Europe-wide competition for new ESM building

In close coordination with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Luxembourg's Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, represented by the Public Building Administration (Administration des bâtiments publics), is organising a Europe-wide, single-stage anonymous project competition with preliminary preselection for the design of a new headquarters for the ESM, and administrative buildings for the Luxembourg State in Kirchberg.

This is a construction project with a gross built-up area above ground ("Surface Construite Brute", SCB) totalling approx. 41,500 m2. The gross floor area (above and below ground) will be 52,100 m2. Of this, approximately 19,500 m2 are for the ESM headquarters and approximately 32,600 m2 are for the Luxembourg State buildings.

The objectives of this building project, taking into account an effective life-cycle cost approach, are to create a sustainable, high-quality, modern, and flexible working environment with high security standards. The criteria for assessing design proposals relate to the overall concept and architecture, functionality, technical feasibility, sustainability, economic efficiency, and degree of innovation.

Detailed conditions of the competition are set out in a competition programme that was publicly announced on 24 July 2021, advertised in the following media:

• Official Journal of the European Union
• Portail des marchés publics, Luxembourg
• Local media in Luxembourg

The competition will be conducted in accordance with the relevant regulations under Luxembourg law. All eligible design teams composed of architects and engineers (including landscape architecture offices) can apply for preselection, provided that they have a place of business in the European Union, Norway, the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland), or Switzerland. The number of applicants for the preselection is unlimited. The formation of bidding consortia is allowed.

Application deadline is 10 September 2021 at 4 p.m. Central European Time. All teams that apply by the deadline will be vetted to determine if they meet the eligibility criteria.

After the evaluation of the applications and selection of the competition participants by the jury, all admitted candidates will receive the documents required to take part in the competition.

The competition projects will be evaluated anonymously.

All admitted competition participants who deliver a complete project contribution in due time will be compensated for their participation expenses.

A 13-member jury chaired by architect Christoph Gantenbein will be responsible for selecting the prize winners. The jury’s decision and the awarding of prizes are expected by March 2022.

In June 2020, the ESM’s highest decision-making body, the Board of Governors, approved the construction of a new ESM office building in the city of Luxembourg. This is in line with recommendations by the European Court of Auditors, according to which owning offices instead of renting them leads to significant savings for institutions over the longer term. The building is expected to be finished by late 2027. Until then, the ESM will continue to occupy its current, rented domicile in Luxembourg.