New Italian Embassy in London: art, design, and architecture
Location: London, United Kingdom
Heritage Filigrana 190 Città della Pieve, Heritage Traccia 140 Chevron Firenze, Medoc Firenze
Collection: Atelier, Natural Genius
Year: 2025
Casa Italia: between history, sustainability and innovation
The new Italian Embassy in London, located on Buckingham Gate in the heart of the governmental district and just a few steps from Buckingham Palace, represents the most important real estate acquisition made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the United Kingdom in recent decades. With Casa Italia, the Italian presence in the British capital takes on a new configuration: not only a functional headquarters for diplomatic and cultural activities, but a project that connects architecture, design, and institutional representation.
Housed in a Victorian building of 2,000 m², the complex will accommodate, from autumn 2025, over 80 officials from the Italian Embassy, the Italian Cultural Institute, and ICE. The project transforms the historic shell into a unified space that integrates operational efficiency, sustainability, and cultural identity.
Inside, the public and representative spaces are furnished with a curated selection of historic and contemporary Italian pieces. The library, furnished by UniFor, is complemented by a waiting area with Molteni furniture and an exhibition room for temporary shows, which will open with an exhibition dedicated to Italian works by J.M.W. Turner.
The wooden surfaces play a key role in defining the character of the spaces: the floors are crafted in Heritage Filigrana 190 Città della Pieve and Heritage Traccia 140 Chevron Firenze from the Atelier collection, both finished in Esprit Oleonature, offering a combination of aesthetic refinement, material quality, and sustainability.
The auditorium, designed as the focal point for institutional and cultural events, features a podium clad in Medoc Firenze parquet in the Natural Genius collection, designed by Michele De Lucchi for Listone Giordano, accompanied by Cab chairs, T1 tables by Osvaldo Borsani, and a custom lectern made by Giobagnara.
The exhibition stands out for the widespread presence of Italian design, through a selection that spans generations and languages. Among the names featured are Gio Ponti, Giovanni Offredi, Vico Magistretti, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Gianfranco Frattini, Osvaldo Borsani, Ico Parisi, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Ignazio Gardella, Franco Albini, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Mario Bellini, Piero Lissoni, Michael Anastassiades, Ronan Bouroullec, Glenn Sestig, Norman Foster, Antonio Citterio, and Michele De Lucchi.
More than just a diplomatic headquarters, Casa Italia is a platform for cultural and design representation. The project is the result of a joint effort between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Embassy in London, the Italian Cultural Institute, ICE, Italian design and furniture companies, and Italian and British museums. The result is an open, accessible space designed to welcome institutions, entrepreneurs, students, academics, artists, athletes, and citizens, and to convey a contemporary image of Italy through architecture and design.
Atelier Collection
Natural Genius magnetico
