The Palace of Westminster – a House of many surprises

Gary Hughes
Westminster by Hernán Piñera }
Westminster

Expert in sustainable architecture discusses the design innovations and lessons for modern architects within one of the world's most iconic buildings

In a fascinating article published by The Conversation, Kent School of Architecture’s Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt reveals that the Palace of Westminster is actually a highly innovative building – despite its ‘crumbling fabric and antiquated network of environmental services’.

His article, entitled How the Palace of Westminster gets rid of all that hot air in the House of Commons, goes on to explain that ‘the stack system which provided ventilation for the debating chambers for more than 90 years is one that is now being widely considered as a model for low-energy, sustainable ventilation in large public buildings’. Quite possibly to the extent ‘that the past could potentially inform the current renovation in a sustainable manner.’

Reconstruction of the ventilation in the Temporary Houses of Commons, 1836-1851 by H Schoenefeldt

Dr Schoenefeldt is a leading expert on the history of environmental design in architecture and the role of the natural sciences in its development. He has a particular interest in the use of historic case studies to promote an understanding of sustainable design from a cultural, historical, technical and design perspective.

On 20 March he presented recent findings of his research into the historic stack ventilation system of the Houses of Commons at the Second Annual Construction History Society Conference 2015. His paper, entitled ‘Reid’s short-lived ventilation system for the Permanent Houses of Commons, 1847-54’, explored the original ventilation system that was designed and implemented by the Scottish physician David Boswell Reid between 1847 and 1852. The design of Reid’s short-lived ventilation system in the Houses of Commons has not previously been studied by historians but Dr Schoenefeldt’s research has revealed that it was a highly sophisticated system, designed to overcome some of the limitations of the simpler stack ventilation system previously tested in the Temporary House (following the destruction of the Palace of Westminster by a fire in 1834).

Another journal article in Architectural History, published in summer 2014, provides the first in-depth study of the Temporary Houses of Parliament. The article, entitled ‘The Temporary Houses of Parliament and David Boswell Reid’s Architecture of Experimentation’, includes detailed reconstruction of the historic system and explores the scientific methods that have used in the development and testing of the ventilation, including inquiries into user perception.

To read How the Palace of Westminster gets rid of all that hot air in the House of Commons click here.