Rooftop Review: The View From House of Sweden

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WASHINGTON BOASTS many top-notch spots from which to gaze at the city's skyline. But there are few places where you can train your eye on both the D.C. cityscape and the hustle-and-bustle of Georgetown's waterfront. That's where the House of Sweden comes in.

When the embassy/nightspot opened last year on its narrow riverfront plot between Georgetown Harbour and Rock Creek, its innovative design made for a nice addition to the area. For an embassy complex — many of which sit behind fences and are inaccessible to the general public — its glass-bedecked facade is oddly inviting.

And while you can't see it from street-level, that openness carries over to the roof, which has become one of the city's best outdoor concert venues. On Friday, Sweden hosted its first-ever rooftop Nordic jazz festival, which showcased jazz talents from across Scandinavia. And while seating was at a premium, those who sat on the wooden planks of the rooftop deck enjoyed good music and good views.

Especially eye-pleasing is how the spot seems to float above a sea of green, surrounded as it is by the trees that line Rock Creek to the east and Theodore Roosevelt Island across the Potomac.

But it's not without its urban feel. The towers of Rosslyn, the Watergate complex and Kennedy Center are all within view — structures that utilize strong, horizontal lines, as does Georgetown Harbour. But from the roof, Georgetown's forest of chimneys adds a little complexity to the mix, throwing in some clashing, and eye-catching, vertical elements, pictured at left.

Often, rooftops hide unsightly ventilation systems and the like. Not so at the House of Sweden. In the center of the building rises a long, enclosed glass structure, pictured at right, which houses, among other mechanical systems, the glass elevator, which whisks you up from the downstairs lobby straight to the roof.

And while you might feel like you're flying high above the city during a roof deck event, you're quickly upstaged by the planes that whiz by every few minutes. Since the Georgetown waterfront sits underneath the flight paths of planes heading in and out of Reagan National Airport, musicians performing have to make do with the constant noise of nearby jets. And helicopters, since they have to fly lower to the ground to avoid the planes.

The noise generated might frustrate those who are in search of a concert hall sound experience, but the views certainly makes up for it.

» "Scandinavian Swing: In the Country" [Express]

Photo panoramas and last photo by Christopher Porter/Express; second photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post