The french embassy in Beijing,
an architecture between Feng Shui and Haute couture
After the United States, Japan and India, it is France's turn to open
its brand new embassy.
The highly awaited diplomatic campus, designed and built by SAREA Alain
Sarfati Architecture and GINGER SECHAUD&BOSSUYT, was open by
the
President of the French Republic after 8 years of development.
Last fall, the diplomatic services took over the new building that has
become the representation of France in China, a symbol of a meticulous
and elegant France.
All around a central garden, the embassy houses over 20,000 sqm the
chancery offices, the consulate offices, the residence as well as the
ambassador's private quarters.
Clever functionality and bio-climatic design are an illustration of the
attention to the context and to the requirements of a constantly
changing world.
Alain Sarfati designed an architecture defined by contrasts between the
inside and the outside, an architecture anchored in the ground as well
as ethereal. The mineral basement and the granite forecourt contrast
with the facade giving onto the garden; a facade draped in an golden
undulating silk-screened glass veil, that gives it all its panache.
Inside, the choice of wood brings welcoming warmth and light.
