Kortenberg building
{{more sources|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Kortenberg building
| native_name = {{langx|fr|Cortenbergh}}
| former_names =
| alternate_names =
| image = 150kortenberg.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| altitude =
| building_type = Office building
| architectural_style = Postmodern
| structural_system =
| cost =
| ren_cost =
| address = {{lang|fr|Avenue de Cortenbergh|italic=no}} / {{lang|nl|Kortenberglaan|italic=no}} 150
| location_town = 1040 City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region
| location_country = Belgium
| client =
| owner =
| current_tenants = Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) bodies of the Council of the European Union and European External Action Service
| landlord =
| coordinates = {{Coord|50|50|43|N|4|23|24.5|E|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:BE}}
| start_date =
| completion_date =
| inauguration_date =
| renovation_date =
| demolition_date =
| destruction_date =
| height =
| diameter =
| other_dimensions =
| floor_count =
| floor_area =
| main_contractor =
| architect =
| architecture_firm =
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer =
| other_designers =
| quantity_surveyor =
| awards =
| ren_architect =
| ren_firm =
| ren_str_engineer =
| ren_serv_engineer =
| ren_civ_engineer =
| ren_oth_designers =
| ren_qty_surveyor =
| ren_awards =
| url =
| references =
}}
The Kortenberg building is an office building of the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Belgium. It houses mostly bodies related to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
History
The building was constructed in 1977 for an insurance company.{{Cite web|url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/fr/Bruxelles_Extension_Est/Avenue_de_Cortenberg/150/38619|title=– Inventaire du patrimoine architectural|website=monument.heritage.brussels}} That use of the building started after the establishment of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the precursor of the Common Security and Defence Policy, in the early 2000s under the auspices of High Representative Javier Solana, who stated on several occasions the need to build a "strong in-house strategic culture".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5esWUzogCYC&q=%22Kortenberg+building%22&pg=PA82|title=The European Union and Military Force: Governance and Strategy|first=Per M.|last=Norheim-Martinsen|date=November 2, 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107028906|via=Google Books}}
Most of the newly-established European External Action Service (EEAS) has been in the Triangle building, at the Robert Schuman Roundabout, since 2012, but for security reasons, CSDP departments have been unable to move to the building, which is {{convert|500|m|abbr=on}} away.{{Cite web|url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/327813/4516088/file/Laboratoire%20n%C2%B023%20(En).pdf|title=Major General Maurice de LANGLOIS, Andreas CAPSTACK (2014) THE ROLE OF THE MILITARY IN THE EU'S EXTERNAL ACTION2THE ROLE OF THE MILITARY IN THE EU'S EXTERNAL ACTION:IMPLEMENTING THE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH}}
Architecture
The postmodern L-shaped building was designed by the architectural firm ARCHI + I. It is located at the corner of the {{lang|fr|Rue Le Titien|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Titiaanstraat|italic=no}}. Towards the {{lang|fr|Avenue de Cortenbergh|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Kortenberglaan|italic=no}}, there are eight floors, the last of which is set back; towards the Rue Le Titien, four floors are surmounted by the glass roof of the auditorium. Windows with aluminum frames forming a glass base on the first two levels; then going up level by level in a staircase to reach the top of the building on the Rue Le Titien side; the glass roof then describes a slope up to the height of the neighboring houses.
The rest of the façades are in red Indian granite: granite of the base and the blind bay towards the Rue Le Titien unpolished; disc patterns under the unpolished windows also. Entrance of modest size between two colossal stainless steel columns rising to the full height of the building and appearing to cross the granite blocks. Rear façade alternating bands of red and brown bricks.
The interior consists of modest offices around central corridors and an indoor garden.
CSDP tenants
Part of the European External Action Service (EEAS):
- European Union Military Staff (EUMS), including its Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC)
- Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC)
- Joint Support Coordination Cell (JSCC)
- Crisis Management and Planning Directorate (CMPD)
CSDP agencies outside the EEAS:
- European Defence Agency (EDA){{Cite web|url=https://www.eda.europa.eu/Aboutus/our-history/the-birth-of-an-agency|title=The birth of an Agency|website=www.eda.europa.eu}}
- European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen)
The MPCC, the JSCC and the CPCC together form the permanent military and civilian strategic level facilities in the EU command-and-control structure.
{{European Union command and control structure}}
See also
- Triangle building, the nearby main seat of the European External Action Service
- Brussels and the European Union
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=N5esWUzogCYC&dq=%22Kortenberg+building%22&pg=PA82 The European Union and Military Force: Governance and Strategy]
{{Common Security and Defence Policy}}
Category:Military of the European Union
Category:European quarter of Brussels
Category:Buildings of the European External Action Service
Category:Buildings and structures in Brussels
{{EU-stub}}