The landscaping of the surrounding area has two essential aspects: the plaza and the park. The raised plaza serves as a base for the building and anchors it to the ground; the design of the plaza echoes the contour of the whole structure.

The overriding concern in the landscaping of the site was to integrate the building into its surroundings and so to counterbalance its severe architecture. With extensive planting of indigenous trees and shrubs, the building enjoys a leafy setting and fits naturally into its surroundings.
Once this building was opened, all the staff of the Court could be accommodated under one roof. This situation, however, lasted for only a short time as, in 1985, the administrative and translation services of the Court had to be relocated. 
 

The entrance to the Palais on the northern side                          

The need for additional premises as a result of successive accessions of States to the Community led first of all to the amenity areas within the buildings gradually being taken over for use as offices. Ultimately it was impossible to avoid giving up part of the landscaped area surrounding the Palais and building three extensions, designed by the Luxembourg architects Fritsch, Herr and Huyberecht and the Italian architect Paczowski: first the Erasmus building (1988) to accommodate the Court of First Instance which had just been established, then the Thomas More building (1993), and finally the C building (1994).

The attachment to the Palais and the desire to preserve its aesthetics and its symbolic function resulted in a severe restriction being imposed on the architects for the construction of these annexes: not to build above the level of the Palais square.