Magazine: Vintage design or conservation of resources? Re-use and recycling in architecture
Europe's centre of power gets a facelift: The seat of the EU Council of Ministers, a former residential building dating from the 1920s that was converted into an office building many years ago, is currently being renovated and extended by the Belgian architect, Philippe Samyn. An elliptical structure, the shape of which is slightly reminiscent of a convex vase, is to accommodate meeting rooms and banquet halls for political decision-makers, as well as a press centre. This three-dimensional sculpture is housed in a glazed hall, the shell of which contrasts starkly with ubiquitous appearance of the prestige buildings that surround it. The architects commissioned a supplier of used building materials to stockpile almost 3,000 wooden window frames - some of them more than 250 years old - from throughout the EU and transport them to Brussels. Here, they were repaired, mounted on 3.5 ≈ 5.4-metre steel frames and then attached to the facade's load-bearing structure, which is also made of steel.
