Brussels’ skyline

Brussels is a city undergoing constant evolution, changes, and modernization to adapt to the needs of Europe, of its institutions, and of its political and professional staff. It is often self-described as "the capital of Europe", (as was the case for Strasbourg). Since the 1970s the city underwent radical urban transformations, a work in progress that with developing new buildings in the rich and modern European quarters that extend from the Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary to Park Leopold. The cosmopolitan district, the heart of Europe’s administrative bodies, is also called the "quadrilateral of power".The "home" of the Commission. The centre of the European quarter is ‘rond-point Schuman’ where is located the seat of the European Commission: an imposing, modern building shaped as an irregular cross. The Berlaymont palace, whose name is taken after the religious of the Order of St. Augustine, the owners of the Dames du Berlaymont convent, was built in the 1960s. From 1991 to 2004 the famous building was closed for clearance work in order to remove asbestos whilst expanding and modernizing its structures, thus responding to the new needs of the European Union. From 2005 the building returned to serve as the official seat of the Commission. It hosts, inter alia, the Barroso College sessions, the main "dycasteries", and a large press room – the most renowned, photographed and filmed EU seat – with over one thousand accredited world journalists. The Council: a work in progress. The Justus Lipsius building the headquarters of the European Council stand right opposite. Since the year 2000, when it was decided that EU Heads of Government and State summit would be held in Brussels and no longer in rotation in European capitals, identifying an appropriate and functional seat for the activities of the European Council became a priority. The Residence Palace building was the chosen venue. The new meeting place of the Council, "Europe", built over the past months, forms part of an area in harmony with other Council buildings: the Justus Lipsius building, on the corner with rond-point Schuman, and the Lex building, further up on Rue de la Loi. The project includes three grand halls with an equal number of simultaneous interpretation booths, working areas for the President of the European Council, for the rotating presidencies of the Council, for Member States delegations and for the press. The main feature of the new building in compliance with the new EU policies, is eco-sustainability. The roofs are covered with photovoltaic panels for the production of electricity while the wooden frames from all over Europe provide, with the relative windows, acoustic protection against traffic noise and optimal thermal isolation. It’s an ambitious project with a maximum budget of 240 million euro.Euro-parliament buildings. Since 1997 the large buildings site overlooking Place du Luxembourg, is where the Brussels’ seat of the European Parliament (Parliament hall, working rooms, MEPs’ offices, press office, visitors’ area…) is located – the official headquarters are in Strasbourg. It is the only institution elected by citizens with universal suffrage. The central building, ironically renamed "Caprice des Dieux", owing to its oval shape that recalls the cheese bearing the same name and also for the high costs linked to its realization, is the centre of the European quarter, which is very suggestive owing to its glass and iron structure. The area includes less recent buildings, (titled to Paul-Henri Spaak and to Altiero Spinelli) and other more recent ones, completed in 2008, in addition to Luxembourg’s ex train station.New projects on the way. In 2009 the Commission launched a new requalification plan of the site where Brussels’ institutions are located. The objective is to confer to the area a more "symbolical" and "human" aspect, as declared by vice-president Siim Kallas. The project is coordinated by an international team led by French architect Christian de Portzamparc. The heart of this revolution will be Rue de la Loi, the road linking the Schuman roundabout to the centre of the city. The new urban overhaul envisages the creation of new offices, public areas, shops and also a kindergarten for the children of EU institutions’ employees. The idea is "to reduce the environmental impact of EU Commission buildings, providing good links with public transportation and contributing to the enhancement of Rue de la Loi and of its surrounding areas". The face of Brussels will be enriched with new elements, while a new skyline will characterize the European headquarters.