Overview: The brief for the Penn 24 Chancy, which eventually became the Embassy of Spain in the United Stated called for a single, late 20 th Century office structure to be erected behind a preserved 8" masonry façade of 8 contiguous 19 th Century townhouses. Penn 24 Chancery was philosophically design to defer to the 19 th Century facades that were preserved along the street, while stating clearly that a late 20 th Century response, although deferential, had image and identify as well. The somewhat reflective glazing system used as backdrop to the more compressive elements on the facades allowed the mass of the building to be less perceivable for the passer-by. This lightness and transparency of mass was a goal in the design for preservation concerns as well as those attending image vis a vis modern structure.