Page 26 - ELEMENTS EUROPA (EN)

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THE SURROUNDING AREA
The way the area around the Europa building is laid out sees
it leaving its mark on the city, merging in with the surrounding
buildings and spaces and provoking a dialogue between its
architecture and that of its surroundings.
The Europa building is located on the Rue de la Loi. From a
functional perspective, it is also closely related to one of the
two neighbouring buildings, the Justus Lipsius building housing
the headquarters of the Council of the European Union. It is
also part of the “Résidence Palace” complex, together with the
neighbouring Block C (International Press Centre) to the south-
west. Its rear wall looks out onto the Chaussée d’Etterbeek,
14 metres lower. All these aspects played a significant role in
determining the architecture.
TO THE NORTH: THE RUE DE LA LOI
Pedestrians enter the building via the north entrance. The
slope of the Rue de la Loi means that the visitors’ entrance is
70cm lower than the staff entrance, with the ground floor of
the lantern a further 72 cm lower. These differences in levels
are taken up in the building’s design featuring slightly inclined
ramps and a short series of steps let into the bluestone paving, a
feature extending to the inside of the building. The floor of the
atrium inside the building is nowhere higher than the pavement,
accentuating the feeling of accessibility and openness conveyed
by the building.
A large glazed canopy, supported by a seemingly very
lightweight structure, covers the whole paved area in front of
the atrium, allowing the facade of recycled window frames
to be clearly seen. The canopy also covers the existing Metro
station entrance, constructed along the same lines as the
Europa building.
While the entry protection and control measures are
particularly strict, the architecture helps them blend in with their
surroundings and gives them that human scale. For instance,
protection against ramming lorries is provided by a row of
discreet grey bollards about one meter high, arranged in such
a way as not to interfere with pedestrian traffic (including the
disabled) and perfectly aligned to give a soothing image. In the
same spirit, the facade layout incorporates the sliding security
gates belonging to the visitors’ entrance, as well as the vehicle
access gates and the control and security station on the north-
east side.
TO THE EAST: THE ENTRANCE TO THE HEART OF EUROPE
FOR HEADS OF STATE
Separating the Europa and Justus Lipsius buildings is a
“canyon” 50 metres high and 25 metres wide, which only gets
sunlight for a short period in the afternoon. The esplanade at
the bottom includes the existing approach road to the Justus
Lipsius car park with its fountained roundabout, though its main
function is to allow the cars of heads of state and delegations to
draw up in front of the main entrance reserved for them.
As one can imagine, security measures in this area are
exceptionally strict, with access limited by several successive
lines of obstacles: sliding gates, road blocks and barriers under
the supervision of two permanently occupied security and
control posts. The architecture attempts to unify and humanise
this “top security” area.
The planted wall
Taking account of the different levels of the buildings
lining the sloping Rue de la Loi, a blind wall (interspersed
by the entrance to the car park) faces the ground floor of
the Europa building. This not very welcoming view is made
more agreeable by the wall being planted. Supported by a
galvanized steel structure, various kinds of plants are grown
using hydroponics, a remotely monitored watering system
providing the necessary water, minerals and other nutrients.
The relatively high water consumption (± 2 l/m² a day, or some
900 l a day) and the nutrients (between 0.1 and 0.4 g/l a day
dependent on the season, or some 90 - 360 g a day) is justified
by the representative nature of the space in which the green
wall is planted. The area marks the beginning of the protocol
sequence bringing the heads of state to the covered entrance,
where they emerge from their cars and walk to the VIP lobby to
be welcomed by the President of the European Union.
The covered entrance and the walkways to the Justus
Lipsius building
The approach road for the heads of state ends on the south
side with two superposed semi-transparent rectangular
structures above the entrance canopy: the entrance canopy and
the walkways linking the Europa to the Justus Lipsius building
on floors 2 and 6.