ASBJ

Developed as a competition entry, the proposal for the Swiss Embassy in Beijing seeks a representational building that is calm, open and closely tied to landscape. The complex is organised around a curving line of glazed facades and slender timber columns that follow the edge of a planted garden, creating a sequence of covered terraces between inside and outside.

The architecture relies on precision rather than monumentality. A regular rhythm of columns, a thin roof slab and floor-to-ceiling glazing make the building recede behind the trees, while stone paving and pale timber establish a restrained palette associated with Swiss craftsmanship. The garden, with its birches and pines, becomes the true representative space of the embassy: a place for receptions, encounters and quiet work, protected from the scale of the surrounding city.