EU: After a sorry tale of delays and over-spending, the European Commission will in November move back into the Berlaymont - its Brussels headquarters.
Thirteen years after the 1960s-built star-shaped building was closed because it contained asbestos, work on the Berlaymonster, as it is dubbed, is slowly ending - seven years late and about three times over budget.
After an initial two-year delay it took five years to clear the asbestos, and five years more to rework the building - during which deadlines came and went. The final cost of rebuilding and moving Commission staff is expected to exceed €1 billion.
Today, the new Berlaymont which still smells of varnish, plastic and paint, is a futuristic maze. Five minutes into it, a mild disorientation sets in.
Set to house around 2,000 officials, it is a labyrinth of corridors, offices, conference rooms, lifts, more corridors and, at the request of Nordic officials, two underground saunas.
To help people find their way around, there are signs shaped like traffic lights. They are not conventional signs but coloured triangles with symbols, some containing, for example, one black dot, others containing three. Their meaning is utterly unclear - also to the Commission official acting as a guide.
There are around 40 of these symbols and a booklet has been issued internally in anticipation of confused EU officials.
Other ultra-modern features include an outer panel of glass which will automatically close to prevent the building becoming too hot in direct sunshine. Sensors will detect when offices are empty and automatically turn the lights off.
The Berlaymont is where Commissioner-designate Mr Charlie McCreevy will spend the next five years of his political life.
Along with his 24 Commissioner colleagues, Mr McCreevy will have an office in one of the building's top floors - with a view right over Brussels.
According to a seemingly strict window hierarchy, he is likely to have about eight windows (none of the Commissioners' offices has been built yet).
A mere fonctionnaire, on the other hand, will have two, while the Commission president can expect 12.
Mr McCreevy's office will be about 75 sq m with plush leather sofas, a conference table and in the corner, a large European flag.
Meanwhile, Commission President Mr José Manuel Barroso, who will occupy the 13th floor alone, will have a private dining room and a fully equipped kitchen. This floor is also home to one of the oddest rooms in the building: the Commissioners' meeting room.
Oval-shaped, with a modern light measuring 5m long by 2m wide, the room begs comparison with something out of Star Trek.
With flat screens on the tables where agendas and other documents will flash up, it is supposed to mean an end to Commissioners running to meetings with a stack of papers.
The room looks out on the to the Rond Point Schuman - the heart of the EU district in Brussels.