Madou Plaza Tower : Description, European Commission Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Madou Plaza Tower

Skyscraper in Brussels, Belgium

50°50′58″N 4°22′12″E / 50.84944°N 4.37000°E / 50.84944; 4.37000Completed1965 (1965)OwnerEuropean CommissionHeight

120 m (390 ft) (building)
135 m (443 ft) (antenna)^[1]

Technical detailsFloor count33Floor area40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft)Design and constructionArchitect(s)Robert GoffauxMain contractorHerpain Entreprise s.a.Awards and prizesMIPIM 2006 (refurbished office buildings)

The Madou Plaza Tower (French: Tour Madou Plaza; Dutch: Madou Plazatoren) is a skyscraper in Brussels, Belgium. It was built in 1965, renovated between 2002 and 2006, and taken over by the European Commission. It is located on the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road) in the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, at 1, place Madou/Madouplein. It hosts the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition.

Description

The 33-storey core of the Madou Plaza Tower was built in just over a month and has been compared as a smaller version of the MetLife Building in New York City. There is a high voltage transformer in the basement for power, along with a 1360 kW emergency generator added during renovation. Two lifts connect to the parking garage.

During the 2002–2006 renovation, the building's height was increased from 112 metres (367 ft) to 120 metres (390 ft) and office space was increased by 10,000 m² (110,000 sq ft) to 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft), requiring the building to be reshaped and strengthened. The renovation won the MIPIM Award 2006 in the 'Refurbished Office Buildings' category.

European Commission

The European Commission bought the building on 13 March 2006, inaugurating it on 19 April when its 1,500 employees moved in. Based in Madou, as of 2007, were the Directorates-General for Communication, Informatics, and Education and Culture and the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation. Staff were previously based on the Axa building on the Robert Schuman Roundabout, which was to be demolished. Since late 2012, it has hosted the Directorate-General for Competition.