• UK Houses of Parliament may close for five years for refurbishment
    16 replies, posted
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19386492[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]The Houses of Parliament may close for up to five years for refurbishment, under plans being discussed by MPs.[/B] Parliament could be convened in a replica chamber or a conference centre for the duration of the repair work, which could start in 2015. The Sunday Times has reported the refurbishment could cost about £3bn. A Commons spokesman said a study into the long-term upkeep of the Palace of Westminster is under way. Its findings are to be discussed by the year's end. The Palace of Westminster - the meeting place of the House of Commons and House of Lords - is a Grade I-listed building much of which dates back to the 1840s and 1850s. In January, the BBC reported that cracks had appeared in palace buildings, and that the Clock Tower housing the Big Ben bell had started to lean, although not to an extent to cause major concern. A statement from the House of Commons Commission, chaired by the Speaker John Bercow, said at the time that the palace was "structurally sound". Refurbishment work is ongoing, but a Commons source told the Sunday Times that the Victorian facilities "are creaking". The buildings are widely reported to be infested with mice, and the plumbing and electrical systems are out-of-date. The source added that the scale of the work involved made it "obvious" that the most cost-effective answer was to "move out". They said: "We either move out or spend £10bn over 20 or 30 years on trying to do the work during the summer recess." MP Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire) tweeted earlier that the Commons was a "unique and passionate" place to discuss politics, however conceded that "the rodents are a problem". The newspaper also reported another option under discussion is leaving the Palace of Westminster altogether, and establishing a new parliament elsewhere in London. But a parliamentary source told the BBC is it unlikely the palace would be abandoned or sold. An initial study by the House of Commons Commission into how the work might be done began before the current summer break.[/quote]
That's all? Well let's hope it'll fix up the Big Ben, I visited London back in January and it leaned a bit to the side.
Commons could use doing up considering it's not even the original commons and was built in the 50's. The house of lords on the other hand is pretty impressive so I hope they don't change it, having been there myself I can say it's a pretty fantastic building in regards to architecture.
[QUOTE=digigamer17;37420103]That's all? Well let's hope it'll fix up [B]the Big Ben[/B], I visited London back in January and it leaned a bit to the side.[/QUOTE] Yep that bell needs fixing. (Big Ben is the name of the bell in the tower, not the tower itself, which was called the Clock Tower (creatively enough) and is being renamed to The Elizabeth Tower)
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;37420495]Commons could use doing up considering it's not even the original commons and was built in the 50's. The house of lords on the other hand is pretty impressive so I hope they don't change it, having been there myself I can say it's a pretty fantastic building in regards to architecture.[/QUOTE] The one thing I found odd about the two Houses is that they seem smaller than they do on TV. I think it's something to do with the camera's perspective they use. I wonder where they'll use as a replacement. I know there's a conference centre a few streets away, I wonder if that'll get used? Although I'd imagine the MPs will miss their bar and restaurant for the duration.
I never understood what takes 5 years on refurbishing a bit old but fully functional building. They could possibly build it whole anew if they tried, with today tech.
Yeah the house of commons is actually pretty tiny. It'd make sense to expand it.
They could make a brand new parliament and turn the old houses of parliament into a museum?
[QUOTE=Camundongo;37421000]The one thing I found odd about the two Houses is that they seem smaller than they do on TV. I think it's something to do with the camera's perspective they use. I wonder where they'll use as a replacement. I know there's a conference centre a few streets away, I wonder if that'll get used? Although I'd imagine the MPs will miss their bar and restaurant for the duration.[/QUOTE] That's because the cameras only point down, inside lords there is some pretty cool cathedral style architecture and stain glass windows along with the golden throne where the queen sits. Commons on the other hand is just lots of wooden beams and stuff due to the fact that it got bombed and was rebuilt in the 50's, apparently it looked a lot like lords originally. [editline]27th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=ThisGuy0;37421508]Yeah the house of commons is actually pretty tiny. It'd make sense to expand it.[/QUOTE] Considering they sometime get to the point where MP's have to stand up it does need expanding.
After the general election, the whole place is crowded because everybody is present.
[quote] The Sunday Times has reported the refurbishment could cost about £3bn.[/quote] The hell? Is it because I'm on the other side of the pond, or is this really really lavish?
[QUOTE=scout1;37426589]The hell? Is it because I'm on the other side of the pond, or is this really really lavish?[/QUOTE] austerity measures etc
Projection of the refurbishment: [video=youtube;1jV2Mjc_kkY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jV2Mjc_kkY[/video]
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;37421506]I never understood what takes 5 years on refurbishing a bit old but fully functional building. They could possibly build it whole anew if they tried, with today tech.[/QUOTE] From the article, it seems that they're going to be completely renovating the plumbing and electrics, which is harder than it looks for a complete building (since a lot of the building's infrastructure will be built into the walls)
Not to mention the building is huge, very very very old and full of really complicated stonework from back when the buildings were first build, so they need to take all that into account which will put the price up. Its like the only place with a statue of William Rufus in it, he was such a bad king.
[QUOTE=RainbowStalin;37426981]Not to mention the building is huge, very very very old and full of really complicated stonework from back when the buildings were first build, so they need to take all that into account which will put the price up. Its like the only place with a statue of William Rufus in it, he was such a bad king.[/QUOTE] Well, yeah, I mean c'mon. [i]Rufus?[/i]
[QUOTE=CoolCorky;37426639]From the article, it seems that they're going to be completely renovating the plumbing and electrics, which is harder than it looks for a complete building (since a lot of the building's infrastructure will be built into the walls)[/QUOTE] And it's an old building which makes it even harder.
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