The French Embassy

Ten years after the delivery of the Meridien Hotel in Jakarta, VINCI Construction Grands Projets returned to Indonesia to build the new French diplomatic complex. The new diplomatic campus consists of two buildings (one housing the embassy and the other the French institute of Indonesia). The complex as a whole covers 7,400 square metres. The project includes the redevelopment of the main access to the site and its infrastructure in response to the embassy’s operational needs. That was the crux of the challenge in this project: how to provide optimal public access while ensuring maximum security.

BACKGROUND

In the design stage of the project, architects Guillaume Segond and Claude Guyon focused on emphasizing the site’s green attributes (a wealth of vegetation) and the need to exert complete control over the location’s security.
These constraints led the architects to design a building consisting of two distinctive parts: one for the embassy and its security systems and the other for the institute that is open to the public. Consequently, the challenge in this project was to create a single building able to fulfil both of these distinct functions. To achieve this objective, the architects brought together two buildings onto a single and shared base.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

In response to the building’s requirements, the layout of spaces in the embassy was designed in a functional way. The building is U-shaped with the centre occupied by services and the periphery by offices. The central section of the U was built using concrete, while the office area is free of load-bearing structures in order to maximize useful space.
The façade of the chancellery was covered in lacquered perforated and folded aluminium sheets. The use of a thick folded metal sheet provided sufficient inertia to implement minimal load-bearing structures.
Fitted aluminium frames reinforce the impression of depth and protect glass panes from the effects of the sun. Finally, the main courtyard and the entrance to the embassy are paved in basalt stone.The garden features dense vegetation, and a footpath leads from the embassy to the institute.

The project was delivered on time in compliance with the initial schedule, and the building’s inauguration was held on October 20, 2014 as planned.

IMPACT

The building is located in the centre of Jakarta in one of the city’s main thoroughfares. It is an Indonesian showcase of French know-how. The building was erected on the site of the former embassy to provide optimal reception and access conditions to the general public. The structure provides the 3,500 French expats in Indonesia and the many tourists the country attracts with optimal comfort and security at an institution that represents France abroad.

Project participants

Client
France’s ministry of foreign ministers – French embassy in Indonesia

Project management
Segond Guyon

Key figures

Implementation dates
September 2013 to October 2014

Piles
297 units

Concrete
5,200 m3

Area
7,400 m2