DC Metrocentric

Purhapse 20 years ago the French Embassy’s architecture could have given Italy’s a run for its money, but in 2008 the buildings look dated. The French Embassy is located on Reservoir road Northwest behind Georgetown Hospital and is more of a compound than a single building like many of the other Embassies.

As you can see the exterior of the buildings are covered in a white marble. The compound has four major structures all similar in design and there is significant entertainment space for parties and receptions. The building was designed by Architect André Remondet who studied in France but also earned a degree from George Washington University so there’s a nice connection to the District.

The only problem we had was that the Embassy was charging for the samples they offered during the open house, which could be understandable to an extent, but $4 for a bottle of water didn’t look so good compared to England who was giving them away for free while people were waiting in line. The French Embassy had some interesting cheese-plates and pastries, but we didn’t feel like dropping $12 on a one bite little sample.

Sorry for the tangent, we do realize this isn’t a food blog, honest! So overall it was cool to get to see into the compound and we did like the subterranean parts of the building that were designed to be environmentally friendly way before it was fashionable. So at least in design, but not look, the French Embassy is ahead of it’s time.