Palace of Westminster

Name: Chenfei Cao

Course:Arch 162- M 12

Palace of Westminster
Fire ravaged the royal palace owned by the monarchy in 1512 and 1834, which was then rebuilt by designs from the architecture Charles Barry. His plans were the Gothic Revival style purposely modeled after the English Perpendicular Gothic. Construction lasted 30 years as it incurred a lot of expenditure overruns and numerous delays. The palace is one of the most beautiful landmarks in England not only because of its architecture but also due to its location on the banks of the Thames in central London, making it on the list of the favorite tourist destination. It is also called House of parliament. This paper seeks to converse Westminster palace architecture.
The House of Parliament is part of the Grade I structure and a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains over 1,100 rooms, 100 stairways and 3 miles of passageways that covers four levels. The final two stories are established for committee rooms. Norman Porch is a unique feature found in the building. It has a square landing design embedded with elaborate ceiling and a column, which is centrally clustered. Another interesting characteristic is the Queens Robing, a room where she prepares for state functions. The Robing has festooned state chair attached to a three steps platform, and embedded with Great Britain’s floral emblems and arms.
The Royal Gallery at 33.5 by 13.7 meters is one of the most massive rooms in the palace. The gallery is endowed with Caen stone gilded statues at the boundaries of bay window and the three doorways. The Chamber of the Lords has a peculiar allegorical frescoes and glass window with stained decorations. It measures 24.4 by 13.7 meters. The Westminster Hall, which has a roof measuring 20.7 by 73.2 meters made of oak wood, is the most significant clear span old roof in England, and it was once the biggest hall in Europe.
The Palace features separate entrances for the different user groups of the building instead of having only one main entrance.The Sovereign's Entrance, at the base of the Victoria Tower, is located in the south-west corner of the Palace and is the starting point of the royal procession route, the suite of ceremonial rooms used by the monarch at State Openings of Parliament. This consists of the Royal Staircase, the Norman Porch, the Robing Room, the Royal Gallery and the Prince's Chamber, and culminates in the Lords Chamber, where the ceremony takes place. Members of the House of Lords use the Peers' Entrance in the middle of the Old Palace Yard front, which is covered by a stone carriage porch and opens to an entrance hall. A staircase from there leads, through a corridor, to the Prince's Chamber. (En.wikipedia.org, 2018).
In conclusion, the palace has an extensive and fascinating history, having bared witness to destructive fires, hooliganism and the World War Two bombing but has come out on top having stood the test of time. Consequently, it demonstrates the unique designs of architecture that possesses great value in its features.
The New Palace of Westminster. London: Warrington & Co, 1870. Print.

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