The new headquarters of the European Union for 321 million euros

The new headquarters of the European Union in Brussels was opened to the public on December 10, 2016. The building known as "Europe" will be used by the EU ministers from January 2017. Also from next year, European summits will be organized there.

The building has 70,466 square meters, and its construction cost was 321 million euros, 80 million more than originally planned.



The outer walls, consisting of a large rectangular skeleton of the building, were made of 3750 windows in wooden frames, which were collected from the demolition of various buildings from all EU countries. This was to show how important it is to recycle materials, but also to pay tribute to European handicrafts and cultural diversity.

Inside is a giant egg-shaped structure that is backlit at night and looks great.

The main architect of the building is Philippe Samyn.



The main meeting room was decorated with compositions in warm and pastel colors, the author of which is the Belgian artist Georges Meurant.

The building is very energy-saving and ecological. It has a rainwater recovery system that supplies sanitary equipment, as well as a modern system for adjusting lighting, humidity and air temperature inside the building. The inner ball is illuminated with LED lamps, and 636 solar panels are mounted on the roof.

The construction of the new headquarters was decided in 2004, after the enlargement of the EU by 10 countries. The design of the new headquarters was presented in 2011 by the then president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy.

The decision to build such a magnificent edifice aroused many controversies, especially in times of the European crisis, when there are other, more important priorities on which this money could be spent.