In 2022, Indonesia started construction of its new capital city, Nusantara, on the island of Kalimantan. The country's administration, ministries and other government offices are expected to relocate from Jakarta in the near future, followed by diplomatic missions and representative offices of other foreign organisations. In this context, this studio sets a brief to design an embassy building for a country of their choice in this future capital city. The program includes a chancellery and an ambassador's residence, calling for a combination of public and private spaces that can suitably accommodate the complex rituals of formal business and entertainment involved in diplomacy – all while facilitating living and working in the compound.
An embassy is an explicitly symbolic as well as functional building. It serves as the interface between two countries, a cultural signifier with a role to create a sympathetic image of the nation. As such, the designs will explore the extent to which architecture must – and is able to – represent national identity, and how any desire to do so can be reconciled with the need to adapt to a foreign context. The questions raised by the typology extend to the kinds of values the embassy should express, as well as how it can do so in a sustainable and dignified manner, despite the challenging security requirements that arose in past decades.
