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3/6/06

Business Week: New "Glowing" Headquarters for EU by Sarah Cox

For the full report go to Business Week

New "Glowing" Headquarters for EU by Sarah Cox

European leaders will now have meetings in a "lantern"-like building that uses both translucent and transparent glass

A design has been selected for a new meeting space for the European Union in Brussels. The building will supplement the adjacent 1927 Palace Complex, designed by architect Michel Polak, which now serves as EU Council headquarters. The winning competition entry was submitted by architecture firm Samyn and Partners of Brussels, and engineering firms Studio Valle Progettazioni of Rome, and UK-based Buro Happold. The 645,000-square-foot building will include a press briefing room, a conference room for 250 people, 28 translation booths, and a dining room for 50 guests. Samyn and Partners principal Phillippe Samyn describes the box-like building as a "lantern," due to its glowing, glass-box appearance, created by façade layers of both translucent and transparent glass. The programmatic area will occupy a bulbous, multi-storied cylinder in the center of the box, and a dynamic lighting scheme will change the color of the glowing lantern at night. The structure will be steel-and-concrete composite construction and completed in June 2013.

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