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Perhaps as influential on the scheme as the Swiss landscape was Holl's initial visit to the building site in Washington. He says: "Standing on the site, I could see the distant view of the Washington Monument, a figure unmistakable in space and time, and imagined an orthogonal courtyard 'Swiss precinct' inscribed by a cruciform volume which would describe different courtyards with different character."

In reference to the cross — echo of the Swiss national flag — Holl continues: "Through this orthogonal geometry would pass a diagonal opening of spatial overlap which finally would connect to the distant view of the Washington Monument."

Given that the monument is only visible from one spot on the first floor interior of the ambassador's residence and one spot outside (although there may be better views from the private second-floor quarters), it seems an inadequate feature on which to base the interior layout.

Cross-Wise Rooms

Moreover the cruciform layout creates awkward spatial arrangements. The first floor has at least three rooms fitted out as dining rooms, with one small dining room adjacent to the largest one. These are fine for serving large numbers at a dinner party, but not much else. The two salons, with interior design by ZedNetwork Hannes Wettstein, work well as sitting rooms, but, like the dining rooms, they are awkwardly adjacent to each other.

Putting aside the functional redundancy, the first floor spaces flow into each other seamlessly, as large blond-wood doors slide or swing out of the way to lie flat against the walls. These doors are fritted: circular cutouts on their outer face expose an inner layer, creating a subtle three-dimensional effect.

To watch how the rooms are dramatically changed as the panels of the doors are opened and closed is reminiscent of the work of another Swiss citizen, Siegfried Giedion, whose half-century old Space, Time, and Architecture defined order in modern architecture.

A quote from Giedion's book presages Holl's interiors at the Swiss ambassador's residence: "New elements have been introduced: a hitherto unknown interpenetration of inner and outer space and an interpenetration of different levels (largely an effect of the automobile), which has forced the incorporation of movement as an inseparable element of architecture."

Holl cites not Giedion but Maurice Merleau-Ponty as inspiration for his ideas about the perception of architecture. "The perceptual spirit and metaphysical strength of architecture are driven by the quality of light and shadow shaped by solids and voids, by opacities, transparences, and translucencies."

European Precedents

Masterpieces by two great mid-20th century architects clearly influenced Holl and Rüssli. The thin, transparent quality of the glass walls — especially where translucent glass is placed behind channel glass to create darker sections in the daylight and lighter sections at night — evokes the early work of Le Corbusier, in which volume is restrained behind the thinnest of walls.

Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye makes even more explicit than some of his other 1920s works the sense of volume rather than mass. At Villa Savoye, the ribbon windows, cardboard-thin walls, and the lack of demarcation between inner and exterior spaces emphatically state that there is no mass holding up walls and roofs, only this lightly restrained volume of air.

And the sense of a wall not only being punctured but being reduced to a frame as in in Le Corbusier's Villa Stein, is repeated in the west side and rear wall of the ambassador's residence.

Another architect recalled by this new building is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The pool of his Barcelona Pavilion is echoed in the pool in the ambassador's residence. Holl's configuration of the main house with the caretaker's house set at a right angle, both enclosed by low walls with openings for cars and pedestrians, recalls the precise, taut order of those earlier masterpieces.

When asked what statement he wanted the architecture of the residence to make, the new Swiss Ambassador to the United States, Urs Ziswiler, replied that it should help people forget about the cliches of Swiss chateaux and bankers and think of Switzerland as a land of technology. The building does that. It reminds us of that European country's fine modern architectural heritage, and it lifts our spirits.   >>>

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William Lebovich is an architectural historian and photographer from Chevy Chase, Maryland who photographs new projects for architects and developers and documents properties of historical, architectural, engineering, or industrial significance throughout the continental United States. He is a recipient of the Bentley Historical Library's travel grant to examine its collection of Albert Kahn's synagogue drawings.

SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Swiss Ambassador's residence in Washington, DC, by Steven Holl Architects and Rüssli Architekten. Photo: William Lebovich Walls of concrete and glass symbolizing stone and ice. Photo: William Lebovich Site plan. Image: Steven Holl Architects Extra Large Image Ground floor plan. Image: Steven Holl Architects Extra Large Image Upper floor plan. Image: Steven Holl Architects Extra Large Image Protected patio. Photo: William Lebovich Garage and caretaker's house. Photo: William Lebovich Horizontally striated concrete simulates stone. Photo: William Lebovich   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.