Page 104 - ELEMENTS EUROPA (EN)

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EUROPE MOVES INTO EUROPA

The process of planning a building is a steady maturing
process. It is quite normal for the original plans to evolve, not
just during construction, but even after final acceptance. Europa
is no exception in this respect: the entry into force of the
Lisbon Treaty in December 2009 impacted the building’s space
planning and architecture, but the construction process, still at
an early stage, was able to take the changes into account.

Generally speaking, the actual occupation of a building by
its users constitutes a kind of second construction site. As is
always the case, their concrete confrontation with the building
in its final form sees all sorts of justified requirements or wishes
emerging, up to now either not stated or not yet known.
But if no specific attention is paid to them, they can end up
destroying the architectural harmony: moved partition walls,
furniture unsuited to the size of rooms, non-standard signage,
additional wiring in plastic conduits, improperly sealed or soiled
suspended ceilings, etc.

To avoid this happening in the Europa building, the design
team has been commissioned by the Council to accompany
the settling-in period for five years. This involves the studies
and monitoring needed to preserve the building’s architectural
consistency, its technical performance and the quality of
execution, all of which have been the subject of great attention
to detail over a period exceeding ten years, the time it took to
move from a construction site to an operational building.

Here are just a few examples of the subjects under study:
– making the atmosphere of the 11th floor dining room more
inviting, with a view to promoting informal discussions.
– adding a 43-seat table in the middle of the 7th floor
conference room and adapting the room’s technical facilities:
lighting, air-conditioning, communication equipment, wool
carpeting, etc, with a view to gaining a second conference room
(in addition to the 3rd floor one) in which the participants can sit
close enough together.
– modifying the position of the President’s seat in the 3rd floor
conference room, as well as that of several other ancillary
tables, and again adapting the technical facilities.
– analysing non-standard signage initiatives and coming up
with a response integrated into the current signage system.