[2] Non-governmental citizens' groups have also grown up in support of NATO, broadly under the banner of the Atlantic Council/Atlantic Treaty Association movement.

A 19th-century mansion designed by the architect Thomas Cubitt at 13 Belgrave Square, in the heart of the city's Belgravia neighborhood, was made available to the organization.

[5] In Paris, the organization initially occupied temporary premises constructed along the reflecting pool of the Palais de Chaillot in the Trocadéro, located across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, in the 16th arrondissement.

[5] A permanent building, donated by France in April 1954, was constructed at Porte Dauphine in the 16th arrondissement, just off the Boulevard Périphérique and in the immediate vicinity of the Bois de Boulogne.

In 1999, during the Washington Summit, the Heads of State and Government of the allied countries decided to replace the building with headquarters adapted to 21st-century needs.

Project Financing and Requirements definition as well as the Design and Construction Phases were overseen for NATO by its HQ Project Office, led by Donald Hutchins (CAPT, US Navy Civil Engineer Corps, Retired) during the design Phase and Brigadier General Anthony Carruth, (British Army Engineer, Retired) during construction.

Situated along the Boulevard Léopold III in Haren, part of the City of Brussels,[1] the headquarters include 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) of floor space, and is office and home to an international staff of 3,800.

[13] The Boulevard Léopold III is a major dual carriageway linking via the A201 motorway the center of Brussels to its airport, the latter being located just over 1 km (0.62 mi) from the NATO site.