Dutch Embassy

The Embassy of the Netherlands is the seat of the Diplomatic Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mexico. In Lomas de Chapultepec, the Dutch Embassy moved into the Qúbica Lomas building (see below) when it opened in 2017.

The Netherlands was the second European country to recognize Mexican independence in 1821. Having been shuffled from Spanish control in 1714 to Austrian domination, the Netherlands had seized upon the same opportunity created by the French Revolution to seek its own independence. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, created in 1815, lasted until the Constitutional Monarchy was created in 1839. Relations were suspended when the Dutch government, seemingly still under Austrian influence, supported the Second Mexican Empire under Maximiliano.

But by 1954, both countries elevated their diplomatic efforts to full embassies. In 2018, both countries celebrated 190 years of friendship. Just the year prior to that, 2017, some 75,000 Dutch citizens visited Mexico. The two countries are co-signatories of numerous bilateral agreements. And a number of high profile companies do business in both countries. In Mexico, these include Heineken N.V. and the C&A clothing stores.

The Building

The Dutch embassy moved into Corporativo Qúbica Lomas when the building opened in 2017. The building project was one of the highest profile developments of Colonnier Arquitectos. They’re well-known in Mexico City for a number of sparkling glass-clad office buildings. But in these pages, the firm’s biggest project was the Oasis Coyoacán shopping center.

Here, the architects confronted a landscape that is well-known for hard and deep black volcanic lava. That explains the street name, but also the external appearance of the building. Prismatic cubes emerge from a sold block of emblematic obsidian. The slight slope of the lot is taken advantage of to show off the building’s prismatic volumes.

The building is widely acclaimed for the indoor-outdoor integration. Each level has private terraces, including the Dutch Embassy that takes up the entire second floor.

Appointments are necessary for all visits to the embassy.

Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.