Fourth extension and renovations Even prior to completion of the third annex, in October 1988 the Council of the then European Communities authorised the need for a fourth extension, recognising the need for office space to cope with an increasing workflow and the future demands of additional staff caused by future possible enlargements. In 1996, this task was awarded to
Paris-based architect
Dominique Perrault following an architectural competition. The existence of
asbestos in the Ancien Palais building, as well as outdated office arrangements in a building designed prior to the incorporation of modern
IT services would require the gutting of the internals of the existing structures. Asbestos removal work began in 2000, with a ground-breaking ceremony held in 2002, and construction works on the fourth extension only beginning in earnest in 2004, and lasting until 2008, with the inauguration ceremony occurring on 4 December of that year. Subsequent renovation works on the three annex buildings also occurred. The most striking adaptations brought by Perrault's design to the present day Palais include his decision to build vertically due to space constraints, and the striking use of the colour
gold on the
façades and interior finishing's of the building. Of the latter, Perrault has claimed that this is a reflection of the CJEU's role as a "
constitutional" — rather than a
criminal — court. Perrault has also spoken of his desire to demonstrate, via his designs, a blend of two distinctive styles: the iconic and ritualistic, with the transparent and modern.
Anneau Due to the space constraints posed by the development of other buildings on the Kirchberg plateau since the original construction of the Court, and in order to preserve the original intent of the Ancien Palais building as Greek temple, Perrault's design sees the Ancien Palais building encircled at a distance of 15 m by a two-storey building resting on 116 10 m tall stilts, and referred to as the "Anneau" or, in English,
"the Ring". Whilst the Ancien Palais is dedicated to the public side of justice, featuring several court rooms including the Grand Chamber, the Anneau is reserved for the hearing rooms and chambers of the judges. Composed from 40
trapezoidal,
bronze anodized woven fabric panels, Perrault remarked that the idea was his solution to bringing warmth and daylight into the proceedings of the Court, without providing outside views that may distract the judges. To complement this, the main court room features wood-lined walls and purple carpets, as is also seen in the four other smaller court rooms of the Ancien Palais building.
Comenius and Montesquieu towers The planned
2004 expansion of the EU from 15 to 25 states, as well as envisioned future enlargements posed particular challenges in finding office space to hold the CJEU's translation services, critical to the functioning of the institution. To meet this challenge and deal with space constraints, Perrault proposed the addition of two 24-storey, 107 m tall towers as part of the fourth extension to the Palais complex. The two towers feature a golden façade composed of 7,724 gold-
anodized aluminium mesh panels bent into a
zigzag shape to offer maximum opaqueness from the outside.
Gallery and library To provide a secure, internal structural link between the Anneau, Ancien Palais, the three Annex buildings, and Towers Perrault designed the Gallery, whose principal component is a glass-roofed indoor street, 300 m long, 8 m wide, and 9.85 m high. As well as providing staff with access to a number of facilities, including a bank, 14 training rooms, a newspaper kiosk and self-service restaurant, the Gallery also houses the CJEU's library. Standing parallel to — but at a slight angle from — the Comenius and Montesquieu towers, this addition to the complex was planned during the fourth extension to take place at a later date. The 29 storey, 118 m tall tower is the tallest structure in Luxembourg, taking over from the prior record holders, the Palais' complex's Comenius and Montesquieu towers. Its 27th floor features an observation deck, which it is claimed by the CJEU, is the only one of its kind on
Earth offering a view of four countries; Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg. The Rocca tower takes its name from
Giustina Rocca, an
Italian Renaissance figure considered to be the first female lawyer in history.
Grounds Following the completion of the Palais complex's fourth extension, and during renovation works on the Annexes circa 2013, construction efforts were undertaken to ensure that the complex could be still be accessed via rue du Fort Niedergrünewald, which had been raised to the level of
Avenue John F. Kennedy, as part of general urban redevelopment plans for Kirchberg. On
Europe Day 2023, a "
multilingualism garden", open to the public, using some of the land adjacent to the complex left derelict following the demolition of the
European Commission's original
Jean Monnet building, was inaugurated. ==Representations==