European Medicines Agency gets an eye-catching new home

The custom-built office complex and underground conference centre of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam, which occupies 40,000 m² and rises to a height of 80 m, was completed in record time. Since speed of construction was of the essence, the supporting structure largely consists of a fully dismantlable skeleton in S355 steel (columns and girders with bolted connections) and steel-plate concrete floors. The floors of the superstructure – sixteen storeys of office space in total – are mainly made of composite girder profiles, allowing for optimum use of the steel. A number of trusses have been integrated into the contours of the superstructure to accommodate columns, and the foundation and stability core are again made of reinforced concrete. The steel construction has been given a fireproof epoxy coating, guaranteeing a fire resistance of 90 minutes.