The new administrative headquarters of the European Parliament is being built around the existing Konrad Adenauer building in Kirchberg. It will house the 3,000 employees who currently are based in six different leased office spaces spread across the plateau.

The Parliament's Greens reckon it is one of the largest “zero energy projects in Europe.” The building will use geothermal and solar power, recycle heat from its computer servers, and will feature state-of-the-art insulation and rainwater recovery systems.

The existing Konrad Adenaur building will also get an energy efficiency makeover, the parliament says.

Konrad Adenauer was German chancellor from 1949 to 1963 and one of the leading proponents of European integration.

Construction on the 400 million euro project is expected to finish in 2017.