Metal Mesh Revamps European Court of Justice Into Golden Beacon

June 7, 2015

Project Name: European Court of Justice

Location: Luxembourg

Architect: Dominique Perrault

GKD Metal Fabric: Golden Anodized Alutherm Fabric

Photographer: Mr. Holtkötter

For over 50 years Luxembourg has also been the home of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In 1992, the Edinburgh EU summit decided that the common organ of jurisdiction of the member states of the EU, today numbering 27 countries, would remain permanently in Luxembourg.

Until the beginning of the ’70s, the European Court of Justice was located in two rented buildings in the city: in the Villa Vauban (from 1952 to 1959) and in a rather inconspicuous building on the Rue de la Côte d’Eich (until 1972). Then, in 1972, the Luxembourg government built the Palais de Justice on the Kirchberg Plateau as a permanent home for the Court – just in time for the expansion of the Union. But this building soon became too small, and the next twenty years saw three expansions of the construction. These extensions also proved insufficient in the long term, which is why the Court had to rent four additional buildings. For this reason, the Luxembourg parliament decided in 2002 constructional expansion of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. With a budget of around 350 million Euros, this has been the most expensive construction project in the history of the country. By 2008, it will reunite the staff of the Court, currently numbering about 2,000, in a single building complex.

After the removal of asbestos from the old 270,000 square foot Palais de Justice, the expansion planned by the French architect Dominique Perrault was conducted in two stages: the refurbishment and extension of the main building and the construction of two new office towers. The original Palais de Justice, freed of asbestos, was surrounded by a two-story ring of offices on 45 foot high stilts. The new façade consists of vertical golden glass panels of varying widths, which create a visual connection between the two floors of the ring and the supporting ceiling on the stilt structure – as an unpretentious and at the same time contemporary response to the early 70’s architecture in the middle. The ring provides over 100,000 square feet of office space for the President of the European Court of Justice as well as for the judges and the advocates general of all EU member states. The highlight of the structure will be the new principal courtroom with 40 judge’s benches and seats for 280 spectators. Its tent-like ceiling will feature a golden metal mesh, which will float over the room like a shining Medusa. The shimmering tent will give the courtroom on the ring-shaped office gallery a ubiquitous presence, while at the same time concealing the action of the trials taking place within. In line with Dominique Perrault’s plans, the renowned Düren-based metal weaver GKD produced the metal mesh for this spectacular ceiling construction, which was installed in 2008.

Not far from the new “old” Palais de Justice, the expansion on the Kirchberg Plateau has also given the European Court of Justice two 300 foot high office towers. With their nearly 260,000 square feet of floor space, these will finally provide enough room for all the translators and lawyer linguists. Here, too, metal mesh, as a typical trademark of Perrault’s architecture, plays an outstanding visual role. The sharp-edged sculptures shimmer all round in gold tones. The two towers with their 24-storeys complement the low, plain structure of the Palais de Justice to create a representative ensemble. The gold-colored cladding of the twin towers, visible from afar is formed of 7,724 panels of an aluminum mesh especially developed for this particular application. Each panel was installed between two windowpanes in a frame also colored gold.

Once more, GKD has provided the sort of partner Perrault needs, one that can provide responses to the challenges of his designs through innovative technical solutions in terms of mesh features and finishing. The design highlight of this construction is a specific zigzag edging of the mesh that gives the apparently seamless all-round façade an additional depth while at the same time allowing sophisticated accentuated lighting. This required the development of a particularly light mesh. GKD solved the problem with a type of material similar in structure to its Alutherm mesh 6010, but with a different wire diameter and weight. In addition to its aesthetic features, the mesh also offers the advantages of long service life and complete recyclability. A total of 217,323 square feet of this gold-colored anodized mesh was supplied as already edged panels in varying sizes.

Self-confident and expressive yet at the same time with a minimalistic elegance, the twin golden monoliths reflect the identity of the European Court of Justice as the defender of the community rights of the EU’s current 27 member states. Transparent and yet closed, perfectly in tune with the obligation of the Union’s organ of jurisdiction, Dominique Perrault’s design combines structural strength with translucence to create a strong symbol for a strong community.

Photo by Nicole Basaraba