Nextminster: Making Space for Millennial Politics by alicehaugh

NEXTMINSTER making space for millennial politics

houses

of parliament

nextminster

Alice Haugh Thesis Programme Spring 2017 Urbanism and Societal Change Tutor: Charles Bessard

CONTENTS

6 8

INTRODUCTION National Context Design Task

12 14 18 22

NATIONAL CONTEXT (Im)balance between the United Kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four nations (Im)balance between urban and non-urban regions Empowering cities & moving towards a federal settlement The case for vacating Westminster

32 34 36 38

THE REPRESENTATION OF PARLIAMENT Parliament: a typology Historical development Parliament: a symbol The applied arts

42 44 46 48 50 54 56

PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS Moving ministries out of London Accommodation analysis: the existing Parliamentary Estate Functional analysis: Palace of Westminster aadjacencies Schedule of accommodation: existing vs. proposed Key spaces: how do they operate today? Design focus: Commons chamber Summary of intentions

60 64 66 68 78 80 82 84

SITE & STRATEGY Manchester: site for federal parliament City of industrial heritage Consolidation vs. dispersal The Design Layers Proposed sites Proposed typologies Castlefield: Parliament Hub Working method / Scope & submission

Appendices & CV

Glasgow 78% Newcastle 74%

Leeds 79% Manchester 74%

Hull 71%

Liverpool 72%

Sheffield 79%

Milton Keynes 52% Southend 50% Bristol 63% Southampton 49%

Disagree Survey posing the question: ‘Strongly/tend to agree that the location of Whitehall and Parliament in London means that political decisions are too focused on London in comparison to the rest of the UK.’ Centre for Cities report, 2015 Agree

Nextminster

Brighton & Hove 49%

19 - 21 17 - 19 16 - 17 GDP per head, 2015 15 - 16 £000s 14.5 - 15 14 - 14.5 13 - 14

national context

The rallying cry of last year’s EU referendum in Britain was ‘Take Back Control.’ What lies behind this rowdy nationalism is a ringing endorsement of parliamentary sovereignty. The result has thrust our parliament into the spotlight like never before, and called into question its role in today’s society. No longer superseded by the European Union, the decision will lend Westminster greater responsibility to represent its citizens. Whilst I am deeply saddened by the result, I’m hopeful that it poses an opportunity to reconfigure our basic framework of political and legal institutions. The time is ripe for positive proposals which illustrate what our democracy could become. The United Kingdom is one of the most centralised countries in the world and it is also one of the most unequal. These two facts are interlinked. Our political system is weighted overwhelmingly towards Westminster, with few institutional safeguards against the writ of Parliament, itself increasingly in thrall to the executive. In the late 1990s this began to change: following referenda, Scotland elected its own Parliament and Wales its National Assembly in 1999. London elected a mayor and assembly the following year, and Manchester will soon follow suit. Devolution has opened a new chapter in British democracy, but the changes to date are weak because they retain centralised fiscal control in the Treasury. Of every £1 raised in taxation, 91 pence is controlled and allocated by central government - more than in any OECD country bar New Zealand. Meanwhile, inequality is at a historically high level. The richest 10% own more than half of all the wealth in the country. This inequality is often regional in character. The further an area is from central London, by and large, the weaker the local economy is likely to be. This has been exposed by the EU referendum result, which illustrates geographical discrepancies at two different scales: (i) Between urban dwellers and non-urban dwellers (ii) Between the four different nations which comprise the UK

If the geography runs its course then these ideological divisions may well ossify into hard new national boundaries. Events since the EU referendum demonstrate the contempt with which our thoroughly English government regards its devolved colleagues. England is attempting to drag the other nations of the United Kingdom with it as it leaves the European Union. Faced with the alarming trajectory of Theresa May’s ‘hard Brexit’, Scotland has already secured a second independence referendum by March next year and many in Northern Ireland are calling for reunification to avoid the possible imposition of an external European Union border across the pastoral fields of Fermanagh and Country Tyrone. A radical reconfiguration of the relationship between the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom is required. This means the establishment of a federal settlement which recognises the concentration of population in England with eight region states which are more equal in population size to Scotland and Wales. These regions will require a regional parliament in each of their respective capital cities. The vote for Brexit was arguably as much of a protest vote against political elites as against the EU itself. In the UK, this elite is symbolised by one building in particular — the Palace of Westminster. Designed to embody an idea of Britishness, it was deliberately built in an anachronistic high gothic style by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin in the early 19th Century. That it has become the symbol of the capital, a Unesco World Heritage site and that its clock and bell are such integral elements of the British self-image have meant its status is rarely questioned- until now. Today the building is falling apart and estimates for its restoration range from £3.5 billion to £6billion. In an era of austerity can this price tag be justified? The government have been enthusiastically selling off their central London properties for some time and, in order to keep down costs, Parliament has agreed to relocate out of the Gothic palace from 2022 - 2028 whilst work is undertaken. Herein lies the opportunity.

Introduction

Nextminster

design task

Brexit poses potentially crippling challenges for an already sclerotic British civil service. Deloitte estimate an additional 30,000 civil servants could be required for the renegotiation process and suggests that leaving the EU will require the creation of new processes or even new agencies to absorb activities that it repatriates from Europe. New regional parliaments must therefore accommodate a significant enlargement of Westminster’s capacity. By scaling parliament up to the urban, can we re-establish the city as the driving force behind a democratic politics? My proposal for a federal arrangement for the UK recognises diversity amongst each pre-existing regional capital, and as such deems it unrealistic to expect parity between each of them. The focus for my design project is Manchester - the federal capital of the North West region. The city is already the UK’s second largest, both in population and economic output, with more devolved powers than any other, and its own mayor to be elected this year. It is also centrally located between the eight regions of England, and Scotland and Wales. This makes Manchester a natural location for the convening of the other regions, and therefore the site of the main federal parliament for the UK. Design plays a critical role in the relationship between people and politics. It has the power to create successful spaces and systems to facilitate civic participation. Nextminster is a project that connects the different social, spatial and cultural layers of the city in attempt to give form to the relation between citizen and government. The proposal takes the hidden or forgotten qualities of the city as the building blocks for an urban proposal which aims to close the gap between citizens and policy. In light of the expanded role of parliament necessitated by Brexit, the task will be to break apart the isolated institution of parliament, in both physical and experiential terms. My proposal will be an experiment for the city, taking the form of a network with pressing spatial implications. The EU referendum result prompts us to reflect on our own self-image as British citizens and as Europeans,

and as such old imperial spaces of the city take on a new role in building a narrative around citizenship means today. Three layers of pre-existing network emerge - the old industrial canals, the disused railway arches and finally a digital platform which takes the form of a smartphone app. Thogether these three networks comprise a city plan composed of ‘software’ and ‘hardware’ which draws on the friction between physical and digital space. What form might result from overlaying parliamentary functions with these tangible and intangible networks? The plan envisages the insertion into the city of a coherent ensemble of symbolic public buildings and urban functions spread out over seven strategic locations. Each project site intermingles offices, public buildings and spaces of congregation. The way people in the UK interact with democracy is changing. Until now, the population has participated only peripherally via elections. But over the past five years a major shift has come about as a result of social media and the democratisation of conversations between people and politicians. Citizens have become broadcasters in their own right, demanding ever greater involvement in the processeses of cultural production. The project therefore views the future opening up of government processes as neither utopian nor banal, but as the inevitable response to a profound shift in the balance between production and consumption produced by the internet. Blanket connectivity does not diminish the importance of physical spaces of congregation, but it does release the parliament from it’s old functional adjacencies, and allow us to redesign these interfaces. Physical and digital spaces should be considered in parallel to establish a more casual, day-to-day interaction between citizen and parliament. Digital connectivity is no substitute for real life congregation, and public spaces should be considered crucial. By accommodating and organising dispersed fragments of parliament along its networks, can the fabric of the city in fact take on an increased role in politics?

Introduction

national context

Nextminster

(im)balance between the united kingdom’s four nations Managing the interests of the several nations and regions of the UK has never been easy, which is why the British avoided getting entangled in questions of constitutional identity. Until now. For squalid party political reasons, Cameron’s Conservative government acted recklessly and as a consequence, thrust these intractable constitutional questions to the top of the political agenda. As things stand, they appear to lead in one direction only: the disintegration of the British state. Tensions between the four constituent nations of the UK have existed since Anglo-Saxon times, but England has always been in the vanguard, and contempt from English ministers towards their regional colleagues in palpable in Parliament still today. Having circumvented the revolutionary upheavals that led to the adoption of modern constitutions, the British have retained the flexibility of an evolutionary system and this has allowed for much uncertainty regarding the authority of each of the UK’s nations. The Brexit results indicate considerable support for the EU project in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but in each case the reasons were different. For more detail please refer to Appendix 1.0: Relationship Between the UK’s Four Constituent Nations.

Confusion abounds regarding identity within the British isles - we need not look further than Google’s most popular questions on the subject.

Majority Leave Majority Remain England 53.4

46.6%

Wales 52.5%

47.5%

Scotland 38.0%

62.0%

Northern Ireland 44.2%

55.8%

National Context

Leeds

Map showing electoral areas shaded by the overall vote for leaving or remaining in the European Union in each area. The basemap is a cartogram transformation where each area is resized according to the total electorate in that area. Total electorate: 46,500,001 Total votes: 33,577,342 Turnout: 72.2%

Original map by Benjamin Henning: www.viewsoftheworld.net Data Source: UK Electoral Commission (2016)

Leave

Manchester Liverpool

Majority > 15%

Remain Majority > 15%

Oxford Cardiff Bristol Brighton

Merseyside: suburban revolt Voters in the Labour heartland of Liverpool city centre backed remain. But the further you get from the city centre, the stronger leave becomes: 51.56% in Knowsley, 58.02% in St Helens and 63.9% in Wigan. Re-creation of maps published by the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2016/ jun/23/eu-referendum-live-results-and-analysis

Nextminster

Thames estuary: the east edge of London Although remain was strong almost everywhere in the capital, leave had a majority in the east London working class neighbourhoods of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, plus Bexley and a number of neighbouring areas in the Thames estuary. These were traditional Labour strongholds that swung to UKIP in the general election.

(im)balance between urban and non-urban regions The referendum was decided by those living outside of urban districts - there are only two cities with a population over 500,000 who voted to leave the European Union, from a total of fourteen in the UK1. A range of factors may have contributed to this trend, inlcuding the liberalising influence of large universities which exist in each city, but it is also indicative of the gap between urban and non-urban dwellers which has widened since the arrival of the new millennium. There was once some sort of balance between the multi-centric areas of Britain - the North, the West Midlands, South Wales and Central Scotland, where the steel, coal, cars and ships came from; and London, where the financial and political power was. But over the last thirty years or so, the balance has tipped. This is the result of growing economic insecurity (deindustrialisation and sweeping privatisation), political insecurity (the attenuation of democracy and extension of administrative rationality), and cultural insecurity (mass migration), from which nonurban areas have suffered more. While the British have determinedly avoided making a modern constitutional settlement, it seems that over this last period the foundations of a new type of constitution have nevertheless been laid. The Austrian legal theorist Alexander Somek calls this new era the ‘cosmopolitan constitution’2 - one rule for cities, and another for everywhere else. Somek is not referring to a global civil society or even to political associations that have evolved beyond national boundaries. He is referring to cities, where a new status of ‘post-national citizenship’ has emerged, attained by those who have skills that are highly valued in the global economy and those who are obliged to migrate to undertake low-skilled work.

The cosmopolitan constitution protects a mobile workforce that is economically active but not politically engaged. It promotes private autonomy over collective self-government, and economic freedom over political freedom. The map opposite highlights the fact that urban areas voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU by distorting the vote data to fit population density. It seems that urban existence is the single trait which binds together Remain voters, who are otherwise multifarious in their backgrounds, ethnicities, and beliefs. What is it about this city that binds these groups together? Density makes all kinds of human interactions possible; the fact that people are piled on top of each other requires some notion of collectivity. Could it be that cities are fundamentally more inclined towards the shared commons? Does sharing space with your neighbours make you more willing to share sovereignty with the citizens of neighbouring countries? If you live in a city and you think government – and by extension the EU – should stay out of your life, how will you get to work in the morning? Who will police your neighbourhood? Where will you find a public park when your home has no garden? Conservative ideology works in the suburbs, because it makes sense spatially, where the culture of individualisation is much stronger. How might the organisation of a new parliament look to bridge the gulf between these two ideologies?

1 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/24/ eu-voting-map-lays-bare-depth-of-division-across-britain 2 Somek, A. (2014) The cosmopolitan constitution. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

National Context

Existing UNITED KINGDOM

Scotland and Ireland remaining in the EU is not as unlikely as some make it sound – in 1985, Greenland, a part of Denmark, left the then European Economic Community (EEC) , although Denmark remained. The EU has a history of flexible and variegated participation

that does not always involve single states in homogenous EU memberships. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands – crown dependencies – are not members of the EU, but a great deal of EU law applies to them. And – an interesting precedent for London (if a product of Nextminster

very different circumstances) – from 1957 to 1990 West Berlin was a member of the EEC, although not, as such, part of West Germany. So the EU is, and has been, open to variegated, differentiated relationships.

Proposed FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BRITAIN

National Context

4 12

5 6

9 8

1 Dublin 1,904,806 Ireland

Leeds 1,777,934 Yorkshire & the Humber

London 12,578,981

10 Cardiff 754,131 Wales

Edinburgh 853,253 Scotland

Nottingham 1,000,445 East Midlands

Southampton 855,569 South East

11 Birmingham 2,800,248 West Midlands

Newcastle 1,110,306 North East

Norwich 213,166 East of England

Bristol 731,776 South West

12 Manchester 2,894,240 North West

Nextminster

empowering cities & moving towards a federal settlement Brexit may yet prove the catalyst for peaceful constitutional reform. This does not mean more devolution from Westminster. It requires something much more radical: the reversal of the centuries-old policy of maintaining centralised governance and instead, the establishment of a polycentric federal arrangement. The conceit that Westminster is a British parliament must be jettisoned: it is, and always has been, an English parliament to which representatives of the Celtic regions have been invited to attend. With Westminster reverting to its original role as (one of ) the English parliaments, a new federal settlement should be established in which only national aspects of defence, foreign affairs, taxation, pensions and social security are retained, and new regional parliaments created in pre-existing capital cities. This will require both a tremendous leap of constitutional imagination and a strong political will. What are the benefits of shifting to a federal system? Currently, 72% of all public expenditure is directly controlled by Whitehall.1 In Germany - a Federal Republic - the situation is reversed, with most government spending being determined at regional or local level - Chancellor Merkel decides on less than 20% of Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total budget.2 More power will be distributed amongst state capitals, with the locus of politics moving from the national to the urban. Without the supranational body of the EU overseeing our politics, a Federal Britain could move into a new era of localism, with regional cities taking on a new responsibilities as state capitals. Each should have its own economic speciality, based on the prevailing trade, service or educational institution which exists there. Infrastructure must evolve to match, with new longitudinal rail lines which connect cities on the east and west of England - this could be a 4th stage in the High Speed Rail Line currently in its second stage.

But, before such a radical shift, it needs to be preceded, in England at least, by a learning process. For, while the Scots have been thinking about their constitution for many years, we in England have only just begun to think about it. The introduction of a federal constitution for the UK will require the creation of a redefined, multilayered English identity. The best way of achieving this would be through a Royal Commission, or equivalent body, which would hold public hearings in different parts of the country, these would in turn be highlighted in the media. A Federal parliament should be established in Manchester - the capital of the North - where representatives from each region come to convene. This polycentric initiative would build on an old tradition of Regional Cabinet Meetings, introduced first by David Lloyd George in Inverness in 1921, and more or less neglected until Gordon Brown and then David Cameron expanded the convention from 2008 onwards.

1 http://labourlist.org/2015/12/this-is-one-of-the-mostcentralised-countries-in-the-world-it-is-also-one-of-the-mostunequal/ 2 Ibid.

National Context

Existing UNITED KINGDOM

Recreation with updated data of diagrams published in America and Britain: Our Two Democracies at Work by K. B. Smellie. Publisher George G. Harrap & Company Ltd.

Nextminster

Proposed FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BRITAIN

National Context

Nextminster

the case for vacating westminster

The Palace of Westminster is in need of major refurbishment to the tune of £6 billion and Parliament has agreed to relocate out of the neo-Gothic palace from 2022 - 2028 whilst this takes place. An independent delivery authority is being set up to oversee the renovation. Several alternatives have been put forward throughout the years. William Morris’ 1890 socialist utopia News from Nowhere converts the Houses of Parliament into a shed for storing manure, the ultimate vision of political desecration. Then in the 1960s Cedric Price proposed a Pop Up Parliament. The latest conception is Gensler architects’ temporary floating parliament, which has received support from Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.1 But the proposals are always framed as temporary, and this seems a missed opportunity. One of the strongest complaints across the country is that the UK is run by and for the benefit of a political elite. Westminster, with its elaborate architecture, arcane traditions, noisy baying in parliamentary debates and subsidised bars symbolises this group. What better way of wresting it from the hands of a (real or perceived) elite than to move it out of London? Coupled with federal reform, a geographical change of perspective could provide a driving force for reshaping UK politics more generally. Industrial decline has upset the already precarious balance between London and the rest of the UK. Establishing a network of regional parliaments could shift Britain’s balance of power from a single capital whose ‘success’ even its inhabitants are increasingly sick of, and counter the spiralling drain of wealth and economic activity to the south-east corner of the country. National Trust Chair Simon Jenkins agrees that Parliament should be relocated. ‘Nothing would do more to correct the metropolitan centralism of modern government’, writes Jenkins. ‘A regional move would reassert parliament as a popular congress of a united 1 http://www.building.co.uk/corbyn-welcomes-plan-for-temporary-%E2%80%98floating-parliament%E2%80%99/5084426.article

kingdom. It would be a gathering of the commons, not a colloquium of elites.’2 During these past few years some politicians have also spoken about the urgent need to ‘rebalance the economy’ in regional terms (Michael Heseltine), or proposed moving just the House of Lords to Leeds (Lord Adonis). The concentration on London politics, art, sport and media is detrimental to the cultural, political and economic life of the nation as a whole. Arguably London and Londoners will be the biggest beneficiaries of the move. The city’s most pressing problem is its overheated housing market. Land and house prices are bloated and the green belt which surrounds the city means space for expansion is in short supply. Much energy and debate in London goes into solving the city’s housing crisis. but the debate is always centred on the area of land within the M25. Nothing would do more to calm the overheated housing market in London than moving Parliament out; housing can be provided much more easily in other cities. We should remember that the largest commercial city in a country need not be the political capital. Two of our strongest competitors, the US and Germany, function very well with Government and finance in separate cities: Washington and New York; Berlin and Frankfurt. This is also the case in Australia, indicating the compatibility of a federal structure with the separation of corporate and political power. If the UK is indeed to move towards a federal settlement, it might do well to consider this factor. On a rather longer timescale, it is noteworthy that in 1990 the Japanese Government resolved to investigate moving the political capital away from Tokyo,3 believing it would be better to have the capitals of government and business in different locations in the event of an earthquake - or in the case of the UK, more likely a terrorist attack. 2 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/ mar/04/westminster-manchester-democracy-parliament 3 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/04/24/national/media-national/decentralizing-tokyo-may-save-the-nation/#.W BXkEuErJE4

National Context

No longer the seat of a working Parliament, the Palace of Westminster could become one of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principle tourist attractions, not to mention its most valuable new real estate.

Brexit will force thegovernment to disentangle the legislative and institutional framework which has developed over its 43 years of involvement with the EU. Sir Jeremy Heywood, Cabinet Secretary, has described this task as unparalleled in complexity, the biggest administrative challenge since WWII. Theresa Mayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Repeal Bill of 2016 will copy + paste existing EU legislation in the short term. But this is just the beginning, and a long-term consultation process should be quickly established to involve the public in the process of rewriting legislature. This could last a decade or more, and should involve significant narrative-building around the image the nation holds of itself today.

Negotiation pe & Wales from t

2018

2017 Second referendum on 2017

Government trigg

2016 UK votes to leave the EU 2014 First referendum on Scottish independence fails 2013 Cameron promises to hold in/out referendum on EU membership by 2017

2010 David Cameron becomes Prime Minister

eriod to remove England the European Union

2019

Consultation period with English & Welsh citizens to begin to discern how EU laws should be rewritten.

2022

Government moves into Federal Parliament of Manchester

2022

Government vacates Westminster for essential renovation work

2019

Construction begins on a new federal parliament in Manchester

2019

UK reforms as a Federation

FUTURE

England and Wales exit the EU

Northern Ireland begins reunification talks with Ireland

n Scottish independence succeeds

gers Article 50

PAST

THE representation of PARLIAMENT

Denmark

Papua New Guinea

Luxembourg

Georgia

Nextminster

Whilst each of these national parliaments may look distinct, they are share the same architectural DNA. A hybrid of the ‘Opposing Benches’ and ‘hemicycle’ typologies, the ‘Horseshoe’ combines two phsyical arrangements: tête-à-tête confrontation and side-by-side alignment.

The Representation of Parliament

CIRCLE

This typology is the newest of the five. It’s based on the 10th century room used for Iceland’s parliament, but only reemerged as a modern space in the 1980s. Only 11 parliaments around the world use this typology, but it’s thought to be the most democratic of them all, because it totally eschews a front and central dominant figure.

HORSE SHOE A hybrid of the “opposing benches” and “hemicycle” typologies. There are two phsyical arrangements here: tête-à-tête confrontation and side-by-side alignment. Former British colonies like Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh meet in horseshoe rooms.

HEMICYCLE

The majority of the world’s parliaments follow this layout. Like a good concert hall, a semicircle parliament room affords more people a decent view, creating a stronger sense of egalitarianism among its members. Democracies often meet and operate in this layout.

OPPOSING BENCHES Most useful for heated debates between two distinct parties. Westminster uses this configuration.

CLASSROOM

Favored by non-democratic, authoritarian, Communist regimes, the “classroom” layouts transfers a ton of power to the person at the front. Imagine the way ideas might flow between a single professor and an entire class—the group might contribute, but one person is the leader.

Nextminster

parliament a typology Parliament is the space where politics literally takes shape. Collective decisions take form in a specific setting where relationships between political actors are organised through architecture. The architecture of spaces of political congregation is not only an expression of a political culture, it also shapes this culture. Echoing Henri Lefebvre, Winston Churchill said of Westminster itself, ‘We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.’1 By their very nature parliamentary buildings are meant to attract notice; the grander the structure, the stronger the public and national interest and reaction to them. They represent tradition, stability and authority; they embody the image, or the commanding presence, of the state. We can begin to understand the double-sided relationship between space and politics by comparing the plenary halls of some of the parliaments of the United Nations member states. All 193 assembly halls fall into one of five organisational typologies, themselves based on Greek and Roman principles: Semicircle, Horseshoe, Opposing benches, Circle, and Classroom. And these layouts make a difference. At first glance, for instance, the meeting halls of Russia’s and Botswana’s parliaments could not look more different. In fact, they share architectural DNA. Both have a classroom layout, with members of parliament sitting in rows facing a speaker. This shape focuses all the attention on the president, and is popular in non-democratic regimes.

1 http://w w w.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/ building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/churchill/

Norman Foster designed the German parliament building in 1999 as part of renovations to the Reichstag. Like most other European countries, Germany’s assembly hall follows the semicircle plan. The fan-shaped layout is neoclassical in origin; Ancient Greek and Roman theaters were the first to use amphitheater seating to give audience members better views and acoustics. Van der Vegt and Cohen de Lara of Amsterdam-based design studio XML write in their typological atlas, Parliament, that “the reference to antiquity was to give the new states’ assemblies an aura of gravitas and ancient anchoring,”. 2 The seating also places members beside each other, eliminating visual signs of power. “Unlike the opposing benches, the semicircle fuses the members of parliament into a single entity.”3 These configurations affect the way their legislative bodies function—or don’t. Van der Vegt has pointed out that “the architecture of Parliament is one of the fields in which innovation is really necessary,” since all five typologies are rooted in architectural styles predating the 19th Century. Governments operate differently today than they did hundreds of years ago, and assembly halls have failed to keep pace with change. Until now, almost every parliamentary building has repeated a classical layout for its plenary chamber. How can we reinvent this model to better express how society consumes politics today?

2 Cohen de Lara, M. and Mulder van der Vegt, D. (2016) Parliament, The Netherlands 3 Ibid.

The Representation of Parliament

historical development I Parliaments have not always been the exclusive enclaves they appear today. The word parliament - derived from the medieval Anglo-Norman â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;parlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (to speak) was initially used to indicate the improvised assemblies where noblemen exchanged views on social and political issues. The character of these revolving parliaments could vary greatly. Only from the 11th century onwards did parliament become an assembly of high nobility consulted by the monarch on important decisions. Even though each country believes that its parliament is a unique expression of national identity, the homogeneity of the five plenary hall typologies illustrated on page 32 in fact reveals a systematic lack of innovation. While the world outside of these parliaments has changed beyond recognition, the interior of their halls remained in the past. Curiously, the three dominant typologies - opposing benches, semicircle and horseshoe - are the oldest, created before 1850 and as such reflecting the imperial and industrial era. The paradox here is that parliaments have remained virtually the same, while societies have changed significantly and the political process has become increasingly complex. The architecture of political spaces has not explored innovations that accommodate important social, economic and technological transformations. In the 19th century, parliament was the center of political decision making. But since then, political decisions have been redistributed across a variety of agencies, ranging from transnational corporations and auditing bodies, economic councils and back-room deal-making. This shift has reduced the plenary hall to a stage for the symbolic confirmation of decisions that have often already been made elsewhere. Once the centre of political deliberation, the parliament is increasingly forced to function as a theatre. Two centuries after their introduction, the potential for rethinking the architecture of political congregation lies in three interlocking areas:.

Parliaments have responded to the increased complexity of politics by adding more and more meeting rooms to their building complexes. This furthered the hollowing out of the plenary hall, whose interior remains sacred and fixed. The desire is to shift the focus back to the general assembly -to allow this space to be adaptable to different forms of political congregation and confrontation - opens up the potential of architecture. The comparison of parliamentary plenary halls on page 32 illustrates the lack of flexibile forms of congregation, leading to a displacement of crucial debates to backrooms. How can the new parliament, through architectural experiments with its new setting, reclaim its centrality? Can architecture reflect the current political processes instead of those of the past?

Nextminster

III

One of the most visible transformations outside the walls of the assembly has been driven by technology. Developments in mass media - from radio at the end of the 19th century to television in the 20th and the rise of digital media in the 21st century - have extended the space of political debate outwards. Parliaments tried to respond by inviting the press into their halls as an audience, broadcasting their proceedings to the masses. But this is hardly enough, now that media and technology have radically modified how we communicate with each other and with authorities. If digital technology, big data and shortened feedback loops can rapidly change the inner workings of societies, such advancements must also affect the space of parliament. Voters can communicate directly with MPs in their seats in parliament, complex data is immediately accessible, and sensitive information can be leaked or surveilled. Intensely focused on tradition, parliamentary proceedings have clung to rituals shaped by the speeds of the era of the horse-drawn carriage. Instead of embracing the potentials of these new developments, parliaments tried to rewire the old by introducing technology into the architecture in the most invisible way possible - subsuming changes in media technologies, rather than considering their systematic and spatial consequences.

Parliaments originated as representations of centralised power; the dominant typologies represent an image of unity. In the 19th century, the semicircle aimed to bring consensus to warring factions. These typologies survive as visions of the past, but nations can no longer remain inwardly oriented, as their parliaments must increasingly negotiate the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role within a globalised world. How to convey openness and inclusivity to citizens of both the UK and the world is going to be an ever more prescient task after the UK departs the EU. Architecture made parliaments a platform for collectivity, but the neoclassical references have lost their resonance. How can we generate new references that reflect contemporary societies? Can architecture help politics overcome being an incomprehensible ritual of the past? Parliament buildings also comprise ornamental, symbolic representations of national values. What symbols or images do British people associate with today, and why? I question the ability of an historic relic like Westminster to envelop collective decision-making for the specific challenges of the 21st century, and wish to explore the possibilities of new deliberative spaces along with their symbolic meaning. Architecture sets the stage for our lives, as it gives shape to thw world we inhabit. Today, parliaments are merely expressions of the past that anchor the political status quo. What role can architecture play in rethinking our models of collectivity? Can the architecture of parliaments provoke another politics?

The Representation of Parliament

1902 Indian army officers, attending the coronation of

King Edward VII, on the Terrace of the House of Commons

1945 Winston Churchill signalling to crowds outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day

2017 Upon what do we base our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self-image today? 36

Nextminster

parliament a symbol The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s Church have together symbolised the intertwined history of church, monarchy and state since the 11th century AD. Commonly known as ‘the mother of all parliaments’ (the affectionate tone of which conveniently conceals the brutality of Britain’s colonial project), the Palace of Westminster illustrates in colossal form the grandeur of constitutional monarchy and the principle of the bicameral system. The Palace we know today is a composite, having been remodelled almost entirely after two disasters. Following a fire in 1834 architect Charles Barry and interior designer Augustus Pugin reconstructed the Palace in a Gothic Revival design specifically inspired by the English Perpendicular Gothic style of the 14th–16th centuries. This vision of Medieval England is a curious one — a home for democracy designed as a palace in the style of a church. English architectural references express the nation’s self image and values; romantic, gothic, looking back to its medieval origins. The second disaster saw the Houses of Parliament bombed during WWII, with St Stephen’s Chapel and the House of Commons requiring rebuild. Debates were held regarding the shape and style of the new Commons chamber, with Winston Churchill directing the selected architect - Giles Gilbert Scott

- to retain the dimensions of the original, even though the number of members had swelled from around 420 to some 650, insisting the intimate space would retain intensity within debates. He quickly shot down a proposal to rebuild the chamber in a more progressive horseshoe plan, deeming the layout too European. Cultural references to the other three nations of the UK are notable omissions. The Palace of Westminster was built at a time when Britain ruled half the world; it stood as a symbol of imperial might and prestige. It was rebuilt by Winston Churchill when Britain had just defeated Hitler in WWII. But Britain as a nation has not yet settled on its view of its own past. The twentieth century saw the UK eclipsed by the USA and China as a world power. Yet, despite that dramatic abrogation of status - and the rapid retreat from empire - Britain passed the century, almost uniquely among western European nations, without experiencing a revolution or a catastrophic military defeat. The sun went down quietly. Therefore, despite a dramatically changed place in the world, Britain never had to perform the kind of wholesale reassessment of national values that, say, Germany did after the War. Upon what do we base our nation’s self-image today?

The Representation of Parliament

Clockwise from top: Some of the more eccentric spaces in which local election polls have been held include launderettes, pubs, gyms and churches. How might symbolism be used to elevate moments of connection between citizen and politics, even to encourage the interaction? Below: Augustus Welby Puginâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elaborate interior decoration of the Palace of Westminster engages traditional English applied arts.

Nextminster

the applied arts

Contemporary architecture does not seem to engender the same sense of belonging as its elaborate ancestors. The Palace of Westminster’s intricate architecture is an iconography of ideas about Britishness, embracing the great cathedrals, gothic novels, inscribing the importance of time in its great clock and of a long history in its backward looking decoration. The symbolic role of Westminster’s spaces was highlighted recently by the impending arrival of President Trump. Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said that while his state visit would be likely to go ahead, how it was done would provide an important symbol. She argued that Westminster Hall ought to be reserved for leaders who had made a lasting and positive difference to the world. “That does not include Mr Trump. No doubt there will be those who wish to fawn over him but that must not be from the steps of our nation’s greatest hall.’ The advent of a new parliament building in the north of England poses huge symbolic potential. Should the building respond to the recent shift towards populist nationalism? Much of the symbolism within Westminster has to do with the monarchy. How do citizens perceive this relationship today? What are our contemporary national symbols? Could MPs move into a redesigned existing building? MPs could move into the empty spaces of steelworks in the North — what would be the appropriate representation of parliament amongst the one-time industrial heartlands? I intend to engage the aesthetic traditions of English applied arts, combined with the fine Victorian engineering of bridges and warehouses in the north of England to respond to parliament’s new setting.

The Representation of Parliament

MUNDANE

APPROACHABLE

SYMBOLIC

ELITIST

Nextminster

programmatic requirements The Representation of Parliament

m m n l

k j

h g

d 8 3

2 5

6 7

9 1

b a

10 42

Nextminster

1. Palace of Westminster 2. Norman Shaw North 3. No.1 Derby Gate 4. No. 1 Parliament Street 5. No.1 Canon Row 6. Norman Shaw South 7. Portcullis House 8. No. 53 Parliament Street (undergoing refurbishment) 9. Broad Sanctuary (Library storage) 10. Millbank House 11. No.7 Millbank a. Westminster Abbey b. St. Margaretâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church c. HM Treasury d. Foreign & Commonwealth Office e. Department of Work & Pensions f. Department of Health g. No.10 Downing Street h. Cabinet Office i. Scotland Office j. Wales Office k. Banqueting House l. Ministry of Defence m. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

moving ministries out of london The many ministries and departments which support Parliament are distributed around Westminster, with a large concentration at Whitehall. Most MPs already have their offices outside the Palace itself, in less glamorous post-war office buildings like Portcullis House. Ministries and offices for MPs will need to be distributed amongst regional parliaments to fulfill the shift to a federal structure of governance. Moving ministries out of London is not a new idea the British government has been enthusiastically selling off its London property stock for some time and moving ministry offices to other parts of the country where land is cheaper. 2016’s Autumn Statement confirmed two key cross-departmental property programmes relocating civil servants to well-connected Hubs outside of London. I will take these figures on board when drafting the accommodation schedule for my project. Deloitte have estimated that an extra 30,000 civil servants will be neccessary to deliver Brexit. This will also be counted in my calculation of required floor area. 18 - 22 GOVERNMENT HUBS The first is the Government Hubs programme to reduce the government estate from 800 buildings to fewer than 200 by 2023. Departments’ workforces will be accommodated in 18–22 multi-departmental hubs across the UK, allowing for economies of scale, enabling easier cross- departmental collaboration as well as having important benefits for recruitment and retention. The timescale for the move is 2019-2023: Manchester: 88,000 sqm - Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs: 30,000 sqm - Department for Work & Pensions: 24,000 sqm - Other departments: 25,000 sqm Leeds: 18,000 sqm - Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs: 8,000 sqm - Department of Health and others: 10,000 sqm Liverpool: 37,000 - 46,000 sqm - Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs: 18,000-23,000 sqm - Other departments: 18,000-23,000 sqm

13 REGIONAL HMRC HUBS Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs’ “Building our future” programme will reduce the department’s footprint from 170 offices to just 13 regional centres. The smallest will hold 1,200 to 1,300 full-time equivalent members of staff and the largest, operationally-focused centres will hold more than 6,000. The 13 new regional centres will be in: North East (Newcastle); North West (Manchester and Liverpool); Yorkshire and the Humber (Leeds); East Midlands (Nottingham); West Midlands (Birmingham); Wales (Cardiff ); Northern Ireland (Belfast); Scotland (Glasgow and Edinburgh); South West (Bristol); and London, South East and East of England (Stratford and Croydon).

Programmatic Requirements

accommodation analysis existing parliamentary estate

e of Westminster 476 sqm ating Chambers (Commons & Lords) ng Lobbies (Commons & Lords) mmittee Select Rooms ces for MPs & Peers ces for Clerks, Black Rod, Serjeant at Arms mmittee Select Rooms ortersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Offices aurants

ries (Commons & Peers) monial Spaces by for public to meet MPs 44 bies for MPs & Peers to meet each other tment for Speaker of the House es of green lawns

2 3

6 7

Total Parliamentary Estate 250,000sqm 659 MPs + 1700 staff 750 Peers + 475 staff * 5. No.1 Canon Row Currently under refurbishment

Nextminster

A Nolli plan Westminster Palace and Portcullis House reveals that almost no part of the Parliamentary Estate is truly public. Indeed, until 2004, the public were referred to within Parliament as ‘strangers,’ emphasing how unwelcome they are inside the building. How could the public/private threshold be reimagined in the future?

Palace of Westminster Palace of Westminster 112,476 sqm 112,476 sqm Debating Chambers (Commons & Lords) Debating Chambers (Commons & Lords) Voting Lobbies (Commons & Lords) Voting Lobbies (Commons & Lords) Committee Rooms CommitteeTotal Select Rooms Select Parliamentary Estate Offices for250,000sqm MPs &Offices Peers for MPs & Peers Offices for Clerks, Black Rod, Serjeant at Arms Offices for659 Clerks, Black Rod, Serjeant at Arms MPs + 1700 staff Committee SelectCommittee Rooms Select Rooms 750 Peers + 475 staff Reporters’ OfficesReporters’ Offices Restaurants Restaurants Bars * Bars Libraries (Commons & Peers) 5. No.1 Canon Row Libraries (Commons & Peers) Ceremonial Spaces CeremonialCurrently Spaces under refurbishment Lobby public to meet MPs Lobby for public to meetfor MPs Lobbies formeet MPseach & Peers Lobbies for MPs & Peers to otherto meet each other Apartment Speaker of the House Apartment for Speaker of thefor House 4 acres of green lawns 4 acres of green lawns

minster

mbers (Commons & Lords) s (Commons & Lords) lect Rooms Ps & Peers rks, Black Rod, Serjeant at Arms lect Rooms ffices

mmons & Peers) paces ic to meet MPs Ps & Peers to meet each other Speaker of the House n lawns

No.1 Parliament Street 4 No.1 Parliament Street 2 22,569sqm 22,569sqm

nt Street

(x MPs + x staff )

7 6

3 MPs + x staff officially allocated olitical party) lect Rooms ms

410 occupants (x 410 MPsoccupants + x staff ) (x MPs + x staff ) Offices Offices Norman Shaw North Pub Pub 15,000sqm Restaurant 128 MPs + x staff Restaurant Nursery Nursery Offices BookshopStudiosBookshop Television Library 6 House of Commons Print Room Portcullis House 7 Portcullis House 20,000sqm 20,000sqm Offices for 213 MPs + x staff Norman Shaw Offices for 213South MPs + x staff (each allocated floor unofficially allocated 10,000sqm (each floor unofficially to+a xdifferent Offices for 56political MPs staff political party) to a different party) Gym Committee SelectCommittee Rooms Select Rooms Meeting Apartment for Clerk of theRooms House Meeting Rooms Restaurant Leader of the Opposition Office Suite Restaurant CafeInformation Service House Cafe of Commons 3 Post Office Parliamentary Service Post Office Education

TotalEstate Parliamentary Est Total Parliamentary 250,000sqm 250,000sqm 659 MPs + 1700659 staffMPs + 1700 staff 750 Peers + 475750 staffPeers + 475 staff

* * No.1 Canon Row 5. No.1 Canon 5.Row under refurbi Currently underCurrently refurbishment

Norman Shaw North

2Norman Shaw North 15,000sqm

15,000sqm 128 MPs + x staff 128 MPs + x staff Offices Offices Television StudiosTelevision Studios Library Library House of Room Commons Print Room House of Commons Print

Norman Shaw South Norman 6 Shaw South 10,000sqm 10,000sqm Offices for 56 MPs + x staff Offices for 56 MPs + x staff Gym Gym Apartment for Clerk of the House Apartment for Clerk of the House Leader ofOffice the Opposition Office Suit Leader of the Opposition Suite House of Commons Information Ser House of Commons Information Service Parliamentary Parliamentary Education ServiceEducation Service No.13Derby GateNo.1 Derby Gate 10,000sqm 10,000sqm x MPs Offices x MPs Offices

No.1 Derby Gate 10,000sqm x MPs Offices

Programmatic Requirements

functional analysis palace of westminster adjacencies

Second/Third Floor Plan - 25,000 Second/Third Floor Plan - 25,000 Peers’ Offices - 8,000 sqm - 30% MPs’ Peers’Offices Offices--8,000 8,000sqm sqm--30% 30% Reporters’ Offices - 4,000 MPs’ Offices - 8,000 sqm -sqm 30%- 15% Support Staff Offices - 2,500 - 10% Reporters’ Offices - 4,000 sqmsqm - 15% Committee Support StaffRooms Offices- 2,500 - 2,500sqm sqm- 10% - 10% Parliamentary Archives - 1,250 - 5% Committee Rooms - 2,500 sqmsqm - 10% Parliamentary Archives - 1,250 sqm - 5%

% 5%

First Floor Plan - 27,000 sqm First Floor Plan - 27,000 sqm Committee Rooms - 6,500 sqm - 30% OfficesRooms - 5,500-sqm Peers’ Committee 6,500- 20% sqm - 30% MPs’ Offices Peers’ Offices--5,500 5,500sqm sqm--20% 20% Residences MPs’ Offices- 5,500 - 5,500sqm sqm- 20% - 20% Reporters’ Offices 2,000 sqm - 5% Residences - 5,500 -sqm - 20% Parliamentary Archives Reporters’ Offices - 2,000- 2,000 sqm -sqm 5% - 5% Parliamentary Archives - 2,000 sqm - 5%

qm - 10% ces - 10% qm

Total = 110,000 sqm Total = 110,000 sqm Congregation - 4,000 sqm - 4% Ceremonial - 2,900 sqm - 3% Congregation - 4,000 sqm - 4% Meeting Rooms - 1,000 Ceremonial - 2,900 sqmsqm - 3% - 1% Reporters’ Offices- 1,000 - 6,000sqm sqm- 1% - 5% Meeting Rooms Clerks’ / Whips’ / Other Reporters’ Offices - 6,000Offices: sqm - 5%5,400 sqm - 5% Parliamentary Archives sqm5,400 - 3% sqm - 5% Clerks’ / Whips’ / Other- 3,250 Offices: Debating Chamber - 800- 3,250 sqm - sqm 0.7%- 3% Parliamentary Archives Voting Lobby - 600 sqm Debating Chamber - 800- 0.5% sqm - 0.7% Residences - 6,200 Voting Lobby - 600sqm sqm- 5% - 0.5% Food / Drink - 12,900 Residences - 6,200 sqmsqm - 5%- 12% Committee - 16,000 Food / DrinkRoom - 12,900 sqm -sqm 12%- 14% MPs OfficesRoom - 25,000 sqm - 23% Committee - 16,000 sqm - 14% Peers’ 21,900 sqm - 23% 20% MPs Offices - 25,000 Ancillary - 3,200 sqm - sqm 2% - 20% Peers’ Offices - 21,900 Plant - 2,700 sqm sqm - 2% - 2% Ancillary - 3,200 Second/Third Plant - 2,700 sqm - 2% Floor Plan - 25,000

St. Stephen’s Hall 900 sqms Hall St. Stephen’ 900 sqm

ces

3% 3%

Serjeant-at-arms’ Offices - 400 sqm Serjeant-at-arms’ Offices - 400 sqm

Second/Third Floor Plan - 25,000 Peers’ Offices - 8,000 sqm - 30% Committee Rooms MPs’ --8,000 Peers’Offices Offices 8,000sqm sqm--30% 30% Shop 4 @ 160 sqm Committee Rooms sqm Reporters’ Offices 15% Shop MPs’ Offices - 8,000- 4,000 sqm -sqm 30%- 200 4 @ 160 sqm sqm Support Staff Offices - 2,500 - 10% Reporters’ Offices - 4,000 sqmsqm - 200 15% Committee Support StaffRooms Offices- 2,500 - 2,500sqm sqm- 10% - 10% Parliamentary Archives - 1,250 - 5% Committee Rooms - 2,500 sqmsqm - 10% Westminster Hall Parliamentary 2233 sqm Archives - 1,250 sqm - 5% Westminster Hall 2233 sqm

MPs’ Offices 400Offices sqm MPs’ 400 sqm

Whips’ Offices Principal Floor Plan - 27,000 sqm Ground Floor Plan - 29,000 sqm 100 sqm Whips’ Offices Commons Peers’ Lobby Ground Floor Plan - 29,000 sqm Principal Floor Plan - 27,000 sqm Central Lobby 100 sqm Chamber Commons 200 sqm 400 sqm Peers’ Lobby Lobby 290 sqm Congregation - 4,000 sqm - 18% MPs’ Offices - 10,000Central sqm - 30% Chamber MPs’ Offices 200 sqm 400- 30% sqm MPs’ Offices - 10,000 sqm Congregation - 4,000 sqm - 18% Dining Rooms 290 sqm 400 sqm/ Pubs - 10,000 sqm - 30% Food / Drink - 2,900 sqm - 12% MPs’ Offices Dining Rooms- 5,500 / Pubssqm - 10,000 / Drink- 2,900 - 2,900- 12% sqm - 12% Ceremonial Peers’ Offices - 20%sqm - 30% Food 400 sqm

Peers’ Offices - 5,500 Ancillary - 2,700 sqmsqm - 10%- 20% Nursery Ancillary - 2,700 Plant - 2,700 sqmsqm - 10%- 10% 250 sqm Nursery Plant - 2,700 sqm - 10%

250 sqm

Dining Rooms 1,000Rooms sqm Dining 1,000 sqm

Office Office Ceremonial Ceremonial Library Library Debating Chamber Debating Chamber Voting Lobby Voting Lobby Circulation/congregation Circulation/congregation Ancillary Ancillary Food / Drink Food / Drink Committee Room Committee Room Meeting Room Meeting Room Residential Residential Courtyard Total = 110,000 sqm Courtyard MPs’sqm / Lords’ route Total = 110,000 / Lords’ CongregationMPs’ - 4,000 sqmroute - 4% Public route Ceremonial -Public 2,900 sqm - 3% Congregation - 4,000 sqm - 4% route

Meeting Rooms - 1,000 Ceremonial - 2,900 sqm sqm - 3% - 1% Reporters’ Offices- 1,000 - 6,000sqm sqm- 1% - 5% Meeting Rooms Clerks’ / Whips’ Reporters’ Offices/ Other - 6,000Offices: sqm - 5%5,400 sqm - 5% Parliamentary Archives sqm5,400 - 3%sqm - 5% Clerks’ / Whips’ / Other- 3,250 Offices: Debating Chamber - 800- 3,250 sqm -sqm 0.7%- 3% Parliamentary Archives Voting Lobby - 600 sqm 0.5%- 0.7% Debating Chamber - 800- sqm Residences - 6,200 Voting Lobby - 600sqm sqm- -5% 0.5% Food / Drink - 12,900 Residences - 6,200 sqmsqm - 5%- 12% Committee - 16,000 Food / DrinkRoom - 12,900 sqm -sqm 12%- 14% MPs OfficesRoom - 25,000 sqm - 23% Committee - 16,000 sqm - 14% Peers’ Offices--25,000 21,900sqm sqm--23% 20% MPs Offices Ancillary - 3,200 sqm -sqm 2% - 20% Peers’ Offices - 21,900 Plant - 2,700Offices sqmsqm - 2%- 2% Ancillary Clerks’- 3,200 First FloorPlant PlanClerks’ - 27,000 sqm - 2% Second/Third Floor Pl 2,700 sqm 1000 Offices sqm

First Floor Plan - 27,000 sqm 1000 sqm Committee Rooms - 6,500 sqm - 30% Committee -sqm 6,500- 20% sqmRooms - 30% Peers’ OfficesRooms - 5,500 Committee Peers’ Offices--5,500 5,500 sqm 20%sqm MPs’ Offices sqm 20% 4 @--160 Committee Rooms Ceremonial 2,900 - -12% MPs’ Offices- 5,500 - 5,500sqm sqm- 20% 20% Committee -Rooms 700 sqm - 2% Residences 4 @- 160 sqm Committee Rooms - 700 sqm - 2% Residences - 5,500 -sqm - 20% Meeting Rooms - 1000 sqm - 4% Reporters’ Offices 2,000 sqm - 5% Reporters’ Offices 2,000 sqm 5% - 5% Meeting Rooms 1000 sqm 4% MPs’ Offices - 1,500 sqmMPs’ - 6%Tea Rooms Parliamentary Archives - 2,000-sqm Whips’ Offices sqm Parliamentary Archives - 2,000 sqm - 5% MPs’ Offices - 1,500 sqm - 6%500 Dining Rooms / Pubs 2,900 sqm 12% MPs’ Tea Rooms 300 sqm Whips’ Offices MPs’ Offices 500 sqm Dining Rooms- 2,900 / Pubssqm - 2,900 sqm - 12% Westminster Hall Peers’ - 12% 300 sqmOffices 400 MPs’sqm Offices Nextminster Peers’ - 2,900 sqmOffices - 12%Library 2233 sqmHall Clerks’Offices / Whips’ / Other - 2,900 sqm - 10% 400 sqm Westminster Clerks’ / Whips’ / Other - sqm 2,900 sqm - 10% Debating Chambers - 800Offices sqm - 4% 1,100 2233 sqms Library Speaker’ Debating Chambers 800 -sqm - 4%sqm Voting Lobbies - 600 -sqm 3%1,100 House Speaker’s

Second/Third Floor Pl Peers’ Offices - 8,000 sq Peers’Offices Offices--8,000 8,000sq sq MPs’ Shop MPs’ Offices - 8,000 sq Reporters’ Offices 200 sqm - 4,0 Shop Reporters’ Offices - 4,0Support Staff Offices Support200 Staffsqm Offices- 2Committee Rooms Committee Rooms -2 Parliamentary Archive Parliamentary Archive

Programmatic Requirements

Not publicly accessible Publicly accessible External area

schedule of accommodation existing vs. proposed 48

Nextminster

Programmatic Requirements

key spaces how do they operate today? HOUSE OF LORDS The House of Lords is made up of 750 Members, often called ‘Peers’. Peers’ Lobby is where Members of the House of Lords can enter the Chamber and also collect important messages from. There are four doorways leading from Peers’ Lobby. The north leads to the Central Lobby, the south into the Lords Chamber, the east to the Library Corridor and the west to the Moses Room where Grand Committees take place. The House of Lords plays a key role in the work of Parliament: - Making laws - the Lords spends about 60% of their time in the Chamber initiating, examining and revising legislation. - Holding the Government to account - the other 40% of time in the Chamber is devoted to scrutiny - questioning the Government and debating policy. Investigative committees outside the Chamber scrutinise government activities. - Providing a forum of independent expertise - the wideranging experience and specialist knowledge of the Lords, and flexibility to scrutinise an issue in depth, ensures the House makes a significant contribution to Parliament’s work. COMMITTEE ROOMS The Lords has two main types of committees: select committees and joint committees. House of Lords select committees check and report on five main areas: the European Union; science and technology; communications; economics; and the UK's constitution. Lords select committees are thematic and cross-cutting in their examination of policy issues while House of Commons departmental select committees examine each government department. The joint committees consist of both MPs and Members of the House of Lords and investigate a particular topic or issue.

WESTMINSTER HALL Westminster Hall is Parliament's oldest remaining building and the only part of the ancient Palace of Westminster to survive in almost its original form. The Hall's history spans more than 900 years. From its founding by King William II (Rufus) in 1097, to the present day, it continues to fulfil an important role as a venue for ceremonies and state occasions. A 'parallel Commons Chamber' - for Westminster Hall debates - is a later addition to the Hall. CENTRAL LOBBY This large octagonal hall is the central point between the House of Commons and the House of Lords Chambers and acts as the crossroads between both Houses of Parliament. If all the doors are open from Peers' Corridor to the Lords Chamber and from Members' Lobby to the Commons Chamber, you can see directly into both Chambers. Central Lobby is where constituents come to 'lobby' their MPs and visitors come to attend meetings with MPs and Members of the Lords. When Parliament is in session the sitting of the House of Commons is preceded by the Speaker's procession which passes through Central Lobby on its way to the Commons Chamber. This consists of a Doorkeeper, the Serjeant at Arms bearing the Mace (the symbol of the Royal authority delegated to the House of Commons), the Speaker and the Speaker's Train-Bearer, Chaplain and Secretary.

Nextminster

house of commons SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE The Speaker acts as a chairperson who presides over and controls debates to make sure neither Government nor opposition MPs dominate. MPs must ‘Catch the Speaker’s Eye’ by standing up after a speech to indicate that they also wish to speak. MPs can also raise ‘a point of order’ with the Speaker if they think the rules of the House have been broken. The House of the Lords also has a Speaker, elected by Lords, who chairs committees, acts as ambassador for the House, and presides over debates. However the Lord Speaker does not call Lords to speak, instead the House relies on the Lords themselves to keep things in order. HANSARD BOOKS Hansard is the Official Report of the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament. Everything said is written up verbatim (word for word)and the written reports from debates and committees from the previous day are available every morning from an office in Parliament called the Vote Office. They are also available to the public and published on Parliament’s website at 8am. BAR LOBBY The Bar Lobby is the entrance to the Chamber from the Members’ Lobby. It is also used as an informal gathering place for MPs to discuss issues with each other on their way in or out of the Chamber. MPs pass through here before a vote takes place and they enter one of the Division (voting) Lobbies. BAR OF THE HOUSE The Bar of the House marks the boundary through which only Members of Parliament (MPs) may pass when the House is at work. The Bar of the House is now marked by a white line on the carpet but in the past a physical bar would be pulled across.

MEMBERS’ LETTER BOARD There are two boards for messages in Members’ lobby - the ‘Letter Board’ and the ‘Message Board’. Telephone messages are placed in the Message Board and urgent mail between Members is placed in the Letter Board. The boards were designed and made specifically for the House of Commons in the early 1960s with an interesting feature: on both boards a light comes on when a message is placed in the pigeon-hole. A light will also be lit on the Member’s office telephone when they have a telephone message on the Message Board and it will be extinguished when the message has been successfully delivered either by phone or hand. The telephone messages can be from any source, including members of the public. If someone comes to Parliament to write a message for an MP, known as a ‘green card’, because the paper is green, then these messages can also be delivered to the Message Board. MEMBERS’ LOBBY This is the meeting place for MPs. When the House of Commons is at work, the only people allowed in this room (apart from MPs) are journalists known as lobby correspondents. The Whips’ offices for the current three largest parties are also located in the Members’ lobby. The party Whips make sure MPs turn up and vote., and preferably vote with their party and not against, although nobody can order any MP to vote one way or the other. The party Whips inform MPs of forthcoming business in a weekly notice known as The Whip which underlines all the upcoming votes once, twice or three times depending on how important they are. PUBLIC GALLERY Until recently the public gallery was called the Strangers Gallery stemming back to the time when MPs referred to the public as ‘strangers’. Today, members of the public may come and watch debates in the House of Commons or House of Lords. They can queue at St. Stephen’s Entrance, or request tickets in advance through their MP.

Programmatic Requirements

HOUSE OF COMMONS 1

6. Passage link to Portcullis House 7. Central Lobby 8. St. Stephen’s Hall & Chapel Cloister 9. The Chapter House 10. Serjeant at Arms’ Office

11. Members’ Lobby 12. Start of ‘Noes’ Lobby 13. Division Desks in ‘Noes’ Lobby 14. Bar Lobby 15. Commons’ Chamber

1. Westminster Hall 2. The Grand Committee Room 3. Cloister Court 4. St. Stephen’s Hall 5. St. Stephen’s Hall

Nextminster

HOUSE OF LORDS

COMMITTEE ROOMS

PORTCULLIS HOUSE

16. Peers’ Lobby 17. Peers’ Lobby 18. ‘Content’ Lobby 19. Lords’ Chamber 20. Lords’ Throne

21. Committee Room 4 - front 22. Committee Room 4 - back 23. Committee Room 4a 24. Committee Room 14 25. Committee Room 15

Programmatic Requirements

26. Attlee Suite 27. Boothroyd Committee Room 28. MP’s Office 29. Cafe 30. Atrium

design focus commons chamber Some of the smallest spaces within parliament hold are the most important. The House of Commons Chamber is the centre of democratic procedure; it’s where debates take place, Prime Minister’s Questons conducted and new laws passed. I intend to zoom into this space accordingly. DEBATING

VOTING

The House of Commons meets in a room with an opposing-bench configuration. The room places the two main political parties face-to-face. This typology allows for clear delineation between the ruling party and the shadow party. Adversarial debating, standing to register intent to speak, Speaker of the House role to choose who should speak & mediate between Left & Right. The two iconic Despatch boxes on each side of the Chamber are where much of the action in the House of Commons takes place. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition sit directly behind their respective boxes on opposite sides of the Chamber. Along the frontbench next to the Prime Minister will sit Government ministers and on the frontbench next to the Leader of the Opposition will sit Shadow Ministers. All these frontbenchers will use their sides’ Despatch Box when they speak. MPs who do not hold ministerial positions are called backbenchers and they will stand to speak from where they are sitting.

Votes in Parliament are called divisions. This is because Members physically divide or move into separate areas (the division lobbies) when voting, according to whether the Member agrees or disagrees. The division lobbies run either side of the Chamber in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In the Commons they are called the ‘Ayes’ and the ‘Noes’ Lobbies and in the Lords they are called the ‘Content’ and the ‘Not Content’ Lobbies. The two desks of the ‘No’ Lobby (there is an identical pair in the ‘Aye’ Lobby) are occupied when a division is called by two division clerks. When a division is called, the desks (which are usually kept up against the walls of the Lobby), are drawn out so that they form a barrier behind which the members queue. MPs have eight minutes to move from the Chamber or their offices and walk into one of the two Lobbies. After eight minutes the doors are locked and Members arriving too late cannot vote. The members then pass between the two clerks, that is through the middle between the two desks - as a means of recording their vote.

Nextminster

7 5 20

18 6

16 13

15 5

1 7

4 2 3 9 19 8 11 10

21 6

1 Speakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chair 2 Table of the House 3 Despatch boxes 4 Mace 5 Division Clerksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Desks 6 Entrances to Division Lobbies 7 Exists from Division Lobbies

8 Prime Minister 9 Government whips 10 Ministers 11 Private Secretaries 12 Government back benches 13 Leader of the Opposition 14 Opposition Whips

15 Shadow Ministers 16 Opposition back benches 17 Liberal Democrats 18 Other small parties 19 Clerks 20 Serjeant at Arms 21 Civil Servants

Programmatic Requirements

summary of intentions

Function

Organisation

Representation

I. A Federal structure for Britain should be established which disrupts the hegemony enjoyed by the English at Westminster by splitting England into nine region states, each closer in population size to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The resulting twelve states should meet at a newly constructed Federal Parliament in Manchester, the architecture of which has a significant role to play.

II.

III.

A significant expansion of Westminsterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity is required to neccessitate Brexit consultations taking place up and down the country. This extra capacity should therefore be distributed across regional parliaments. Parliament buildings will be required to expand and contract in order to accommodate these swells in visitor numbers.

I will approach the design task through the lens of three thematic threads. Firstly, the programmatic functions of parliament. Secondly, its spatial organisation. And third, its status as a representation of national identity. This will involve working at a variety of scales; even extra-small objects can be monumental in symbolic importance.

Nextminster

why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t parliament function more like a...

SHOPPING MALL

In the UK shopping malls are increasingly the leisure space of choice for many, viewed as a safe and comfortable environment in which to spend an afternoon. We should not readily dismiss the spatial qualities of shopping malls; they provide a comfortable internal environment and easy circulation, especially for the elderly or infirm.

CHURCH

Churches are spaces of inclusion and many which were built in the 18th Century to assert Christianity as the national religion in the face of burgeoning immigrant communities are increasingly diversifying their appeal as spaces of respite for secular, if not indeed Muslim, gatherings. These are organised, non-profit, non-judgemental places, with a strong sense of community and loyalty amongst local populations.

PUB

Pubs provide a relaxed, social drinking spaces and have been a prominent part of British and Irish culture for centuries. In many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. Inns have provided protection and respite for travellers since the Middle Ages, but today many pubs are threatened with closure due to rising real estate prices and tightening regulations for drinking licenses. There are several bars already functioning today within the Palace of Westminster.

VILLAGE Villages function because they offer all essential necessities close by, anchored by a focal point like a pub or village shop. Ideally, a level of trust is established between residents which means that household items can be shared or exchanged. Thresholds between public and private are often blurred; homes are entered straight from the pavement which is itself not distinguished from the road.

LIBRARY

Libraries are spaces which contain books, magazines, films and music which can all be taken home via a loan system. This requires a level of trust between lender and borrower, and encourages sharing amongst those who use the facility. Increasingly in the UK, libraries provide a source of free internet use for citizens, you can pay your taxes or bills there or book out a space for a meeting with local residents.

MUSEUM As state funding is rolled back and public buildings and spaces increasingly privatised, museums are taking on an expanded role in the UK, with collections and programmes which can help people make sense of the world we live in, and foyers which provide relaxed, flexible space for meeting people or doing work.

Programmatic Requirements

site & strategy

Leeds

Wigan

Manchester Sheffield

Nottingham

Birmingham

London

Phase 1: 2026 Phase 2: 2033 Federal state boundaries

Nextminster

manchester site for federal parliament In 2015 George Osborne, then the Conservative chancellor, spelled out the creation of a Northern Powerhouse. Development in Manchester, long the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second biggest metropolitan area with 2.55 million Phase 1: 2026 residents, has been gathering pace ever since, spearheaded Phase 2: 2033 Federal state boundaries by an illustrious Council Chief Executive, Sir Howard Bernstein. The city will be choosing its first directly elected mayor next May, with powers over transport, housing, planning and policing. Parts of the BBC and The Guardian have already moved north to Salford, the old docks of the city, as part of the Northern Powerhouse imperative. This energy, combined with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s central location between the other eleven region states of the proposed Federal Britain makes Manchester the natural site for a federal parliament, where representatives from each of the states will convene. Manchester will therefore form the focus city for my project. With the completion of phase 2 of the High Speed 2 rail line in 2036, Manchester will be as accessible to central London as much of outer London and the South East, with journey times of just over one hour. High Speed 2 is a planned high-speed railway linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. Work on the first phase is scheduled to begin in 2017, reaching Birmingham by 2026, Crewe by 2027, and fully completed by 2033.

Site and strategy

Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city centre

Nextminster

Site and strategy

Left to right, from top: McConnel & Company Mills, Ancoats, Manchester, 1913; 67 Whitworth Street; Princeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Building; Canada House; Railway running past the Bridgewater Foundry at Patricroft, Manchester, 1839; Murraysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mills Bridge; 49 Spring Gardens; Dale Street Warehouse; Manchester Corn Exchange, 1835; Great Northern Warehouse frontage along Deansgate.

Nextminster

city of industrial heritage

Manchester is the archetypal industrial city. Its specialisation in cotton brought rapid growth during the Victorian age, but after the First World War globalisation hit the city hard. Unemployment soared, planting the roots of the North-South divide. That the city was once a centre of power in the north is reflected in grand municipal structures likes Manchester and Stockport Town Hall, which tell of the confidence and esteem once emanating from the city. Through both its economic successes and its economic sufferings, the city has been central to the great political and social movements of the last two centuries—from laissez-faire to the labour movement and the rise of the suffragettes—movements that changed Britain forever. Such conditions made Manchester a hotbed for political activity. The city’s post-industrial decline arguably gave birth to communism. It was here, in the middle years of the 19th century, that the movement’s two founding figures, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, arrived from Germany to conduct much of their research into poverty and social conditions, fuelling their original take on how society could be reorganised along class lines. This spirit of reform should be imbued in the new parliament. Right, from top: Industrialisation and demographic change - map illustrating changes in population density resulting from industrailisation (1801 to 1851). Above, bottom: The development of Manchester city, between 1750 and 1850, highlighting the infrastructural networks which were born from industrialisation.

Site and strategy

Nextminster

consolidation vs. dispersal PROS

CONS

CONSOLIDATION

• Functionality: MPs currently have 8 minutes after

• Bubble effect: Investment and debate focused on one location to the detriment of everywhere else. Economic benefits which flow from spaces of government weighted overwhelmingly in one place. • Isolation: Parliament becomes closed off to the public, establishing an exclusive presence in the city. Interaction between citizen and politicians is limited. • Elitism: institution-as-icon holds on to an anachronistic national self-image based on imperial might. This keeps our national narrative firmly stuck in the past and makes it difficult to move on to something more contemporary, befitting today’s society. • Inefficency: MPs travel enormous distances across the country from the constituency they represent to London. This could be helped by creating regional parliaments closer to where MPs are based.

DISPERSAL

• Functionality: Dispersal allows us to place parliamentary functions in strategic locations closer to where people live/work/study in order to establish a more casual, day-to-day interaction between citizen and politics and encourage people to participate. • Public/private integration: create a more fluid relationship between private and public spaces of parliament in order to encourage citizen involvement. • Flexibility: Parliament can expand and contract according to requirements during the ten-year Brexit consultation period and to changing relations between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. • Iconography: Raising the profile of cities like Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham • Regeneration: Breathing new life into disused industrial structures like canals and railway arches. • Efficiency: Dispersal in a cultural sense allows us to speed up significantly the exchange of information between citizen and government, both sides can receive information on the go.

• Inefficiency: Losing proximity between functions.

the Division Bell is rung to reach the Division Lobbies to cast their vote for or against a piece of legislation. This process would need to be considered carefully if dispersal were pursued. • Efficiency: everything together in one place • Security: fortification with airport-style security • Iconography: projects a powerful image to the world • Cost: usually it is cheaper to consolidate everything in one building. But not when that building is the Palace of Westminster!

But the clustering of functions together could generate new interfaces between public and private, and trigger new meetings between groups. The introduction of digital connectivity to the daily workings of the parliament can mitigate physical distance. • Cost: Maintenance costs for multiple buildings is usually higher than just one. But utilising existing structures within the city will keep costs down and, in any case, it would be surely impossible to surpass the maintenance costs of the Palace of Westminster. • Security risk: It will be harder to secure multiple sites from the threat of terrorism, but it also provides damage control by distributing the target, making the building less of an icon, and meaning, should one part of parliament be attacked, the entire institution does not fail. The inclusion of CCTV is assumed; in British cities we have grown accustomed to the proliferation of CCTV cameras in the public realm, and privatise spaces like shopping mall and plazas.

Site and strategy

DIGITAL

RAILWAYS

WATERWAYS

the design layers

Manchester is a product of the Industrial Revolution dubbed ‘Cottonopolis’ at height of its prestige. As a result the city is synonymous with its canals, railway viaducts, cotton mills and warehouses which were used to store or house goods before and after transit. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, the city amassed a wide array of warehouses dating from before the Victorian era (1837– 1901) to the end of the Edwardian (1910). Manchester became a railway hub, and goods for the home market and export left the city by train. In the 18th century Manchester was a city of towers – mill chimneys. When industry left, there were gaps, which generally became car parks. The city’s contemporary development is seeking to fill those gaps with towers of a different kind - residential. The aim is to intensify the city and counter the suburban sprawl which comprises most of the wider Metropolitan area. Prominent local architect Ian Simpson believes that, like those chimneys, “tall buildings provide not only a function, but also an image of confidence”. But is building tall towers the only way to project confidence in a city?What other architectural form might communicate an equally positive message? Manchester’s history an an industrial powerhouse has left behind a rich network of water and rail infrastructure, from disused railway arches to under-appreciated river and canal networks. Could dispersing parliamentary functions along these routes breathe new life into them? The city’s recent development has failed to utilise the idyllic scenery created by the canals, which are still lined with car parks and industrial yards. A rich network could be developed, incorporating ministries, offices and agencies. Public spaces, both indoor and out, would be integral to the network, with spaces for informal congregation and discussion attached to renewed walking routes.

Site and strategy

I. WATERWAYS Befitting its industrial roots, Manchester is a city of waterways. Numerous canals cross the city centre, often running underneath other infrastructure like railways and roads. This makes for some dramatic moments, and a whole network of waterfront which is currently underexplored. The Palace of Westminster is itself oriented along the banks of the River Thames, and a strong relationship between the new parliament and the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterways can draw on this history. 70

II. RAILWAYS The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was opened on 15 September 1830 - the first railway to rely exclusively on steam power; to be entirely double track throughout its length; to have a signalling system; to be fully timetabled; to be powered entirely by its own motive power; and the first to carry mail. Many of the railway arches running through Manchester city now lie empty. What might these spaces become as part of the new parliament? 72

III. DIGITAL Digital can link voters directly to MPs, alerting them to forthcoming votes and inviting opinions. A House of Commons app could, as an example, be used to bring consideration of agricultural legislation being reconsidered following Brexit to the direct attention of farmers, inviting them to express their views on headline issues. Parliamentary debates and scrutiny could be opened up for wider participation, putting users at the centre of the process. But where digital technology can be used creatively to extend interest and participation in democracy, it must not be viewed as a panacea nor spell the neglect of physical spaces for congregation.

III. digital

Marc Augé, the French social philosopher, has commented that in contemporary globalised politics ‘we have left the domain of dreams and revolutions for good,’1 in favour of rational bureaucratic behaviour: ‘governance’ has replaced ideology, and everything is a matter of competence and good management. Concurrently, since 1945, turnout for general elections in the UK has fallen from a high of 83.9% in 1950 to a low of 59.4% in 2001.2 The apparent lack of interest in traditional politics is especially apparent amongst the younger generation. Whilst it has been widely reported that Britain’s youth failed to vote in the EU referendum, projections by Sky Data and Opinium collection polls suggest that youth (18 - 25) turnout was somewhere between 36% - 64%,3 a bracket which is still alarmingly low for the weight of the decision. A portion of the electorate has lost faith in the democratic process and trust in its leaders. While the virtues of democracy are clear, dwindling participation calls into question its legitimacy. This is problematic for two reasons. Politically, it means an ever-dwindling political base and ensuing lack of consensus; and socially, a disengaged electorate is more likely to become a disenfranchised population. Can we regard a process as democratic if an increasing number of people are not engaged? Is this disengagement a design problem that can be solved by redesigning our processes for communications and inclusion? The fact is our Victorian electoral system has no effective mechanism to facilitate direct democracy and many feel it does not meet their needs. People who dislike the process often disengage - some look for the next best thing. 98% of 16-34 year olds in the UK have active social media accounts.4 For the first time in 1 http://web.dfc.unibo.it/paolo.leonardi/materiali/vc/Auge. pdf 2 http://www.parliament.uk/voter-engagement-in-the-uk 3 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/ young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high 4 ht t p://w w w. pol ic ycon nec t .or g.u k /apd i g /site s/ site _ apd i g /f i le s/repor t/49 7/f ield repor tdow n load / designingdemocracyinquiry.pdf

history, anyone can be a content creator, distributor and commentator to a large public audience - historically the privilege of journalists, politicians and monarchs. Social media networks like Facebook and Twitter undoubtably pose an opportunity to dramatically reduce the perceived barrier between electorate and policy-maker. But the platforms provide a double edge sword. When users Tweet their views or participate in online polls, or even just click on articles, Facebook filters their news feed accordingly. This year, in the aftermath of both Brexit and the US presidential election, it became clear that this filtering of news had, during each campaign, created polarised online echo chambers on the Left and Right of politics, bestowing the Left in each case with a dangerous ignorance of the efficacy of the Right’s message. In light of this polarisation, does the state and thereby parliament have a role to play in mediating the personalisation of news? A new parliament could respond to this emerging context in two ways. If we can no longer trust our favourite social media outlets, does this place new responsibility on parliament to offer complete neutrality? Or is personalisation indeed the way to reach citizens today? The susceptibility of digital communication to manipulation throws into relief the importance of physically bring people together, and providing spaces for congregation will be central to my proposal. Digital communication has made the planning of protests far easier. It can start with a single Facebook post and culminate in a march weeks later - just look at the rapid planning and enormous turnout worldwide for the recent Women’s March against Trump. Contrast this to the March on Washington in August 1963, for exmaple, for which planning commenced the previous year. It has been suggested that, today, a protest is not necessarily a sign of an actual movement; that’s why some, like those opposing the war in Iraq or the Occupy rallies, have had relatively muted real-world impact. This is not to say that protests no longer matter - they do - but perhaps they should be seen today not as the culmination

Nextminster

of an organising effort, but as a first, potential step. Is a large protest today less like the March on Washington in 1963 and more like Rosa Park’s refusal to move to the back of the bus? Maybe what used to be an endpoint is now an initial spark. As such, the provision of spaces for congregation of large groups should be key in the urban planning scale of my proposal, recognising the importance of people coming together around a shared concern. Indeed, Westminster has to date eschewed digitisation in favour of physicality itself. Inside the House of Commons, MPs stand up to register intent to speak and walk through either an ‘Aye’ or ‘Nay’ chamber to cast their vote for a piece of legislation. This means minsters cannot hide their opinion behind a screen, nor shy away from his colleagues on a contentious vote. I want to hold on to the spirit of using physical space to perform democratic processes in the face of blanket connectivity, and wonder if this could be a way to overcome post-truth politics. Could these processescan actually be scaled up to utilise infrastructure spanning across the city? This must be balance with the understanding that, with each election, we will gain more tech-aware MPs, and soon we will have a parliament composed entirely of millennials. In 2013 a Commission of Digital Democracy was set up in Westminster, which reported in 2015 that it will ‘become increasingly difficult to persuade younger voters to vote using traditional methods’ and recommends that ‘online voting should be an option for all UK citizens by 2020.’5 This somewhat anodyne assertion appears to be the limit of Westminster’s envisioning of a digital future to date. A new process of participation amongst citizens might involve a level of curation that will help us move from sound bites towards a forum for policy debate. Could the new building represent a feedback loop of information and participation amongst citizens - an open-source, peer-reviewed platform somewhere between Wikipedia and TripAdvisor? 5 https://www.parliament.uk/documents/speaker/digital-democracy/DD_Report_Final.pdf

Site and strategy

The Eagle Inn Lord’s Pub

Victoria

‘Nay’ vote 25 minute walk ‘Aye’ vote 25 minute walk

Salford 14 arches 3,080 sqm 5 Justice Quarter

6 arches 1,320 sqm

Roman Fort

Manchester Central Hall

Town Hall & Central Library

56 arches 12,320 sqm

Deansgate

Oxford Road

proposed sites Lords Chamber Lords site Lords voting route Lords voting bridge Commons Chamber Commons site

Commons voting route

Commons voting bridge Committee Room Park site Existing area of interest Existing building of interest

Train station River / canal Railway arches Railway line ‘Aye’ vote 30 minute walk

‘Nay’ vote 30 minute walk

Piccadilly

Manchester University

The Star & Garter Commons Pub

Nextminster

proposed typologies 1 Parliament hub (22,000sqm site) (1:500)

- This site should form the main design focus for the project - Overlapping layers of palimpsest evoke history of invasions and empire, from a Roman Fort to Victorian railway arches, bridges and canals to a disused steel viaduct which could form the central corridor between the Commons and Lords Chambers.

- Commons Debating Chamber (1:50) - Lords Debating Chamber - Central Corridor - Whips & Reportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Offices - Food & Drink - Ancillary

2 Commons voting route (2.8km length) (1:5,000)

- Procession route culminating in MPs casting their vote for legislation by crossing one of two bridges - Parliamentary ground surface treatment - Parliamentary Bridge treatment - Distributed Meeting Rooms along route - Outdoor Commons Lobby at finale

3 Committee room park typology (example of 5,000 sqm plot at 1:10,000)

- 24 no. total (from 20,000 sqm to 100 sqm) - Utilising empty plots adjacent to river/canal - Committee Room pavilions, bookable by government & public set within landscaped public spaces - Access to waterfront, pier for boating/leisure

Railway arch ministry offices (example of 2 arches @ 1:500) 625 no. arches @ 220 sqm each = 137,500 sqm total accommodation - Offices for employees of a range of ministries which will have outposts in Manchester

5 a. Office terminal for MPs (86,000sqm) (1:10,000)

- Attached to Manchester Piccadilly Station which will become arrival point for High Speed 2 railline from London in 2026. - Disused Mayfields train terminal, dramatic industrial structures. Cavernous open plan warehouse spaces could be converted to offices - Canal running through site could form centrepiece for adjoining public space

b. Office terminal for Peers (923 sqm) (1:10,000) - Attached to Manchester Victoria Station - Disused train terminal, dramatic industrial structures - Canal runs along side, could create attractive edge to site

Site and strategy

Nextminster

1. castlefields parliament hub The Castlefield Basin is one of the world’s most important sites for the history of transport. On the western side of Manchester, Castlefield became in 1761 the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal: the first longdistance artificial waterway. It was joined, in the 1800s, by the Rochdale canal, which crosses the city from Ancoats; and in 1830, by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway – the first passenger rail route anywhere in the world. Later additions to the network saw four large viaducts ploughed through the area, radically altering the appearance of what had been, in Roman times, the site of the defensive fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester. During the 20th century both canal and railway transport declined and the area became somewhat derelict. The railway complex in Liverpool Road was sold to a conservation group for a nominal £1 and became the Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. Castlefield has sincen become a popular leisure spot, with an extensive outdoor events arena and several bars and restaurants which are particularly popular during the summer months. The multiple industrial layers which cross the site pose rich opportunities for the insertion of parliamentary functions. I propose to locate the House of Commons and House of Lords debating chambers here, on two sites connected by canals, bridges and railway arches. The levels changes could facilitate expressions of hierarchy within the process of debate, and disused structures could be reimagined as public or press galleries, with high-level passages not unlike New York’s High Line. Perhaps the most majestic of these structures is a red brick and wrought iron truss girder viaduct from 1877, known as Cornbrook Viaduct. Could the structure operate as a Central Corridor between the Commons and Lords Chamber?

Site and strategy

Left to right from top: South Bank Exhibitiion, London 1953; Transport for London poster, 1947; my own model and drawing fromTingbjerg: Welfare City, a project from my first master’s semester 2016; British Empire Exhibition poster 1924; Festival of Britain pavilion orientation maps, 1954; models from my Bachelor’s project, The Wapping Centre for Culture & Immigration at the Bartlett 2012; Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan body politic book cover; Transport for London posters, 1940s

Nextminster

working method

scope & submission

The body has provided a metaphor for the structure of both city and government since Medieval times. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;body politicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; envisions the nation as a human body, and provides the framework for my investigation. Parliament itself can be read as a body, with functional organs connected by a system of circulation. Some of these organs (spaces) are bigger than others, whilst some are tiny but of great importance. As such, I intend to approach the investigation at a range of scales, beginning with the distribution of organs across Manchester city centre and the circulatory tissues which connect them, down to a consideration of the symbolic potential of ground treatment in the city. During the design process, I expect to go into more detail on some spaces of the parliament and less on others, but this should emerge from a process of consideration of function combined with site, in order to establish a hierarchy between different parts of the democratic system. My project will also engage the symbolic weight of designing a new parliament. The Palace of Westminster is loaded with symbolism which represents, in physical form, the triangle of monarch, church and state, the relations between the four nations of the united kingdom, along with numerous historical traditions which have been embedded into its walls. The design process should recognisesthat small objects can hold great symbolic weight. How might the city act as a vessel for symbolism and representation of the body politic? This translation of the body politic onto the city will produce a friction between symbolism and banality, which I intend to explore. How might something as seemingly mundane as a lamppost, bench or bridge take on new significance if it were a representation of parliament? These objects might usefully also operate as a way-finding device, orienting citizens within the parliamentary city. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m interested in how symbolism, when combined with commonplace objects, might come to define key moments along the democratic process, expressed as a node on a network.

It is not the intention of the design process to generate a fully resolved architectural scheme to a detailed level. Rather, the intention is to establish hierarchy between different organs of the parliamentary body, and to produce an architectural response proportional to that hierarchy. This system should evolve throughout the design process, but I could imagine that offices for ministry employees would hold less importance than spaces for debating and voting, for example. The desire is to reach a sophisticated level of synthesis between critique and proposal by employing recognisable architectural components which remain open to interpretation and multiple readings. Therefore, an example of a ministry office might be illustrated in plan at a scale of 1:500, which allows for an exploration of the key themes pertaining to that space, such as public vs. private, front and back of house, spaces for mixing between MPs, ministry employees and the public. Chambers for voting and debating might be explored at 1:50, a scale proportional to their importance in the democratic process. Seemingly tiny objects within the existing debating chambers hold enormous symbolic importance, and consideration of this should be balanced with functionality of spaces. A range of appropriate representational methods will be used during the design process. Initially I will develop site specific approaches for the various organs of parliament in plan to explore the relationship between existing vs proposed, and public vs private. Moving forward I intend to use physical models and isometric studies to explore the spatial potentials of sites in three dimensions.

Site Conclusion and strategy

Nextminster

appendices & CV Appendices

Appendix I relationship between the uk’s four constituent nations

LONDON A COSMOPOLITAN CONSTITUTION

SCOTLAND A LAYERED IDENTITY

The result in London was undoubtedly a vote to bolster a cosmopolitan constitution. Since London prospers through its standing as one of the world’s leading financial centres and is dependent on a large migrant labour force for its extensive service economy, this isn’t surprising. The constitution they effectively espouse, designed for workers and consumers but not for citizens, is for those who live in a no-place world.

A further constitutional situation was reflected by the vote in Scotland. Finding themselves out of sympathy with the neoliberal reforms of the Thatcher era and beyond, and subsumed in an English-dominated Westminster regime, the Scots have invested a great deal of energy in rekindling their distinctive national political identity. For two hundred years, most Scots saw themselves as having two distinct ‘national’ identities, Scottish and British, and became used to switching between them according to context. It was relatively easy for them to add a further, European layer of identity and thus to count themselves as part of more than one demos. This is not something which will be easily given up. The SNP have promised to hold a second independence referendum by March 2017.1 Considering how closely the first was contested (the “No” side won with just 55.3%2), and the strength of support for continued European integration (Scotland voted to remain in the EU by 62% to 38% - with all 32 council areas agreed3), it seems likely that Scotland will choose EU membership over English affiliation this time round.

1 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/20/ second-scottish-independence-referendum-bill-published 2 h t t p s : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / Scottish_independence_referendum,_2014 3 h t t p : / / w w w . b b c . c o . u k / n e w s / uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36599102

Nextminster

NORTHERN IRELAND A CONSTITUTION FOR PEACE Northern Ireland is different again. Its constitution is the product of a transnational peace settlement contained in the Good Friday Agreement of 19981, which enshrined the principles of equality, tolerance and respect for difference. In this context, it is understandable that the citizens of Northern Ireland wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t readily seek to remove themselves from an EU framework that fosters cross-border co-operation. Whether the Conservative government in Westminster had fully considered the implications of the EU referendum for Northern Ireland is debatable. Just when relations between Ireland and Britain had reached an unprecedented equilibrium, Brexit makes everything deeply unsettled again. It threatens the Northern Ireland peace process, undermining the Good Friday agreement, and poses the very real risk of the imposition of an external European border across the fields of Fermanagh and County Tyrone. In the face of such an alarming prospect, many are calling for reunification with southern Ireland, the advent of which would alter the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constitution significantly.

ENGLAND A MUDDLED IDENTITY The English experience is very different. England is by far the largest part of the United Kingdom, containing around 80% of its population. But it is also the only part of the United Kingdom without a devolved body of its own, a Parliament or assembly to represent its own interests. While most English people recognise, most of the time, that England, Britain and the UK are different things, there is no established public discourse which defines their roles, and as a result, England often becomes a synonym for Great Britain, at home and abroad. As a result English national identity remains muddled and uncertain, clinging to a monolithic past that is poorly adapted to a globalised world. The English have long defined themselves as superior - the contempt with which the English ruling class views its neighbouring nations is palpable in Parliament still today, with Conservative MPs coldly belittling concerns from their Scottish colleagues regarding the impact Brexit could have on their country.

1 h t t p : // w w w . b b c . c o . u k / h i s t o r y / e v e n t s / good_friday_agreement

Appendices

Appendix II prototypes for digital democracy 1 Constitución 2 A local team devised an entirely new masterplanning process to rebuild the Chilean city of Constitution after its 2010 earthquake and tsunami, drawing from Michel Callon’s idea of ‘Hybrid Forums,’ which pull together experts, non-experts, ordinary citizens, policymakers and politicians in a balanced, non-hierarchical form of ‘technical democracy’ around shared issues. We see social media in use, plus a truck with a loudhailer on the roof, compelling people to take part in the discussion; a community meeting in one room, with 3D modelling software responding to the debate in real-time next door.

MAZI The MAZI project (‘together’ in Greek) is developing an alternative technology - defined as Do-It-Yourself networking, a combination of wireless technology, low-cost hardware, and free / open source software applications. By making this technology better understood, easily deployed, and configured based on a rich set of customisation options and interdisciplinary knowledge, MAZI will enable citizens to build their own local networks for facilitating hybrid, virtual and physical, interactions, in ways that are respectful to their rights to privacy, freedom of expression and self-determination.

3 unMonastery 4 A new kind of civic laboratory is evolving in the ancient city of Matera, southern Italy. Here, the unMonastery project provides a new forum for public debate, education and technological experiments, conceived against a backdrop of receding public services. By focusing on ‘Stewardship’ - citizens as guardians of resources for others - the spaces unMonastery create are post-welfare state, even post-state. The unMonastery is a social clinic for the future, aimed at addressing the interlinked needs of empty space, unemployment and depleting social services by embedding committed, skilled individuals within communities that could benefit from their presence.

D-CENT Decentralised Citizens ENgagement Technologies was a Europe-wide project. The D-CENT tools enable citizens to be informed and get real-time notifications about issues that matter to them; propose and draft solutions and policy collaboratively; decide and vote on solutions and collective municipal budgeting; and finally implement and reward people with blockchain reward schemes. Since 2013, D-CENT has run large-scale pilots in Spain, Iceland and Finland involving thousands of citizens across Europe in municipal decision-making, policy and budgeting processes.

5 CitySwipe 6 City authorities in the Californian city of Santa Monica are trying to gauge public opinion on everything from street furniture and parking, to murals and market stalls for their forthcoming urban plan. Dubbed ‘Tinder for urban planning,’ CitySwipe presents local residents with images of potential scenarios and simple yes/no questions, encouraging people to swipe through the options, as if assessing potential partners. It’s not a big stretch to imagine how this kind of mobile-based app might be used by policy-makers to gauge public opinion on a whole variety of issues. Could this be combined with new physical spaces to create a parliamentary feedback app?

City Dashboard & Greater Manchester Open Data Infrastructure Map Manchester is already paving the way in digital citizen interfaces. The Manchester City Dashboard comprises a website presenting range of real-time data trends and patterns. Could open-source platforms like these provide a communication tool for citizens to connect with policy-makers in the future? The Greater Manchester Open Data Infrastructure Map is designed to provide developers and planners with infrastructure and housing related information across Greater Manchester on a single, easily accessible map.

Nextminster

Appendices

Appendix III potential organisational principle: mat-building

‘Mat-building’ - coined by Alison Smithson in 1974 courtyards which could fulfil the tradition of those - refers to a planning approach based on principles of planned within Westminster. Administrative services flexibility and growth. A matbuilding is a largescale, high could be laid down like layers, moving from public to density structure organised on the basis of an accurately private realms, pierced by pillars of democracy like the modulated grid. It is not dependent upon a specific House of Commons and House of Lords debating architectural language but rather9/30/2016 on ‘dismantling and chambers. The The mat-building approach would help to Strategies of Mat-building | Thinkpiece | Architectural Review reframing programme and composition…envisaging dispel hierarchies between citizen and politician, and architecture as a dynamic, flexible armature.’ 1 The to create an environment which caters to spontaneous structure provides ‘a set of rules for defining relationships meetings. I could imagine mat-building being applied and correspondences.’2 The architect of the matbuilding to an ex-industrial neighbourhood in Manchester, and is, above all, an organiser. finding an appropriate site in which to test this will be Lack of hierarchy is an inherent characteristic of mat my next step. buildings, and as such the strategy was often employed for One predictable objection to this strategy could post-war university campuses such as The Free University Original competition drawings illustrating the Free highlight the inherent security risk. But I would in Berlin, conceived by architectural firm Candilis-Josic- University of Berlin by Candilis, Josic, Woods and counter that the decentralisation of democratic spaces Woods. The architects linked the concepts of stems Scheidhelm at two scales (both across the nation and across a (street-driven urban growth) and websTo understand those decades of the last century, some context is needed. The link between (a polycentric neighbourhood) lessens, to some extent, the threat Team 10’s ideas and French structuralism had already been analysed, demonstrating the circulation system) to establish the “groundscraper, ” which from terrorism, by dispersing the possible targets. Whilst belief of that generation of architects in the new social sciences, the application of relationa encapsulated their intentions to instigatethinking to the programme, and the legacy of linguistics to be seen in the reorganisation of socio-political some level of security would undeniably be necessary, it is 2 Examples include the revised concept of association, change which had grown out of their active participation worth noting that we in Britain have become increasingly architectonic and urban concepts. the concern for cultural identity, and the understanding of urban life as a function of the in CIAM and, later, a splinter group known as Team 10. accustomed to spending our time in highly securitised relationships among its inhabitants. 3 Candilis, Josic and Woods were called ‘anti-monumental spaces such as ‘public’ (really, private) plazas, shopping It is no coincidence that this happened at a time of social and economic growth. After architects’ because the building’s flat layout neutralises malls, public transport and even simply walking down recovering from the Second World War, the countries of central Europe aimed for a welfare hierarchies and fosters informal pedagogy based on the the street. Based on David Davis’ estimate, which is still state requiring new programmes for a growing middle class. Large housing estates, tourist facilities, universities and administrative centres were often commissioned with short lead spontaneous encounters between students, teachers and unrivalled, the figure of how many CCTV cameras there times and governed by notions of flexibility and growth. They all allude to Opera aperta researchers. are in London stands at around one camera for every 14 (The Open Work) a term coined by Umberto Eco in 1962 in the realm of aesthetic theory, Embraced by state architecture organisations such people, adding up to a total of about 422,000.4 My aim insofar as, as with works of art, their lack of formal definition is precisely the key to their potential multiplicity. ‘The author is the one who proposed a number of possibilities which as London County Council in the decades following would be to create an imperceptible layering of security be somewhat more subtle than the airportWWII for its resilience to changing had already been rationallyorganized, oriented and endowed with specifications for proper economic and which would development’, writes Eco.3 political conditions, I think the approach offers interesting style system currently in use at Westminster. principles for a new parliament. Functional hybridisation can be achieved with smart circulation routes, so that the design could integrate offices, cafes, teaching spaces, libraries and meeting rooms, all organised around 1 Krunic, D. The Groundscraper: Candilis Josic Woods and the Free University Building in Berlin. [Accessed at https://www.academia.edu/2652904/The_Groundscraper_ Candilis_ Josic_Woods_and_the_Free_University_Building_in_Berlin] 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.

4 https://www.cctv.co.uk/ how-many-cctv-cameras-are-there-in-london/

Courtyard at the Free University of Berlin. First conceived in 1963 and completed 10 years later. FU Berlin’s openplan layout, a city in miniature, perfectly epitomised the dynamism and potential of matbuilding Nextminster

https://www.architectural-review.com/archive/viewpoints/the-strategies-of-mat-building/8651102.article?blocktitle=Most-popular&contentID=-1

The Strategies of Mat-building | Thinkpiece | Architectural Review 9/30/2016

9/30/2016

The Strategies of Mat-building | Thinkpiece | Architectural Review

Analysis of the plan of Venice Hospital by Le Corbusier showing circulation paths

https://www.architectural-review.com/archive/viewpoints/the-strategies-of-mat-building/8651102.article?blocktitle=Most-popular&contentID=-1

Facing page: Courtyard at the Free University of Berlin. First conceived in 1963 and completed 10 years later, FU Berlin’s open-plan layout, a city in miniature, perfectly epitomised the dynamic potentials of mat-building. This page, left: Original competition drawings illustrating the Free University of Berlin by Candilis, Josic, Woods and Scheidhelm. Right: Analysis of the plan of Venice Hospital by Le Corbusier showing circulation paths. Source: Calabuig, D., Gomez, R. & Ramos, A. ‘The Strategies of Matbuilding’ in The Architectural Review, 13 August, 2013

ural-review.com/archive/viewpoints/the-strategies-of-mat-building/8651102.article?blocktitle=Most-popular&contentID=-1 3/19 https://www.architectural-review.com/archive/viewpoints/the-strategies-of-mat-building/8651102.article?blocktitle=Most-popular&contentID=-1

Appendices

alice haugh curriculum vitae Education 2015 - 2017 (expected)

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts

2009 - 2012

The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London

MA Architecture: Urbanism and Societal Change

BSc Architecture (RIBA Part I)

Professional Experience Sep 2014 Sep 2015

London Legacy Development Corporation Design Assistant

Developing a design brief for the new Culture and Education Quarter in the Olympic Park (Olympicopolis), a joint venture between UCL, UAL, the Victoria & Albert Museum and Sadlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wells Theatre. Running stakeholder workshops to establish the identity of the project. Compiling Invitation To Tender report and Design Guidelines for the design competition, held in early 2015. Acting as Design Evaluator on Masterplan and Cultural Quarter aspects of submissions.

Sep 2012 Sep 2013

Publica Project Assistant

Sep 2011 Sep 2012

Hawkins\Brown Architects Architectural Assistant

Jul 2007

David Chipperfield Architects Intern

Focusing on the significance of the public realm within urban planning. Conducting detailed surveys to understand the complexities of several London neighbourhoods where change is anticipated or planned, and advising clients including British Land, the Portman Estate and London Borough of Ealing on how to integrate new development.

Working across a series of higher education projects for clients including UCL, UEA and London Borough of Hackney. Design development from initial massing through to Planning Submission. Compiling reports including Design & Access Statements, and liaising with engineers ARUP on the structural and MEP aspects of design.

Model-making, photography and graphics support to the design team on the Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, USA.

Publications Aug 2016

New Tate Modern building feature, Arcspace.com

Jun 2016

Blavatnik School of Government building feature, Arcspace.com

Mar 2016

Newport Street Gallery building feature, Arcspace.com

Apr 2015

http://www.arcspace.com/features/herzog--de-meuron/the-new-tate-modern/

http://www.arcspace.com/features/herzog--de-meuron/blavatnik-school-of-government/

http://www.arcspace.com/features/caruso-st-john/newport-street-gallery/

Hauser & Wirth Somerset gallery and exhibition review, Building Design

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/smiljan-radic%E2%80%99s-pavilion-is-set-free-insomerset-meadow/5074848.article Oct 2014

Ian Nairn: Words in Place book review, Building Design

Sep 2014

The Changing Role of the Cultural Institution

Mar 2014

Old Buildings, New Forms book review, Building Design

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/culture/book-club-review-ian-nairn/5071266. article An research publication commissioned by Publica, stemming from the Mayor’s 2014 reports: Cultural Metropolis and World Cities

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/book-club-review-old-buildings-newforms/5067285.article

Teaching 2011

OpenCity ‘Architecture in Schools’ Programme

Teaching assistant alongside MAKE Architects at Phoenix Primary School for workshop around ‘Shelter’

Prizes and Awards 2012 2009

Prize for BSc Thesis, The East Ender University College London

Best Speech, European Youth Parliament UK Finals

Urbanism and Societal Change Programme directors: Deane Simpson & Charles Bessard Thesis tutor: Charles Bessard