In collaboration with designer Jurgen Bey, the Amsterdam-based creative agency XML has completed the design for the interior of the European Council in Brussels. The design includes the meeting room for European government leaders and a giant bluescreen in the atrium of the building.
The design for the Presidential Chambers exists of a single piece of furniture that stretches through different rooms. The exchange of ideas is at the heart of politics. The architecture in which this exchange takes place has a powerful impact on the type of conversation. The new design offers multiple seating arrangements combined into a single space. Government leaders can change positions between group settings or bilateral talks, and can choose sides on opposing benches or have a dialogue in a more informal setting. The space also provides an exchange in a very literal way. The space is in build out of twenty-eight interlocking unique furniture pieces representing the EU’s twenty-eight member states, echoing the motto of the European Union united in diversity.
The floor of the grand hall of the building is covered with European-blue artificial grass. On first sight, the ‘European blue’ -color of the floor turns the atrium into an iconic European square. Through hanging a camera from the roof of the atrium, the blue floor gains depth as a bluescreen, turning the atrium into a canvas for artists. A screen will show – what first seemed only a blue floor – digitally transformed European squares, interactive installations and graphic design. The bluescreen shows the depth and diversity of the European blue, bringing a new imagination to Europe’s representation.
