...In 1947, Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Henrik Kauffmann, had acquired a site in one of the best sections of Washington, D.C., for a much-needed new Danish embassy. The plot had a driveway from Whitehaven Street towards Dumbarton Oaks Park. Vilhelm Lauritzen had seen it and wrote home, "caught butterflies, caught lots of them, 16 different species, some of them very beautiful. America is a magnificent country..."In his project description in 1953, Kauffmann expressed his wishes, which were just as modest as the state treasury and his country's democratic spirit dictated. The building nonetheless had to be able to reflect good Danish traditions, art, and craftsmanship, inside and out. It would undoubtedly have been cheaper to buy an old mansion as an ambassador's residence. Many other countries had done so, but hardly any Danish chief of mission would have the money to keep a staff big enough to maintain a large house like that. And Denmark was not supposed to compete with bigger countries, or with the South Americans, for example, who would put more emphasis on the facade. Denmark would not spend so much time or so much money on entertaining, either.This is why it was practical and inexpensive to have the new building house both the embassy and the ambassador's residence. In choosing materials and technical equipment it was necessary to remember that Washington, D.C., had a warm, humid climate. A young Danish architect, Søren Cock-Clausen, who at the time was working for Walter Gropius in Boston, made the preliminary studies and presented a schematic sketch design that was largely followed. In June 1953, Lauritzen went to Boston to meet Walter Gropius, who gave him a friendly reception. In December 1945, Gropius and his pupils had formed a group called The Architects Collaborative, TAC, the idea being that together they could achieve better results than if they worked separately. TAC was Lauritzen's collaborative partner in the project, which was not completed and inaugurated until 1960, after Finn Juhl and Lauritzen had furnished the rooms. Juhl took charge of the furniture (making use of only those in serial production), and Lauritzen designed the lighting. When it was finished, Lauritzen went around and inspected everything and in letters home wrote, "am pleasantly surprised ... It looks satisfactory as a whole ... with the exception of the swimming pool, which they have made too showy ... it looks awful... tomorrow I will argue with TAC about the extra costs. Thompson (Benjamin Thompson) from TAC was here yesterday and said that it was the only building in Washington worth looking at ... The staff is very happy about the office building ... I would like to show the servants' wing to the Americans. They say that we are socialists and perhaps we are; here they can see how it works".The external impression is light and friendly. The architecture expresses its time because the architect always acknowledged his time. It also showed Denmark's modest lifestyle and Lauritzen's power and solidity. Seen from the outside, the house could have been built by Walter Gropius. The outside shows the building's functions: the office wing with a less articulated facade than the residence, with rooms for official functions because the residence had to have access to the balcony and terrace. The residence is recessed in relation to the office wing. Everything is functional, of the finest quality, and not hierarchical.
