 The renovation and construction of the new Council building was intended to change the image the European quarter, and was designed by the architect Philippe Samyn to be a "feminine" and "jazzy" building to contrast with the hard, more "masculine" architecture of other EU buildings.The building features a "lantern shaped" structure surrounded by a glass atrium made up of recycled windows from across Europe, intended to appear "united from afar but showing their diversity up close.