Renewal of Henri-Spaak Building
Renewal of Henri-Spaak Building now is over!
The European Parlament is hosting a two-stage architectural design competition for the renewal of the Henri-Spaak Building in Brussels.
About Competition
The European Parliament has decided to launch a two-stage architectural design competition for detailed sketches from architects for the renewal of the Paul-Henri Spaak Building in Brussels.
The European Parliament is a symbolic heart and home of European democracy, central to the continent’s modern history. Its building heritage is significant not only for the European legislators, but also for citizens, in that it provides important public spaces for dialogue and for experiencing European democracy and its values and is also a focal point for European celebrations and commemorations of our joint democratic heritage. The building heritage should be preserved and further developed as a strong symbol of our modern history.
Multidisciplinary teams led by architects are invited to submit renewal projects with a positive environmental impact.
This procedure involves a two-stage restricted competition:
During the first stage, from among the applications it has received, the European Parliament willshortlist candidates on the basis of objective criteria for assessing their economic and professional capacities in the light of the purpose of the competition. At the end of that stage, the shortlisted candidates, who are also referred to as ‘competitors’ below, will be invited to participate in the sketch design stage of the competition, during which they will be called upon to submit their sketches, which will be presented to the jury responsible for evaluating and ranking them and determining the winning entry.
The European Parliament seeks to set an example in its overall environmental approach:
• The prospective building will be integrated into and linked to its urban, natural and social environment.
• It is intended to be sustainable, with sustainability being measured in terms of operability, maintainability, flexibility and adaptability. This flexibility should be considered in terms of space, time and technologies.
• The building and its development process should incorporate best durability and sustainability practices with a considered balance between simplicity and technology (particularly bioclimatism and the circular economy).
The aim of the competition is to select two concepts to be submitted to the Bureau of the European Parliament, which will choose the concept to be developed in detail by a design-and-build operator with no links to the creator of the concept. On the basis of that concept, the main objective of the competition is to determine:
• the external dimensions and the dimensions of the large interior spaces;
• relationships, particularly the relationship with the environment, interior/exterior relationship through the building envelope, the relationship between functions and the relationship between the building’s different users;
• the external and internal ambiances through these elements;
• potential to develop the European Parliament’s ambitions through the architectural and technical design that will follow at the design-and-build stage.
There is no entry fee to participate!
Eligibility
Multidisciplinary teams led by architects are invited to participate in this architecture competition.
Entry fees
There is no entry fee to participate!