DESA1002 'Nine Quarter City' - <Jennifer Ying Yu Kwong>

Abstract

The Icelandic Embassy takes its place, as a place of social and cultural, as well as political and economic exchange, in the district surrounding Palazzo Mayor in the Spanish capital, which is renowned for its museums, art galleries, and theatres. The architectural design of the embassy is a distinctive calling card sent by Iceland to Spain. The blue glass and white walls recall the natural beauty of the country—the sea, the fjords, the sky, the snow—while the roof and wall tiles are a tribute to the mosaics of the Spanish hosts. Situated on a plaza, the island building design expresses Iceland’s relationship with the world. Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic, with a unique, ancient culture, but the seas that surround it constantly invite the curious of the country to explore the endless vistas for reaching out to the rest of the world. Standing out from surrounding buildings that religiously hug the street line, the embassy, using opaque and translucent cladding departs from the daunting monolithic quality so characteristic of embassies to provide an inviting and popular place for the social and cultural exchange in Madrid. This dedicated place serves to promote relations between the Icelandic and Spanish governments and peoples, while providing consular services to Icelandic citizens and visa services to citizens of other countries who wish to visit or immigrate to Iceland.