Ambassador's Residence

The Finnish Ambassador's residence is located in Ottawa’s beautiful Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood, overlooking McKay Lake and surrounded by trees and parkland, yet close to neighbouring residences and only minutes from downtown.

The home was designed in 1953 by architect William More, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, for More’s brother Francis and his wife. The primary building material is California redwood, with floors of heated slate; the dark walls and floors are set off by lots of windows giving plenty of light.

The Finnish government acquired the residence in 1975, and since then has made two major changes to the dramatic home’s original design. The first renovation enlarged the residence to make it more suitable for entertaining, and the 2001 renovation added three bedrooms and an office to the right wing of the second level.

In 2000, the sauna was replaced with a brand new one. Most Finnish Ambassadors' residence around the world have saunas.