| Kortenberg building | |
| Native Name: | French: Cortenbergh |
| Building Type: | Office building |
| Architectural Style: | Postmodern |
| Address: | French: Avenue de Cortenbergh|italic=no / Dutch; Flemish: Kortenberglaan|italic=no 150 |
| Location Town: | 1040 City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region |
| Location Country: | Belgium |
| Current Tenants: | Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) bodies of the Council of the European Union and European External Action Service |
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).
The building was constructed in 1977 for an insurance company.[1] 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".[2]
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 500 m away.[3]
The postmodern L-shaped building was designed by the architectural firm ARCHI + I. It is located at the corner of rue Le Titien. Towards avenue de Cortenbergh, there are eight floors, the last of which is set back; towards 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 facades are in red Indian granite: granite of the base and the blind bay towards 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 facade alternating bands of red and brown bricks.
The interior consists of modest offices around central corridors and an indoor garden.
Part of the European External Action Service (EEAS):
CSDP agencies outside the EEAS:
The MPCC, the JSCC and the CPCC together form the permanent military and civilian strategic level facilities in the EU command-and-control structure.