This project was something of a dream come true for me. Everybody knows that Mies designed the MLK library, and that if you walk blindfolded on the National Mall you're likely to run into a building designed by I.M. Pei, or Gordon Bunshaft, or David Adjaye. I, however, had no idea that DC has its very own architectural marvel designed by the legendary Steven Holl.
In 2001, an international design competition was launched to replace the old Swiss Residence, which was in poor condition. Out of ten entries, a jury of blind judges selected the American firm Steven Holl Architects to design the project. This design, made to mimic the rugged, snow-covered Swiss Alps, follows the Swiss Minergie energy-efficiency standards, which are far more strict than what is required in the United States.
I was given access to photograph the downstairs public space, which hosts over 3,000 guests every year for official events. Though Steven Holl is American, design is a matter of national pride in Switzerland, and for the interior design, Holl teamed up with Zed, a Swiss firm, creating a space whose interior design reflects the overall architecture. Zed exclusively used furniture designed by American and Swiss designers for this project. I was under a bit of a time crunch to shoot these interior photos, and as rushing is the natural enemy of architectural photography, I had to spend some extra time retouching these photos to cover up some omissions I made on-site, but everything came together in Photoshop.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't shoot a twilight photo of this brilliant architecture. This house has been photographed to death, so I didn't want to shoot the same photo that has already been taken a million times. After some trial and error, I settled on this composition with my 24mm Tilt-Shift lens, which I pretty much could not live without. The ambassador got home right in the middle of when we were taking this photo, and luckily, he could not have been nicer, and was very understanding and interested in the process. Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled with this photo –– it might just be my favorite twilight photo yet!