Architect: SKARDELLI György
The embassy complex has several buildings and each of them characteristically represents its given function. The chancellery, the residence of the ambassador and the house of the diplomats are separated by gardens designed with consideration to their functions. The hierarchical separation of the different outdoor and indoor living spaces has resulted in a colony with a life of its own, where the home and the office, the protocol and the private sphere can be separated.
The plot of the embassy is surrounded by a wall. A service building has been built on the street front, at the entrance, consisting of a guard house, the staff changing rooms, the garage, the waste container area and mechanical rooms, all located under the same roof, divided by atria. There is a guest parking area connected to the interior access road. The chancellery building and the residency of the ambassador are accessed through an interior roundabout which facilitates the official reception of the guests. The Hungarian flag is located in the middle of the roundabout, so it is highly visible from the protocol rooms of both buildings. The ground floor of the chancellery accommodates reception and service areas for official events, the offices and their service rooms are on the first floor. The ground floor of the residency is also a reception and catering area, the living quarters of the ambassador and his family are on the first floor. The house of the diplomats is located far from the protocol areas, in the garden behind the official buildings. There are three two-storey apartments of different size in the building, each of them has a small, intimate private garden. In a separate block under the same roof, a pool house has been built with a 5,00×10,00 m swimming pool, sauna, changing rooms and service areas on the ground floor, and a gym and two small guest rooms on the first floor.
It was quite difficult to find those building materials which would be used by the local contractors. The choice of the locally produced materials was rather poor, import (from China) couldn’t be considered. Each building has been built with brick walls and reinforced concrete columns, the facades have granite cladding. The low pitch roofs have timber structures with galvanized steel sheet roofing.
Hungary hasn’t got an embassy in North Korea any more, the building complex is rented out.
Location: Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Built: 1998 Architect: SKARDELLI György Associate architects: DUDÁS István, GÁSPÁR László, LÁZÁR Ferenc, SZÁSZNÉ KIRÁLY Katalin Interior architect: PLACHTOVICS Vilmos Landscape architect: HAVASSY Gabriella Area: 2580 m2
