EYP Architecture • Oslo, Norway

Rendering of the new U.S. Embassy building in Olso, Norway, designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering. Image: Courtesy EYP

Ground has been broken on a new United States Embassy in Oslo, Norway. The three-story building was designed by the Albany, New York office of EYP Architecture & Engineering.  Located on a 10-acre (4-hectare) site, the multiple-building embassy complex will include a chancery, an underground support annex, three entry pavilions, and Marine security-guard quarters. Upon its anticipated completion in spring 2015, the building will accommodate around 200 employees and staff.

The public face of the building will be its northeast corner  -- visible from the adjacent prominent roadway, Sørkedalsveien -- which contains a two-story cafeteria that also doubles as an events space. Tall windows, traditional in Norway, will take full advantage of the abundant summer sun while capturing as much light as possible during the dark winters. Metal fins further emphasize this verticality throughout the facade. 

The building will be clad in white Norwegian granite with grey fieldstone encircling its base. Each of the above-ground buildings on the site will have a copper cornice. Copper becomes a design thread that both connects all of the elements of the compound. The material is also symbolic of a "special bond" between America and Norway since the copper for the Statue of Liberty was mined near Visnes, Norway.

The LEED Silver-targeting Embassy will incorporate numerous sustainable features, including a restored stream that will become a key landscape feature and that will contribute to storm water management. Other sustainable features include the use of daylight illumination, a ground-source heat exchange system that will allow the Embassy to meet nearly 100% of its heating load, and a green roof on one of the buildings. The new site is also located within 300 meters (1,000 feet) of public transportation and includes more than 45 bicycle parking spaces.