This Unusual New EU Building Has A Beacon Of Light At Its Heart

The European Union is moving into a brand-new eco-friendly headquarters in Brussels, featuring a huge, glowing ‘lantern’ at its centre. It’s been dubbed the ‘Space Egg’ due to its unusual appearance. Take a look around this striking building.

Belgian architecture studio Samyn and Partners worked in collaboration with Italian firm Studio Valle and British engineers Buro Happold to create the £300m headquarters, which were designed to be an optimistic and eco-conscious landmark in a time of political instability.

Its exterior is constructed from an incredible 3,750 recycled wooden window frames, which were sourced from all over Europe. As such, the facade was created to represent the EU’s diversity and to symbolise transparency within the union.

Inside the 11-storey atrium sits the giant lantern-like structure, which in turn “houses the heart of Europe”, according to architect Philippe Samyn, in the form of various-sized circular spaces. At dawn and dusk it emits a low-energy LED glow, acting as a beacon of light.

© Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS architects & engineers, lead design and partner

Summit meetings will be held in a huge room that has bold rainbow-coloured carpets and ceiling tiles, which Samyn says represent joy, as he wanted to create a friendly and inclusive circular summit space.

The new headquarters were born out of a desperate need for more room following the introduction of new member states in 2004. The Belgian state gave the EU a block of the former Residence Palace as a replacement for the concrete Justus Lipsius building, which was never designed to cater for such a large number of members.

The European Council is due to hold its first full meeting in the new building in January, and its first leaders’ summit there in March.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.