The architects of central bank buildings have to consider requirements specific to these institutions. After all, central banks should not only be housed in representative functional edifices, but they should also convey – both on the outside and inside – the message of uniqueness and (monetary) stability. Moreover, the buildings have to meet special security requirements.
The first central bank in Europe was instituted in Sweden in 1668. Today’s central bank buildings and projects range from Early Historicism – with the Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique (1868) a case in point – up to modern times with the international architectural design competition for the new premises of the European Central Bank (2002–04), which the Austrian architecture office Coop Himmelb(l)au won.
