CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil

View the architectural study
Interpretive architectural study of the catalogued property.

3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

A New Chancery Beside the McCormick House

Brazil opened its new chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue on October 1, 1971. Olavo Redig de Campos designed the building with Ricardo de Abreu and Washington consultant Hans-Ullrich Scharnberg. The mission already occupied the neighboring McCormick estate, acquired in 1934. [1] [3]

Redig de Campos concentrated the office accommodation in a suspended glass pavilion above a recessed entrance level. Three floors appear to project beyond the base, while steel supports along the central longitudinal module carry the structural system. This arrangement makes the upper volume seem unusually light despite its size. [1]

Maurício Nabuco attended the marker ceremony on June 13, 1968, at Ambassador Vasco Leitão da Cunha’s invitation. Nabuco had lived at Brazil’s earlier Washington embassy. [2] [1]

Modernism and the Work of Renewal

The chancery was among the modern diplomatic buildings erected in northwest Washington after World War II. The Swiss and German missions had already commissioned new facilities from prominent European architects. [3]

Grunley completed a partial renovation on June 15, 2011, with GHT Chartered as architect. The $6 million project included abatement, selected mold remediation, replacement of heating, ventilation, lighting, roofing, floors, and ceilings, and installation of a wet pipe sprinkler system. [4]

Olavo Redig de Campos’s suspended glass pavilion lifts three office floors above a recessed entrance beside the ambassador’s residence. The site area and assessed value below cover the shared chancery–residence compound.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1971documented; Official inauguration, corroborated construction year The embassy gives 1 October 1971 as the inauguration date. Grunley and the DC assessor also identify 1971. The 1973 date in SAH and historic address metadata remains a documented discrepancy; the partial renovation completed on 15 June 2011 was a separate event.
  1. grunley.com
  2. www.gov.br
Acquired by BrazilOn the 1934 estateestate acquisition documented; separate building purchase not established; Estate purchase is distinct from construction and opening of the modern chancery Brazil bought Villa McCormick on 12 September 1934. The modern chancery opened beside it in 1971. No separate purchase of this later building or deed crosswalk proving that every part of today’s parcel was included in the 1934 sale was established.
  1. www.gov.br
  2. www.gov.br
NeighborhoodMassachusetts Avenue Heightsdocumented; Architectural neighborhood; assessor geography stated separately Embassy Row / Massachusetts Avenue Heights in architectural accounts; the DC assessment neighborhood is Observatory Circle. These are different geographic classifications.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  3. sah-archipedia.org
ArchitectOlavo Redig de Camposdocumented; Original building; GHT Chartered belongs to the separate 2011 renovation With assistant Ricardo de Abreu and local consulting architect Hans-Ulrich Scharnberg. The embassy describes steel columns along the central longitudinal module.
  1. www.gov.br
Rooms60–145 est.estimated; Planning estimate: rooms = building area × room-area fraction ÷ average room size. For this office property, assume 45%–65% of the recorded 54,404 sq ft is enclosed usable room area, with an average 250–400 sq ft per room. The range combines the low fraction with the larger room size and the high fraction with the smaller size, rounded outward to five rooms. Room allocation and average size are assumptions. Covers the recorded building area; the interior has not been independently measured. Estimated room range.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Floor area54,400 sq ftverified; DC CAMA living gross building area (LIVING_GBA), building 2, section 1; building attribution inferred
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Site area77,000 sq ftverified; Shared estate total: 2147/0059. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$14.4Mverified; Shared estate total: 2147/0059. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov

Scope and Evidence

The new chancery’s marker ceremony was held on 13 June 1968. The embassy gives its opening as 1 October 1971; 1973 in SAH and DC historic address metadata is retained as a discrepancy. The 2011 partial renovation is separate.

The 58 × 14.4 m building dimensions are estimated from aerial and ground photographs. The projecting vestibule, raised granite entrance platform, recessed glazing and adjacent basin follow the photographed exterior; concealed circulation remains conservative.

DC records this area for building 2, section 1, the 1971 reinforced-concrete building, attributed here to the chancery. The public extract provides no address-to-building-number key. The number is recorded, not estimated from the model.

The chancery and historic residence total 73,313 sq ft in the building records. An additional 4,411 sq ft ancillary record is not assigned to either modeled building. The full shared estate is 77,024 sq ft of land and assessed at $14,376,013 for 2026; both property views display that estate scope, while database totals count it once.

The current parcel and both addresses are crosswalked in DC records. The 1934 estate purchase does not establish a separate purchase date for the modern building or a complete historical parcel-boundary chain.

  1. funag.gov.br
  2. grunley.com
  3. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  4. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  5. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  6. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  7. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  8. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  9. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  10. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  11. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  12. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  13. sah-archipedia.org
  14. www.gov.br
  15. www.gov.br
  16. www.gov.br

Research Questions

Where Is Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil?

3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Sources and basis

When Was Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil Built?

Constructed: 1971. Record status: documented. Official inauguration, corroborated construction year The embassy gives 1 October 1971 as the inauguration date. Grunley and the DC assessor also identify 1971. The 1973 date in SAH and historic address metadata remains a documented discrepancy; the partial renovation completed on 15 June 2011 was a separate event.

Sources and basis

Who Designed Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil?

Architect: Olavo Redig de Campos. Record status: documented. Original building; GHT Chartered belongs to the separate 2011 renovation With assistant Ricardo de Abreu and local consulting architect Hans-Ulrich Scharnberg. The embassy describes steel columns along the central longitudinal module.

Sources and basis

What Is the Floor Area of Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil?

Floor area: 54,400 sq ft. Record status: verified. DC CAMA living gross building area (LIVING_GBA), building 2, section 1; building attribution inferred Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

What Is the Site Area of Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil?

Site area: 77,000 sq ft. Record status: verified. Shared estate total: 2147/0059. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded. Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

What Is the 2026 Value of Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil?

2026 Value: $14.4M. Record status: verified. Shared estate total: 2147/0059. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value. This is a tax assessment, not a verified sale price or market valuation. Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

Sources

  1. Embassy of Brazil — A Chancelaria

    Official opening date, original architects, structure and entrance materials. Published 29 December 2022; updated 14 June 2023.

  2. FUNAG — Legações e embaixadas do Brasil (2021)

    Legações e embaixadas do Brasil (2021), printed p. 83, PDF p. 85

  3. Ward 3 Heritage Guide

    Printed pp. 32–33 (PDF pp. 36–37), Embassies and Diplomats and Mid-Century Modernism; printed p. 52 (PDF p. 56), embassy inventory

  4. Brazilian Embassy: Partial Renovation

    Project description and project details

  5. Residence of the Ambassador of Brazil: reproduced embassy history

    Historical text explicitly attributed to www.brasilemb.org; paragraphs beginning The beginning of the third and current stage

  6. Chancery of Brazil: structural and architectural account
  7. Embassy of Brazil in Washington: official website
  8. Embassy of Brazil — A Residência

    Official lot purchase, 1908 commission, architect/builder and exact 12 September 1934 sale. Updated 11 January 2024.

  9. DC MAR — building address points
  10. DC owner polygon — square 2147, lot 0059
  11. DC ITSPE — 2026 compound assessment
  12. Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil
  13. DC MAR — address-to-parcel crosswalk
  14. DC commercial CAMA — SSL 2147/0059
  15. DC ITSPE FACTS — current assessment cross-check
  16. DC residential CAMA — exact-parcel room-count check
  17. Property audit: Embassy of Brazil Chancery — 2026 Value
  18. Property audit: Embassy of Brazil Chancery — Floor area

Related Reading

Cite This Article

Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record version 96a2172fe00a38b902d2.

Download citation