An architectural practice has suggested it could break the ‘Brexit deadlock’ by proposing new designs for the building interiors and exteriors at the Palace of Westminster.
CGI perspectives of what is described as a more ‘democratic’ parliament include open and light plan spaces to encourage collaborative working. Axiom Architects says the current Houses of Parliament are of a ‘confrontational design’ that are responsible for the current impasse.
In a tongue-in-cheek stunt, the proposed amendments would introduce a central debating space and repurpose some of the existing buildings. The debating chamber would become a central assembly hall with transparent glass replacing the gothic and dark wood-panelled walls. The space would be circular to rid parliament of the confrontational dynamics of the current building, in a design resembling to the Scottish Parliament building or the Welsh Senedd – or indeed the European Parliament.
The proposed transformation hasn’t stopped at Westminster; Big Ben would be fitted with huge digital information screens to keep onlookers updated on what’s going on inside, and new co-working/co-living spaces would be added to the Victoria Tower, for use by MPs and the media.
Axiom said it sought to encourage ‘collaboration and openness, rather than division and conflict’, which is perhaps the solution to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.
The Palace of Westminster is scheduled to be overhauled in the future but we will see whether its future lies in a blend of traditional and modern, as has been seen at the Greater London Assembly’s City Hall, King’s Cross Station or the British Museum.
If you’re thinking of injecting a bit of life into a defunct and weary older property, or buying a ‘doer-upper’, ask a Chartered Surveyor to provide you with a Building Survey of the building to ensure it is fit for redesign or whether it just needs ‘knocking down’ and starting again.
© www.PropertySurveying.co.uk
SH/LCB