Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt of Kent's School of Architecture will lead a project for the major refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament.
A £1/4 million Arts and Humanities Research Council grant has been awarded to Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt of the Kent School of Architecture for a pioneering project feeding into the refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament.
Dr Schoenefeldt said leading this project in such a huge historic restoration was a ‘privilege’.
The grant will fund Dr Schoenefeldt’s research into the Palace of Westminster’s 19th Century ventilation system, with additional funding by the government.
The project will be the first to systematically investigate the original system, and will reconstruct the original design to see how it was developed and analyse how it performed. It will involve the study of the original drawings, letters and reports, but also surveys of surviving features inside the Palace.
Dr Schoenefeldt’s research has shown how the original stack system from 1836, that was in continuous use for 90 years, could be a model of modern, sustainable ventilation. MPs then continually reported back on their experience of using the chambers and were always looking for ways to make it more comfortable.
The stack system was replaced in the 1950s by mechanical methods that are now failing as well as expensive to run and maintain.
The work carried out by Dr Schoenefeldt will be valuable for other historic buildings in London like the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Royal Courts of Justice, as well as the Capitol building in Washington, US.
For more details see Houses Of Parliament Research Project