About Chanceries
Chanceries is an illustrated guide to the world’s diplomacy with Washington.
The Embassy Collection explores diplomatic compounds across the Washington area. Walk through buildings in 3D, look inside historic rooms, and follow the history of each mission and the people who have led it.
A chancery is a diplomatic mission’s main office, though some of the most important diplomacy is conducted at an ambassador’s private residence. Chanceries covers both.
Diplopedia traces the lives and careers of foreign envoys who have represented their countries in Washington since the founding of the United States. Biographies are reconstructed from public records and archival research in multiple languages.
Three searchable databases bring together additional public records:
- The Diplomatic Properties Database compares buildings by architecture, size, acquisition date, and assessed value.
- The Chiefs of Mission Database tracks ambassadorial appointments, accomplishments, and their years of service.
- The Bilateral Relations Database charts major diplomatic milestones in each country’s relationship with the United States.
How Did You Build This?
Chanceries was built with OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra.
To construct 3D building models and room studies, AI agents search thousands of District of Columbia municipal property records to establish physical building dimensions. They also collect publicly available street-level photographs, overhead satellite imagery, and interior photographs and videos shared on public social media accounts.
Chanceries building models use an average of 40 reference photographs, though some can be completed with as few as six. More complete photographic coverage and property data can improve rendering quality. The illustration style draws inspiration from April Zhu’s Colorfigures.
To trace each mission’s history and diplomatic appointments, agents scour U.S. and foreign-government archives.
All research draws on publicly available sources. No privileged information is used in the production or maintenance of Chanceries.
Chanceries is an independent public benefit project. It is not affiliated with any foreign mission or the U.S. government.
Ryan Fedasiuk
Ryan Fedasiuk is the Founder and Chief Architect of Chanceries. He writes on AI policy and U.S.-China relations at the American Enterprise Institute, and teaches at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Ryan previously served as an Advisor for U.S.-China Bilateral Affairs at the State Department (2022-2024), where he was the U.S. government’s main point of contact with the Chinese Embassy in Washington. He has lived in Washington since 2015 and visited more than 40 chanceries.
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