HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The building of the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
is located in the European Quarter of
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, France. It was designed by the
Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
Partnership and Claude Buche and was completed in 1994. The building is located on the eastern corner of the water intersection, where the Ill river is crossed by the ''
Canal de la Marne au Rhin Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
''. The court was formerly located in a building located just across the canal, which was built in 1965 and designed by Bertrand Monnet, J. Apriell and Papillard.


Design

The building was designed in 1989 by the Richard Rogers Partnership Ltd (London) and Claude Bucher (
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
). They intended to create a "symbolic landmark but not a monument". They also, due to the nature of the court, wanted to make it more welcoming and open rather than fortress-like. The original design was stretched as, during design, the demand for office space grew by 50% due to the fall of communism in the east.European Court of Human Rights
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
The building relies on natural light and ventilation, except the light entrance hall which is air conditioned in an energy saving manner. The two main organs of the court, the court and commission, occupy two large circular chambers each side and offices are located in a "tail" stretching behind the building. The team of architects behind the Rogers Partnership working on the building were: Laurie Abbott, Peter Angrave, Eike Becker, Elliot Boyd, Mike Davies, Karin Egge, Pascale Gibon,
Marco Goldschmied Marco Lorenzo Sinnott Goldschmied (28 March 1944 – 7 July 2022) was a British architect best known as co-founder and managing director of Richard Rogers Partnership. He was latterly involved with running the Marco Goldschmied Foundation and ...
, Lennart Grut, Ivan Harbour, Amarjit Kalsi, Sze-King Kan, Carmel Lewin, Avtar Lotay, John Lowe, Louise Palomba, Kim Quaz, Richard Rogers, Pascale Rousseau, Yuli Toh, Sarah Tweedie, Andrew Tyley, Yoshiyuki Uchiyama and John Young.


Construction

Building work began in December 1991 and continued until December 1994. It was built by 50 firms with 125 subcontractors and cost 544 million
French Franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
s, which came from the member states of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...
which owns the building, however the site it was built on was provided by the City of Strasbourg.Human Rights building in figures
European Court of Human Rights
Queen Elizabeth II planted a tree on the building site in May 1992.


Rooms

The building has 28,000 square metres of floor space. The Court Room covers 860 square metres and has 260 seats, with an extra 49 for judges and 33 for applicants (the deliberation room has 47 places with an additional 52 seats). The Commission Room covered 520 square metres and has 41 seats with 30 places for applicants. Other meeting rooms (in total there are 11) cover 4500 square metres and have an average of 47 places around table, plus 52 at the rear. The 420 offices cover 16,500 square metres and in total the building has capacity for 600 people. There is also a Projection room with 204 seats and a 180-seat cafeteria.


See also

*
European Institutions in Strasbourg There are a range of European institutions in Strasbourg (France), the oldest of which dates back to 1815. In all, there are more than twenty different institutions based in the Alsatian city.
*
Palace of Europe The Palace of Europe (french: Palais de l'Europe) is a building located in Strasbourg, France, that has served as the seat of the Council of Europe since 1977 when it replaced the "House of Europe". Between 1977 and 1999 it was also the Strasbour ...
*
Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg The city of Strasbourg in France is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound by the decision of Edinburgh European Council of 11 and 12 December 1992 and Article 341 of the TFEU to meet there twelve time ...


References


External links


Human Rights building in figures
European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners {{DEFAULTSORT:European Court Of Human Rights Building Buildings and structures in Strasbourg Government buildings completed in 1994 Richard Rogers buildings Ove Arup buildings and structures
Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...
1994 establishments in France