Former U.S. Embassy

In cooperation with Lund Hagem Arkitekter and Atelier Oslo, we won the invited competition to refurbish and extend the former American Embassy in Oslo in 2018. The building, designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen in the 1950s, has been listed since 2018. The project transformed the former U.S. embassy into a modern office building with 400 workstations, meeting rooms, and conference facilities. Additionally, the building features areas with restaurants, bars, cafés, and even an underground gym.

A completely new and modern technical installation system is invisibly integrated into the existing building. The former technical floor on the top is transformed into a restaurant with views over Oslo. Due to its poor condition, the original ceiling in the listed atrium had to be replaced. The new folded ceiling is suspended from a new steel structure. The most radical intervention is invisible from the outside: Under the entire building, a new basement has been excavated to a depth of 15 meters to accommodate new areas. Since the ground consisted of solid rock that required drilling and dynamiting, the existing structure was supported by temporary piles during the construction phase. Today, the piles are replaced by a permanent steel structure.