Czech Embassy in Ottawa, Canada

concept1998
authors Petr Burian, Jan Šépka

The building divides an approximately square shaped plot of land into a larger sunny prestigious section and a smaller and more private garden. The building is designed as a block with openings cut into the mass of the building to let air and light inside. This makes the impression of a building carved out of a single piece of material offering glimpses of the inner space in places where mass has been removed. The outer shell of the block is rendered in grey and the openings, including the interiors of the adjoining rooms are accentuated with pastel colours. The principle of contrasting “wrapping and contents” is thus applied. Individual openings (spaces) meet inside the building as various colours.

1st place in an architectural competition in 1998