Architects HOK have released images of their design for a new British Embassy building in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Public services will be on the ground floor, with embassy offices on the top two floors.
Rainwater falling on the structure will be collected and stored for irrigation and use within the building.
The project is due for completion in 2011.
The following information is from HOK:
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HOK has released the first images of its dynamic design for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s new British Embassy building in Jakarta.
The 3,800 m² scheme is designed over three levels and is located on a 1.5 hectare site in central Jakarta. The project is due to complete in 2011.
The design, expressed in a spiralling form, folds around a central protected courtyard and twists up and outwards to form the Embassy’s public entrance invoking a sense of calm assurance. Sustainability is a key design consideration and challenge: Jakarta is in a highly seismic zone with excessive humidity levels; rain falls for eight months a year. Currently the design has been assessed as Excellent under the BREEAM rating. Site security has also influenced the scheme and is the logic to the centrally located building footprint.
The public and private functions within the building are separated with public services located on the ground floor and private Embassy functions located above. The public courtyard brings the tropical landscape into the heart of the building with a contained and controlled environment, very different in character to the lush landscape around the building.
Water recycling is important: all rain water falling on the structure will be collected, stored and used for irrigation and grey water purposes; this will also reduce the burden on the City’s water systems. To help eliminate solar gain, the Embassy is designed on an east-west axis.
HOK’s project director, Andrew Barraclough comments: “This is a fantastic project in a truly challenging climate. We’re giving considerable thought to the use of locally sourced materials to give an excellent life cycle. We want the building to appear as if it’s been hewn from a single piece of stone to provide a sense of solidity and security.”
The FCO’s project sponsor added: “HOK’s challenge is to balance the design to realise both security and accessibility. This is being achieved with considerable thought being given to the environment.”
HOK is collaborating with MACE the FCO’s Strategic Partner, Ramboll Whitby Bird as structural, facade and MEP engineers; and TPS as security advisors.
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Posted by Rose Etherington
August 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
bo bo bo bo boooring. British embassys are allways booring. Light should be the way to do it..
August 29th, 2008 at 9:21 am
imho looks like a hospital looking in front of it
August 29th, 2008 at 10:36 am
3,800 sqm on a 1.5 hectare (expensive) land in central Jakarta?? ok…. that doesn’t seem so right, does it?
August 29th, 2008 at 10:50 am
All four renderings feature the same corner. And while they probably want to show the best part of the building, the rest must be even more boring. I also don’t find the design appropriate for an Embassy.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
HOK do some of the most consistently boring work around. It does not belong on this blog imho. Isnt there a new Zaha building in Normay?
This also proves that the Italians consistently produce sub par architecture.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
well its truely representative and honest about the current modern British architecture - safe, repetitive, boring, wimpy, and ill chosen materials.
Sounds just like British food.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
like the tone of the grid in the outer coating. very british.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Really not so compelling. No other perspectives? Diagrams? Anything to make this a convincing work of architecture?
August 29th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
this is sad.
not architecture, just a building. the designers were preoccupied with a sexy entrance, and its fine visually, but otherwise this building is a bore.
its not sober and beautiful, like chipperfield for example, its just lame.
August 30th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Bangkok extention is almost complete- Jakarta 2011..interesting to see who gets chosen for the embassy project in Tokyo..
August 30th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
looks like the product of a Revit tutorial.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
omg. why is this even published?!
August 31st, 2008 at 10:49 pm
fully agree with johanna.. this is not worth publishing.. go check the hok-website, and you’ll probably agree too..
buildings like this pop up everywhere.. so dezeen: please show us the interesting ones
September 1st, 2008 at 4:24 am
Is it in the same location as it is now?
Where exactly is it? If it is in the same location, then it is violating the conservation regulation. Then the architects of HOK will face a serious ethical consequences, as well as their local architects as Architect of Records. They will then have to be subject of ethical assessment both by RIBA and IAI (Indonesian Institute of Architects), since the subject is in our Code of Ethics book.
Ahmad Djuhara, IAI
Chairman of Indonesian Institute of Architects
Jakarta Chapter
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I can’t believe they plunge yet another boring architecture in the already boring cityscape of Jakarta.
September 7th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
OMG !!!! cheapskate only provide boring building.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:57 am
it wont be a boring building if they invite “sex pistols” on the opening Ceremony to sing “God save the Queen” on top of the building!!
yeeaahhh!!!