Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2010
The form of the Ministry was modelled to fit into a site between two buildings (the ex-port authority and the Lybian department of representation) dating from the Italian colonial period. The architecture is modern and flexible, designed to evolve according to changing working requirements. The source of its iconographic inspiration is Latin classicality, of which the colonnade, the cupola and the stone cladding of the façade are contemporary reinterpretations, not simply reproductions. The Ministry is structured on different levels, with three basement floors allocated to parking, and three above ground, for representation and offices, set spokewise around the large atrium. The roof is a cupola, inspired by the Pantheon, with circular apertures to let natural light into the building.