With its surface of 220,000m² and its distinctive 60m tower,[REF] it is one of the biggest and most visible buildings of Strasbourg.
The 60m high tower, intentionally left unfinished on one side, carries heavy symbolism, and is often said to have been oriented eastwards, i.e. towards eastern Europe, as by the time of the completion of the building no country from the former Soviet bloc had yet joined the EU.