The Embassy of Sweden is located in a white barn like, two-storey building, shared with the Embassy of Finland.
Designed by architects Gunnar Mattsson and Tina Wik, the building is situated on the corner of Mirambo Street and Garden Avenue in one of the Embassy-quarters of Dar es Salaam. Closest neighbours are the embassies of Norway and Canada and the “Umoja House”, where the European Commission as well as the embassies of Germany, Netherlands and UK are located.
The underlying idea of the buildings design is to provide as much shade as possible. The long sides of the house faces north and south, and the desire for light rooms, protected by the sun, led to a ventilated gable roof. Towards the east, the façade is angled, with windows placed in the angle to reduce the strong sunlight. The entrance on the gable end is accentuated by its three extended vertical walls and the visible load-bearing joists that reinforce the portico under the shady roof. The detailed plans for the area allows a six-storey structure and the building has been designed with provision for the three additional floors.
The interior, characterised by light colours and furniture of birch wood, was designed by Harriet Lund. The shared staff premises display furniture, design and art from both countries, from designers such as Finnish Alvar Aalto and Swedish Börge Lindau and Bo Lidenkrantz.
Short info:
| Name of project: | "In Praise of Shade" |
| Address: | Corner of Mirambo Street and Garden Avenue |
| Total area: | 1823 m2, of which 1273 m2 is the property of the Government of Sweden. The shared area (conference hall, rest room and lunch room) is 415 m2. |
| Opened: | 17th of May 1997 by the Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari, and the Swedish State Secretary Mats Karlsson. |
| Architect and design: | Gunnar Mattsson and Tina Wik. The interior was designed by Harriet Lund. |
