Berlaymont building
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| Name: | Berlaymont building |
| Primary purpose: | European Commission headquarters |
| Total floor area: | 240,500 m² |
| Height: | 130,300 m² |
| Floors: | 14, including ground floor |
| Basement: | 111,200 m²; four underground levels |
| Capacity: | 2,250 |
| Meeting room capacity: | 880 |
| Cafeteria capacity: | 420 |
| Conference halls: | 12 |
| Elevators/lifts: | 47 |
| Interpreter booths: | 70 |
| Escalators: | 12 |
| Parking spaces: | 1,150 |
The Berlaymont building is an important governmental building in Brussels, Belgium. It houses the European Commission headquarters. The structure is located at Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat in what is known as the "European district", where it is one of the most prominent of the buildings housing EU and international institutions.
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[edit] History
The plot of land on which the building was constructed was originally occupied by the convent of the Dames du Berlaymont. They managed an important girls’ school. In the 1960s, to anchor the European presence in Brussels, the Belgian government bought the plot, and the Dames du Berlaymont moved to Waterloo.
The building was built from 1963 to 1969 and became the symbol of the European presence in Brussels. It housed 3,000 Commission civil servants from 1967 to 1991, when it was decided that a complete renovation was necessary and that asbestos protecting the steel structure had to be removed. The refurbishment lasted over a decade. There was considerable criticism of time and cost over-runs of the project.
In 2004, the Commission returned to the building. As of 2005, all members of the Barroso Commission and their cabinets (private offices) are based in the Berlaymont. The office of the President of the Commission and the Commission boardroom are on the 13th floor. The Secretariat General, Legal Service and other central services of the Commission are also based in the building.
The building briefly appeared in the 2006 film, "Children of Men", shown along with buildings other cities that had been subject to attacks.
[edit] Architecture
Architect Lucien De Vestel designed the original building, with input from Jean Gilson, Jean Polak and André Polak. It consists of a cross-shaped tower, with 13 floors, situated on a wide basement, four floors high. The tower has a star shape—with four wings radiating out from a central hub. The floors of the wings are supported by a steel structure hanged to pretensioned beams placed on the top of a narrow reinforced concrete structure.
The building has 240,000 m² of floor space on 18 levels. Offices for 3,000 officials and meeting rooms are in the tower. Restaurant and services, TV studio, conference rooms, storage rooms, car parking and various services occupy the basement.
Architects Pierre Lallemand, Steven Beckers and Wilfried Van Campenhout carried out the 1997-2004 remodeling. Modifications included the addition of a meeting room on the top of the south-east wing, the construction of a complete structure with three meeting rooms constructed on the north-east side of the grounds, a double façade placed around the tower with movable glass panes at the outside, and large openings in the ground floor to allow natural light distribution in the basement.
[edit] See also
- Justus Lipsius building (Council of the European Union)
- Buildings of the European Parliament
- Location of European Union institutions
- EU district
- List of buildings
[edit] External links
