itself was additionally reinforced and shored. The pale reddish coloration of the concrete was achieved by using fine, crushed, coloured stone.
