Madou Plaza Tower

The Madou Plaza Tower is a skyscraper in Brussels, Belgium. It was built in 1965, renovated between 2002 and 2006, and taken over by the European Commission. It is located on the Small Ring in the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, at 1, place Madou/Madouplein. It hosts the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition.

Description

The 33-storey core of the Madou Plaza Tower was built in just over a month and has been compared as a smaller version of the MetLife Building in New York City. There is a high voltage transformer in the basement for power, along with a 1360 kW emergency generator added during renovation. Two lifts connect to the parking garage.
During the 2002–2006 renovation, the building's height was increased from to and office space was increased by to, requiring the building to be reshaped and strengthened. The renovation won the MIPIM Award 2006 in the 'Refurbished Office Buildings' category.

European Commission

The European Commission bought the building on 13 March 2006, inaugurating it on 19 April when its 1,500 employees moved in. Based in Madou, as of 2007, were the Directorates-General for Communication, Informatics, and Education and Culture and the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation. Staff were previously based on the Axa building on the Robert Schuman Roundabout, which was to be demolished. Since late 2012, it has hosted the Directorate-General for Competition.