Tenderstream member Coldefy among winning EUROPARC collective

A collective including Tenderstream member Coldefy has won the international competition to design the new European Parliament building in Brussels. The other members of the EUROPARC collective are Julien De Smedt Architects, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, NL Architects and Ensamble Studio, with the support of engineering companies UTIL and Ramboll. Together, EUROPARC accounts for over 30 different nationalities within its ranks, with its formation marking an attempt at a new collaborative approach to the architectural design process.

The European Parliament announced the contest for the renewal of the Paul-Henri SPAAK Building in order to find a design that exemplified sustainable and regenerative building. The winning design will re-use most of the existing structure, while expanding the public realm both inside and outside. The new assembly chamber, called the Hemicycle, will be equipped with digital amenities that help spread the discourse of democracy beyond physical confines. Large windows establish a visual dialogue between the Parliament, the rooftop garden, and the city beyond. One of the windows can transform into a screen to transmit information in real time during assemblies. Located on the uppper floor, the Green Agora is the culmination of the public visitors’ journey in the building, visually connected to the assembly chamber through an open ceiling. 

The EUROPARC  collective state: “With a war on the doorstep of Europe, and an ensuing energy crisis ever more pressing, the challenges faced by the European Union are shared by us all. As a team of Pan-European offices composed of more than 30 nationalities, we understand and feel the impact of these difficulties directly. Our collective proposal to rethink the Parliament building in a way that minimizes environmental impact while expanding its openness and civic inclusion as embodiments of the values of European democracy are therefore evermore relevant.”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 26.05.2020 here

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