Sites for sore eyes

Date: 04/12/1997

Is the rubble clearing at last? Rory Watson surveys the changing scene of the EU institutions' building projects in Brussels

BRUSSELS may be the self-proclaimed capital of the European Union, but its architectural achievements fall far short of its political ambitions.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Euro-area stretching from Rond-point Schuman to Rue Belliard has been a dangerous building site where pedestrians have had to negotiate construction equipment, damaged pavements and heavy traffic.

Nor, as old buildings have been torn down and new office blocks put in their place, is there a sense that the never-ending activity is actually improving the local environment or giving birth to architectural gems which will stand the test of time.

To many, the greatest missed opportunity was the Council of Ministers' Justus Lipsius headquarters - a pink granite monstrosity which harks back more to the totalitarian style of the Thirties rather than evoking the spirit of a new millennium.

With uncertainty and controversy continuing to surround the renovation of the European Commission's former Berlaymont headquarters, and governments now actively considering how to expand the Justus Lipsius to prepare for enlargement, the building-site tag will continue to be attached to the EU institutions for some time to come.

But there are indications that after years of laissez-faire and even indifference, the Belgian authorities and the European institutions are now pursuing policies which may actually improve living and working conditions in the area.

The first concrete manifestation of this new approach will appear next Monday (8 December) when the Brussels region, with the help of 192,000 ecu from the Commission, will introduce two new bus routes. Christened EUR 21 and EUR 22, the routes have been specifically designed to include the many EU buildings in the area.

The initiative is aimed at reducing the chronic traffic congestion by encouraging officials to use public transport instead of their private cars when visiting other offices. As a further incentive, Commission staff will be able to travel free on the service, which will run every 15 minutes.

The two main architects of the scheme, Personnel Commissioner Erkki Liikanen and Brussels Transport Minister Hervé Hasquin, believe it will also bring wider benefits by helping to serve the three schools and 2,000 inhabitants who live in the area.

The local environment should be further improved by another joint Hasquin/Liikanen plan to try to make the 90 hectares in the Euro-area more user-friendly and hospitable.

While critics believe the initiative is akin to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, supporters believe it is still not too late to make some practical improvements to the local landscape.

Organised as an international competition, the project has so far attracted the interest of 125 architects from 11 member states. An international jury, with representatives from each of the EU institutions, will draw up a short list next Friday (12 December) and give its final decision on the winner in April.

Behind the initiative is an attempt to make it easier - and more enjoyable - for pedestrians, cyclists and handicapped people to move around within the Euro-area. "The Léopold area is a ghost town. It is like Berlin after the war. But while Brussels was spared by the Second World War, it has fallen victim to anarchic property development," said Liikanen when launching the scheme.

In the long run, the biggest contribution which the Commission is likely to make to its immediate environment will come from its policy of concentrating its premises in three clearly defined parts of Brussels and purchasing, rather than renting, buildings whenever possible.

While the Berlaymont met 90% of the Commission's office needs in 1970, it is likely to be able to cater for just one-seventh of the 722,500 square metres the institution will require in 2005. Hence, the current search for more space.

In addition to its two existing axes around Rond-point Schuman and Beaulieu, the Commission is expected to decide within the coming weeks whether to establish a third centre either near Beaulieu on the outskirts of the city or in downtown Brussels near the south or north stations.

Liikanen is hoping that the policy of housing officials in buildings with between 50,000 and 100,000 square metres of office space will enable the institution to cut down on the 70 or so premises it now uses. It would also allow the smaller ones to be used as living accommodation, thus bringing some much-needed life back into the Euro-area.

In place of the ad hoc approach of the past of renting buildings whenever new office needs had to be met, the Commission - which is the biggest player in the Brussels property market - is now committed to purchasing the occasional premises.

It is hoped that the new strategy will discourage speculation and possibly reduce office rents, cost the EU budget less in the long run and ensure that greater care is taken in maintaining Commission-owned buildings.

Until earlier this year the Commission owned just two buildings, including its temporary Breydel headquarters. In July, it considerably enlarged its portfolio with the decision to spend 375 million ecu and become the eventual owner of the Berlaymont at the end of a 27-year lease.

Despite the delays in removing asbestos from the star-shaped building, the Commission is still committed to returning to its former premises, although 2001 or even 2002 now appears a more likely date than the original target of 2000.

Early last month, the Commission's property interests grew still further with the commitment to purchase the Charlemagne building, which has had a massive face-lift since the Council of Ministers decamped to more prestigious premises in 1995, following a 27-year lease.

Although the Council took over its new headquarters just two years ago, EU governments have been warned that the granite-clad building is already too small and would certainly be unable to handle the pressures of any enlargement.

A Council working group has calculated that extending existing facilities for a 15-nation Union to one with 26 members would mean enlarging the Justus Lipsius by 70%.

To meet these demands, the group is recommending that additional buildings should be "erected in the immediate vicinity" as a base for meetings of officials and that administrative buildings to house the Council secretariat's offices should "be rented or purchased on the market as and when the need arises".

Given that it can take up to seven years to complete a new building, EU governments will need to decide on their strategy within the next year if practical problems of space are not to complicate the enlargement process further.

While the Commission and Council consider the next phase of their buildings policy, the European Parliament is coming to the end of one of the most ambitious construction projects in Europe.

Late last month, MEPs and their assistants moved into their new Brussels offices as the final phase of the ten-year project neared completion. But the building work has not been without its problems. Environmentalists have criticised the destruction of many local houses and fear the pollution and traffic snarl-ups which will be caused by more than 2,000 parliamentary cars in the neighbourhood. There have been arguments over some of the costs involved and the Belgian state prosecutor is carrying out a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption relating to the construction project.

But despite the criticism, there is little doubt that the parliamentary complex will improve the working conditions of MEPs and officials, and the massive edifice which dominates a part of the Brussels skyline has a certain futuristic appeal.

The Parliament also enjoys one huge advantage over both the Commission and the Council: no matter how many applicants join the Union, it has already been decided that its membership will not rise above 700 MEPs, allaying fears that the complex will be too small to cope with enlargement.

That at least should help close one chapter in Brussels' long-running Euro-construction saga.

Major feature on the EU Institutions' building project in Brussels. Article covers the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.