BRUSSELS | Residence Palace | European Council

45.000 sqm. superstructure (office and conference rooms) ; 15.000 sqm. infrastructure ; 2005 - 2013; (01/494).
Winning competition entry.

Services Performed :

· Architecture (with Studio Valle Progettazioni).
· Interior design (with Studio Valle Progettazioni).
· Landscaping (with Studio Valle Progettazioni).
· Structural Engineering (with Buro Happold).
· Project management.

Following the European enlargement, the EU Council needs an extension of his headquarters to accommodate the summit meetings and other high-level meetings, the offices of the Presidency and the General Secretary of the Council.

In January 2005 the EU council selects 25 groups of designers to participate to an international competition for the refurbishment of the Residence Palace building on rue de la Loi, in the heart of the European district of Brussels. The second stage of the competition take place from June to September 2005 with the 6 other remaining groups. The team SAMYN and PARTNERS, STUDIO VALLE PROGETTAZIONI, architects, BURO HAPPOLD, engineers, wins this 2005.09.12.

The Residence Palace complex was built between 1922 and 1927 by the Swiss architect Michel Polak as an early attempt to develop prestigious collective housing near the centre of the town. After a short-lived commercial success, the building was transformed into an office building by the Belgian state and at the end of 1960's a new section and facade were added to the rear of the building, on the rue de la Loi side. The original facades as well as the entrance halls are listed today among the protected historical built heritage of the town.

Following the official land-use guidelines, the extension of the building is planned on the north-east side with two new facades to convert the L-shaped building into a 'cube'. The enclosed court forms a large atrium that hosts the main entrance hall as well as providing the necessary volume for the new conference.

The shape of this volume follows the minimum needed surface for each room : from the press briefing room at level +2, to the main conference room for 250 persons at level +6 and the smaller dining room for 50 persons at level +10. Each room has an elliptical plan with the same center and principal axis but of different dimensions. The structure of the object is rigorously symmetrical even if it doesn't seem to be.

The new double facade, made of a harmonized patchwork of re-used wooden windows with simple crystal like single glazing (from the different European countries) provides the necessary acoustic barrier from the traffic noise of the Rue de la Loi-Wetstraat and it also offers a first thermal insulation for the inner space. Indeed, encouraged by the European Union regulations, a huge number of old houses windows around Europe will be refurbished in the coming years. As a result, millions of old wooden windows will be replaced by new and more airtight windows with double glazing. Only a small fraction will be reconditioned and reused as part of sustainable regeneration. It is proposed to make both a practical and a philosophical statement by re-using those traditional construction elements expressing the cultural diversity of the European Union[/QUOTE]