Felix Heusch

By signing the Treaty of Aachen, France and Germany strengthened their cooperation on numerous levels and intend the fusion of the foreign services in joint accommodations.

The Sultanate of Oman is located in the east of the Arabian Peninsula, having access to the Indian Ocean, Omani and Persian Gulf. Oman is climatically classified in the subtropics with a temperatures up to 50° C in summer.

The design of the shared complex is inspired by Arab town planning and the traditional Arab courtyard house. The basic figure consists of two superordinate courtyard houses, which depict the idea of ​​the bilateral embassy and are diagonally shifted towards one another. The buildings define different outdoor spaces. The overlap of both figures embodies a central, roofless foyer and the chancellery.

Diplomates and guests arrive at the foyer via a driveway lined with palm trees and water basins. Close to the foyer, the representative meeting and dining rooms can be reached. The share of communal areas is almost 45% and therefore twice as high as in comparable projects.

The shaded outdoor spaces are oriented in the main wind direction in order to use the cool sea breeze for natural ventilation. In addition two traditional, low-tech methods are used for ventilation. The wind towers ensure that fresh air is constantly brought in. Secondly, solar chimneys ensure the ventilation of the offices. The sun heats the air inside the chimneys. The heated air rises and creates a negative pressure, while drawing out the used air. At the same time, fresh air flows inside through cooling shafts below the building.

In total, more than half of the property is covered, of which 1/3rd is shaded outdoor space.
Due to security measures all sensitive areas keep a distance of 18 meters from the enclosure – the chancellery even moves almost 60 meters from the southern property boundary.