Downtown D.C. is Full of ‘Dumb Boxes.’ Not These Stunning New Buildings.

Earthy materials like copper and terra-cotta are adding warmth and texture to the city known for squat glass offices.

Excerpt: Few buildings offer such extraordinary design opportunities in D.C. as the city’s embassies. But even these commanding projects still need to abide by local codes, historic review and even neighborhood commissioners. The challenges involved in designing embassy buildings are much the same as with any office, but choices about composition and material also represent a form of diplomacy — abroad and nearby.

For their embassy renovation, Norwegian authorities were interested in finding a design that reflected an American view of Norway, according to Steve White, principal and D.C. studio director for Fentress Architects. At the same time, the design would need to pass muster with neighbors who live along Embassy Row.

For the renovation, Fentress clad part of the building in copper. Norway boasts that the metal used to build the Statue of Liberty came from a copper mine on an island on the North Sea; a miniature reproduction stands in the village of Visnes to mark its contribution. Besides being a specific historical allusion, copper looks traditional. White says the architects gave the building the kind of mansard copper roof that looks like it had always been there.

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