Intertwine

+Recipient of the “Outstanding Design Award in 3B” and the “Most Creative Architectural Project” Award by the Grand Valley Society of Architects

Location Washington, D.C., USA

Program Embassy Renovation

Course 3B Design Studio (Fall 2023)

Supervisor David Fortin

Sitting at an increasingly important site on America’s most significant street, the Canadian embassy ought to create a public interface, that first and foremost, honours the Piscataway people and the United States, and showcases Canada’s values and identity to visitors, which has evolved from the image Erickson displayed years ago. This is primarily done through an architecture of insertion, a large new lobby of cultural diplomacy that decolonizes the Pennsylvania Avenue grid and partially engulfs the building, bringing Indigeneity to the forefront, lowering the embassy to the street, and amplifying entry into diplomatic and public spaces. By horizontally bringing the public into an underground inter-cultural centre that vertically spreads into the employee experience, a connection is created between the two user groups while maintaining utmost security. Through learning, appreciation, celebration and exchange, Canada can maximize the use of public diplomacy to ultimately strengthen its ongoing relationship with the United States.