No_7_November_and_December__1950 — Page 40

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Second two rows of Distinguished Strangers Gallery and six rows of Public seats.

Curtains are of the same colour and design throughout the building. They were screen printed by hand on a natural coloured linen, to the traditional Palace of Westminster design depicting Crown, Portcullis and Tudor Rose.

The donated silver items (single and triple inkstands, and ashtrays), are in solid silver with a mercurial gilt finish.

The Division Lobbies, which run along the two sides, are fully panelled in oak with oak ceilings. Open fireplaces for coal fires are provided in each lobby and these have been introduced to provide a place around which M.P.'s might gather in accordance with tradition.

Immediately below the floor of the House is a ventilation duct space which contains the trunking and electrical services, the plant being mainly housed under the Central Lobby, and under the Commons Inner Court. Below this ventilation duct space is a ground floor which provides about 8,000 sq. ft. of Ministers' accommodation comprising 16 Ministers' rooms and Ministers' Conference rooms. On the lower ground floor about the same area is provided for Members split up into Secretarial Rooms, Conference Rooms and Interview Rooms. Above the Chamber is a suite of Offices for the Clerk of the House, approximately 7,000 sq. ft. in area.

There are eight air conditioning plants within the build- ing; two serve the Chamber, one the two lower floors, one the top-most floor, another the Cloister cloakrooms and offices,

and three for the Reporters' accommodation. All these plants consist of a preheating coil for warming the air in very cold weather, followed in turn by air filters, air cooler, main air heater, humidifying jets, and a fan. From the fan the air is distributed to the rooms by means of metal ducts.

The electric lighting of the Chamber consists of 150 glass daylight panels, each with its own flucrescent tube, this tube being wound into a spiral so as to fit within a box placed over the glass panel. Behind the tube is a reflector, and at the top of the same box is housed the transformer and other gear for the operation of the lamp. The lighting can be brought up gradually from nothing to full intensity by means of dimmers operated by the engineer from the Control Room. The brightness at which the lamps are maintained can be set at any desired level to suit the wishes of the Members, and part or all of the lighting can be used at will.

In addition to the main lighting there is a system of indirect floodlighting on the window sills to bring out the beauty of the ceiling: also a subsidiary line of lights under the Galleries.

Another interesting installation is the sound amplification system. The speech picked up by microphones in the Chamber is relayed to miniature loudspeakers set in the seating, thus reinforcing the natural speech. The level of the sound from the loudspeakers is very low so as not to clash with the speech heard direct, and when any particular microphone is in use the group of loudspeakers in that vicinity is switched off automatically.

Quick and easy movement about the building is essential for the Members and officials. Eight new lifts have been installed to give access to all floors, and in one case for direct communication between the Clerk of the House's suite and the Principal Floor, so that officials may quickly reach the Chamber. The lifts are normally operated by an attendant, but can be switched over for operation by the passengers if required.

Clearance of the site was started on May 10th, 1945. The demolition of the old work and the foundations and erection of the steel frame for the new building took until the middle of August, 1946. In April, 1947, the contract was let for the clothing of the steel frame and the completion of all remaining building work necessary to provide the new Chamber and its ancillary accommodation.

The Ministry of Works, as the Government Building Department, was charged with the responsibility for ensuring that the new building was in accordance with the Select Committee's Report and that it was completed within the time required. Provision was made in the Estimates for a cost of £1,750,000.

Acknowledgment is made to "Official Architect & Planning Review" from which publication the above article is extracted, and to Stewart Bale, Ltd. for the photographs.

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