Exploring the Swiss Ambassador's New Home

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Map It:  Woodley Park 

Photos by Michael Grass/Express

IT'S HARD NOT TO FEEL bad for former Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Christian Blickensdorfer, whose diplomatic assignment switched from Washington to Berlin this year. During the final two years that he and his wife Suzanne were in the American capital, the old ambassador's residence in Woodley Park was torn down and a new one took its place on a plateau with views of the Washington Monument. On Saturday, the Washington diplomatic community and friends of Switzerland — including this writer — got a first look at the stunning, contemporary design of the new residence, now the home to Ambassador Urs Ziswiler and his wife Ronit, who recently moved in. One can only hope that the Swiss diplomatic mission in the German capital is just as impressive as what the Blickensdorfers left behind in Woodley Park.

Viewed from 29th Street NW, the new residence stands out because it is the complete opposite of the 80-year-old home it replaced. Rising from its elevated perch, its charcoal concrete and translucent and semi-translucent glass exterior mimics what the building's American architect, Steven Holl, said was a representation of the rocky and snow-capped Alps. And just as the Swiss tamed their mountain terrain, Holl, in collaboration with Swiss architect Justin Russli, translated the raw, chilly environment of the Swiss homeland into a rigid, bare and structured — yet surprisingly soft — edifice meant for entertaining and official diplomatic functions.

Essentially, the new building is perfectly Swiss, for better or worse. And Saturday's opening party — complete with a live mermaid (well, a live woman dressed as a mermaid, anyway), contemporary Swiss dance, odd humanoid sculptures and older people dressed in centuries-old costumes — seemed all to fit perfectly in a building that is very much alien to the Washington cityscape.

» THE DESIGN: During a tour of the residence, Holl, at left, emphasized the diagonal axis through the center of the building, one that links the large entry court in front through the airy two-story entry hall and on to the large southeastern terrace, which boasts views of the Washington Monument. The formal spaces on the main level — the Ziswilers live in a private upstairs apartment — are both separate but also flow together. There are no doors; instead, micro-perforated acoustic wall sections can be moved to close off different areas of the main floor. Holl demonstrated how sound can be manipulated by the movable wall sections, which will be perfect for the numerous events the Swiss mission — one of the more active entertainers in D.C.'s diplomatic circles — has planned.

Although the public spaces can be physically shifted, the house is still controlled by its overall geometry. Viewed from above, the house looks like it's shaped like the square Swiss cross. Its environmentally friendly roof was constructed of sod, and its mechanical systems, including its heating and cooling, are cutting-edge, at least for the United States. Quoted in The New York Times, Holl said "[w]e are proud to make a green building in the heart of oil country."

» SWISS-AMERICAN SHOWCASE: Although many embassy buildings across town are meant to display the best their own country has to offer, the Swiss, being the neutral and independent but diplomatically-savvy folks that they are, have transformed their new ambassador's residence into a gallery to celebrate links between Switzerland and the United States. Much of the artwork chosen to decorate what would otherwise be very bare walls is from Swiss artists who have been either influenced by America or have other strong American ties.

For instance, one side salon is dominated by two side-by-side portraits of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, both painted just after the U.S. Civil War by Swiss artist Frank Buchser. Ambassador Ziswiler said that he was proud to have the Swiss-owned portraits hanging in the residence. Making sure to represent both sides of even that long-ago conflict, however, is also a demonstration of Swiss neutrality.

» PUSHING STODGY WASHINGTON: Who ever said the Swiss were sticks in the mud? With Woodley Park's bold new architectural statement, the Swiss have forced a design change on a classic Washington neighborhood hesitant to change. As we were in line for Raclette — the classic cheese dish — a resident of nearby 28th Street NW voiced his displeasure with the Swiss demolishing the ambassador's former "beautiful chateau" and replacing it with "a box." (The ever-practical Swiss said the old home's mechanical systems were substandard and not well-suited for entertaining.)

To this writer, however, the new Swiss residence is just another reminder that the most progressive architecture being executed in this city is being ushered in by foreign governments on their sovereign territory — independent of the often meddlesome advisory neighborhood commissions and federal planning panels that can water down or sink landmark architectural projects. The Post's architectural critic, Benjamin Forgey, pooh-poohed neighborhood activists in Dupont Circle who forced the Phillips Collection's new expansion to hide behind the facades of the apartments the expanded museum replaced, "a fruitless exercise in neighborhood nostalgia," Forgey wrote in April. While the Swiss would be best to overhaul the embassy complex's grounds — the ugly fenced-in private pool facing 29th Street scars the property — it is good that Holl wasn't hemmed in by the usual bureaucratic forces when designing the new home.

Similarly, we are also fortunate to have the new House of Sweden on the Georgetown waterfront and the newish Spanish ambassador's residence on Foxhall Road — two of the most innovative recent contemporary newcomers in town. But those two designs would have been difficult to construct if they weren't on diplomatic property. Unfortunately, public access to these buildings is limited. Which is why if you ever get the opportunity to take a peek inside any of these properties — or enjoy their parties — you should definitely seize it.

» "New Residence at the Swiss Embassy" [Steven Holl Architects]
» "An Ambassador's Stone-Cold Party Pad" [NYT]
» "Swiss Residence by Steven Holl" [Inhabitat]

If you'd like to make your way up to the Swiss ambassador's residence to take a peek — at least from the outside — we've created a Wayfaring map here to get you there from the Metro.