Philippe Maystadt, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Wolfgang Roth, Vice-President in charge of the new building working party, have presented to the press the project to extend the EIB's headquarters on the Kirchberg Plateau in Luxembourg.
This was selected following an international architects/designers competition. After examination of 56 applications and 10 final projects, the design submitted by the Düsseldorf-based firm of architects 'Ingenhoven Overdiek and Partners' (IOP) was named the winner by the EIB Jury chaired by Riccardo Bofill.
The EIB has been located in Luxembourg-Kirchberg since 1980. The new extension will take the form of a building providing around 800 work places. Situated between Boulevard Konrad Adenauer and the Val des Bons Malades opposite the European Court of Justice, it will be linked to the original building and its first extension.
Construction is scheduled for 2004-2007, with initial delivery of office space in early 2006.
The IOP project constitutes an architecturally innovative building constructed with quality materials, which is sober, functional and unostentatious. Particular attention has been paid to environmental aspects. It has been designed in line with "High Environmental Quality" norms and will meet the highest standards as regards integration into its surroundings, choice of materials, energy conservation and, during the construction phase, limitation of nuisance to the public and occupants of adjacent buildings.
In terms of architectural integration into its environment, the rounded shape of the building will continue the slope of the Val des Bons Malades, allowing the construction of terraces at the end of each floor echoing those in the existing buildings as well as the topography of the edge of the Kirchberg Plateau. The W-shaped layout will offer a great deal of flexibility for the organisation of office space while facilitating communication, with the base of each arm of the W serving as a meeting point.
From an environmental perspective, the building and its transparent glass shell, combined with the presence of winter gardens, are designed to optimise the use of natural resources and reduce energy consumption and environmental emissions.
The EIB has been established in Luxembourg since 1968, initially leasing offices in the Place de Metz before moving to the Kirchberg Plateau in 1980. It was the first European institution to construct and own its own building, to which an extension was added in 1995.
The EIB is the European Union's financing Institution, employing 1100 people at its Kirchberg headquarters and 6 external offices in European capital cities. The decision taken by the EIB's Management Committee is to construct a building with capacity for 800 work places. This long-term vision does not imply an intention to take on more staff than provided for in the annual recruitment decisions, themselves shaped by the guidelines of the EIB's Governors - the Finance Ministers of the European Union - regarding the attribution of new mandates and tasks to the Bank. The EIB plans to rent out surplus office space when the building is delivered in 2007.