The Charlemagne building is a
high-rise in the
European Quarter of
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium, which houses the
Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, the
Directorate-General for Trade, and since 2015, the
Internal Audit Service of the Commission. It is named after
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
.
The building has 3 wings and 15 floors. It is located at 170,
rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, in the
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
, one of the
19 municipalities forming the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
. The postal code for the municipality is 1000, but the postal code for the European Commission is 1049.
History
The building was designed by Jacques Cuisinier and constructed in 1967 at the same time as the
Berlaymont building to group together more scattered departments of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
. However, with the Commission refusing to share the Berlaymont with the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
, Charlemagne was given to the
Council's Secretariat in 1971. This had previously been located in the city centre.
[European Commission Publication: Europe in Brussels, 2007.]
The Council moved out to the
Justus Lipsius building in 1995 allowing it to be renovated. The renovation was completed in 1998 by the German-American architect
Helmut Jahn
Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Libert ...
, replacing the largely
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
exterior with a glass one. After the restoration, it was occupied by the Commission, further grouping the Union's offices around the
Robert Schuman Roundabout.
The building was briefly considered as the future headquarters of the
European External Action Service
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...
, established in 2010, but was discounted on image grounds; as it houses RELEX, people would see the EEAS as a RELEX-plus rather than a unique body outside of the Commission.
See also
*
Breydel building
*
Europa building
The Europa building is the seat of the European Council and Council of the European Union, located on the Rue de la Loi, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat in the Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter, European Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It ...
*
Lex building
The Lex building is a high-rise of government offices in the European Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is an annex building of the European Council and Council of the European Union (their main building is the Europa building) and is located ...
*
Madou Plaza Tower
The Madou Plaza Tower (; ) is a skyscraper in Brussels, Belgium. It was built in 1965, renovated between 2002 and 2006, and taken over by the European Commission. It is located on the Small Ring, Brussels, Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road) ...
*
Brussels and the European Union
City of Brussels, Brussels (Belgium) is considered the ''de facto'' capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting a number of principal Institutions of the European Union, EU institutions within its European Quarter. The EU h ...
*
Institutional seats of the European Union
The seven institutions of the European Union, institutions of the European Union (EU) are seated in four different cities, which are Brussels (Belgium), Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Stras ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlemagne Building
Skyscraper office buildings in Brussels
European Commission
Buildings and structures of the European Union
European quarter of Brussels
Office buildings completed in 1967