The European Parliament has been based in Strasbourg since its creation
Over the last 25 years, the Orangerie district has become synonymous with its European institutions and its many diplomatic buildings. The European Parliament (also called the Louise-Weiss building), was completed in 1998 and its 751 seat hemicycle is used by parliamentarians for the monthly sessions of the Parliament of the European Union.The building was designed by Architecture-Studio Europe and offers the observer a whole vista of architectural features, including an arch, a dome and a tower containing an oval agora. The architects set out with the desire to create an "architecture which sets up systems of open relationships, reflecting democracy in motion, single and composite".