How Can We Rethink Embassies for the Internet Generation?

On transforming outdated fortresses into spaces for culture, connection, and belonging.

I arrived at the British Embassy in Tirana in a mild panic: my passport had been stolen. Outside the building, two Albanian security guards towered over me.

“I’m a British citizen, and I need help,” I said.

They glanced at each other.

“You need to submit an online form,” one told me. “You’ll usually receive a response in one week.”

“It’s urgent. Is there someone I can speak to?”

He shook his head. “You cannot enter the embassy. There is nobody inside who will talk to you.”

That was it. No questions, no concern, no attempt to help. Just a flat-out refusal, as though my presence was a nuisance rather than a cry for assistance. I left feeling abandoned—not just by the staff, but by the very institution meant to represent and protect me.

Embassies today feel like relics of another time. They’re transactional, unwelcoming, and increasingly irrelevant. But what if they could feel like places you belong, not just where you file paperwork?

Cultural hubs: The former glory of embassies

My recent experience stands in stark contrast to what embassies once represented. Historically, embassies were vibrant cultural hubs that extended far beyond simple bureaucratic duties.

In the 18th century, the French embassy in the newly-formed United States became renowned for hosting salons that introduced Americans to French art, cuisine, and philosophy. These gatherings weren’t just about food or conversation; they fostered cultural exchange, influencing intellectual movements and shaping America’s appreciation for French culture.

During the Cold War, British embassies became stages for art exhibitions, concerts, and theatre performances. These events weren’t diplomatic niceties—they were deliberate exercises in soft power. By showcasing the creativity and resilience of British culture, these embassies countered Soviet narratives, proving that art could be a tool as potent as policy in global relations.

For citizens abroad, embassies once served as a lifeline to the familiar—a place to reconnect with their homeland’s traditions and identity. For locals, they offered a window into another world, breaking down barriers and building bridges through culture, creativity, and human connection.

Outsourcing trust: the hollowing out of embassies

Over time, tighter security measures, shrinking budgets, and red tape transformed embassies from cultural havens into fortified strongholds. Armed guards now patrol gates, high fences block access, and thick glass screens separate visitors from staff, creating an atmosphere of distrust.

Today, even core consular services are regularly outsourced to private companies and tech platforms. Lost your passport? You‘ll likely deal with an intermediary like VFS Global, not government staff. Looking for a doctor, legal advice, or emergency support? A quick Google search often provides faster and more reliable answers than official guidance.

As these once-critical services are digitised or delegated, embassies risk becoming hollow symbols of national presence—disconnected from the citizens and communities they were designed to serve. This reflects a deeper loss of relevance: from being places of trust and belonging, embassies have become outdated monuments to a bygone era, struggling to adapt to a digital and decentralised world.

To stay relevant, it’s time for embassies to evolve into institutions that better reflect the realities of our interconnected age.

Reimagining embassies for the internet era

Embassies don’t have to be sterile offices behind high fences. They could transform into vibrant hubs—offering accommodation, coworking spaces, cultural events, and tailored support for global citizens.

Zoku, a hotel brand born in Amsterdam, offers a glimpse of what a modern, human-centred embassy could look like. Designed as a “neighbourhood in a building,” Zoku blends micro-apartments, coworking spaces, cultural programming, and shared social areas. Chefs cook in open kitchens as travellers and locals mingle, workspaces buzz with activity, and daily rituals—like Scandinavian fika—spark spontaneous connections. It’s a place where friendships form, ideas flourish, and communities take shape.

If we were to design a 21st-century embassy from scratch, it would look much more like Zoku, blending the local and the global, than the embassy buildings we see today. Embassies could offer streamlined consular services alongside spaces for creativity and collaboration. No longer places reserved for emergencies, they could become destinations—welcoming hubs of culture, connection, and belonging.

The role of network states and pop-up villages

While nation-states grapple with modernisation, new players are emerging to redefine embassies altogether.

Network states could lead the way in reinventing embassies. Unlike nation-states, rooted in geography, network states are built online and centred around shared values that transcend borders. Their embassies could serve as physical bridges between online communities and the offline world, translating their digital culture into tangible, shared spaces.

By creating embassies that reflect their digital cultures, network states might also inspire nation-states to rethink their own outdated institutions—just as digital nomads sparked the rise of global mobility tools like nomad visas.

Some network state projects aim to build new cities, such as Próspera in Honduras. But scaling from online communities to fully-fledged cities has proven challenging. Embassies offer a more practical starting point: a single building, easier to bring to life and bridge with existing systems.

Testing ideas, growing permanence

The first network state embassies could take root in pop-up villages—temporary, purpose-driven communities where around 100 people come together for a few months to live, work, and collaborate on shared goals.

Imagine a pop-up embassy at the heart of one of these villages, acting as a meeting point for network state members and the host community. It could provide paperwork assistance, digital tools, and emergency support, alongside workshops, coworking spaces, and cultural programmes that showcase the network state’s values and identity. More than just functional, the embassy would anchor the network state’s digital culture in the tangible, fostering connection and collaboration among members while inviting others to engage with its vision.

Thriving hubs like Buenos Aires and Chiang Mai, known for their vibrant nomad communities, offer ideal environments to pilot these embassies. Their culture of innovation and collaboration makes them fertile ground for experimentation. Over time, successful initiatives could evolve into permanent fixtures, serving as vital bridges between network states and local communities.

The most successful experiments would become proof that embassies can evolve past bureaucratic boundaries to embody connection, collaboration, and belonging.

Toward a new era of embassies

The future of embassies lies in reimagining their role as spaces that embody the values of a global, interconnected society. By modernising outdated customs or creating entirely new ones, embassies have the potential to evolve beyond their bureaucratic boundaries and become vibrant hubs of culture, identity, and connection.

Global citizenship is shifting. In a world where borders are less important than shared values, embassies could anchor the collaborations and communities that define this new reality. The rise of network states and pop-up villages shows how shared ideals can drive innovation and belonging.

Realising this vision will require creativity and collaboration across disciplines, from design and technology to urban planning and community building. As our world grows more digital and decentralised, embassies have the potential to evolve into vibrant spaces for collaboration, culture, and belonging. They could transcend their bureaucratic origins to become the physical expressions of the values that bind us as global citizens.

🗣️ How do you think embassies could better reflect the culture and values of the nations they represent? What services or features would make an embassy more valuable to you? Share your thoughts:

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Wondering what to read next? Check out last week’s essay below 👇