Designed by ALA Architects, Reima and Raili Pietilä won the design competition for the Finnish Embassy to be located in the diplomatic enclave in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi in 1963 with a beautiful and powerful competition entry called ?Snow speaks on the mountains?. After a lengthy delay, the project was commissioned in 1980 and redesigned based on the original concept. The Embassy finally opened in 1986 with the large single expanse of the roof of the 1960?s design broken up into six separate lateral buildings around a central garden area. The sculptural roofs – the most significant architectural feature of the embassy compound – resemble the forms of the snowy Lake Kitkajärvi near Kuusamo, Northern Finland.
Photography: Tuomas Uusheimo ALA Architects was commissioned in 2013 to design the renovation of this mythical masterpiece of Finnish modernism. The 2nd-phase renovation project that took just over five years to complete has brought the ingenious building complex back to its original glory. The first phase consisted of the transformation of one staff apartment building and the construction of one new gatehouse. The second phase comprised the renovations of the chancery, the ambassador?s residence, the technical center, sauna, two more residential buildings, the pool and one old gatehouse, and the construction of one new gatehouse and a gazebo with a small gym.
Site Plan
The aims of the project were to restore the original spirit of the design and repair the...