Parliament building designed keeping in view needs of New India
For the new Parliament building, a triangular plot has been chosen right in front of the existing Parliament building.
“If the old Parliament House gave direction to post-independence India, the new building would become a witness to the creation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said and with this vision of “New India”, the design and architecture of the new Parliament building has been conceptualised and construction carried out.
The new Parliament building has been designed keeping in mind “Rising India” and its needs. Designed and conceptualised by HCP designs, Chief Architect Bimal Patel had said that the new Parliament building will incorporate the elements of India and will showcase India as a rising power.
For the new Parliament building, a triangular plot has been chosen right in front of the existing Parliament building, the plot was triangular and so the designers of the Parliament chose to make the new Parliament building a triangle not only to make maximum use of the space, but as Bimal Patel, head of HCP designs, said in an explainer video shared with The Sunday Guardian by the communications team of HCP designs, but also because of the “geometric significance” of the shape triangle.
“As many people ask me why a ‘Triangle’, I say it is because many sacred geometrics celebrate “Triangles” and “Trinities”. The Sri Yantra uses a Triangle, the three gods or the Trinities are a Triangle and therefore Triangle is sacred.” Bimal Patel said.
The new Parliament House will have a Lok Sabha with a seating capacity of 770 plus members, a Rajya Sabha hall with a seating capacity of 500 plus members, a Lounge around a courtyard which will act as the central hall and a central space called the Constitution gallery.
However, the new Parliament will not have a separate central hall unlike the existing building where the joint session of Parliament is held and which also acts as a lounge for the members of Parliament. This is because the Lok Sabha of the new House will have enough sitting capacity to hold joint sessions. In the triangular building, the Lok Sabha will be at the north-west corner, Rajya Sabha will be at the south-west corner, and the lounge will be at the eastern corner.
The new Parliament building will also have offices on the outer edges of the building, surrounding the houses and the lounge. It will not only have the offices for Ministers, Prime Ministers and Speakers of the Houses, but also offices for each MP in the Parliament building, as is the norm globally.
Speaking in detail about the design of the seating arrangements in both the Houses of the new Parliament, Bimal Patel said, “We studied a lot of the Parliaments across the globe to understand their seating arrangements for their MPS and we selected a two-seater seating arrangement for the new Parliament building. The existing seats in both the Houses of Parliament is a bench-style seating arrangement which is uncomfortable
and very difficult for a member to move in and out during the session. So we designed two-seater arrangements with desk and tablets where MPS can keep their files and move in and out without disturbing others from the back.”
Bimal Patel also said that they have kept the traditional green and red colour theme for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, but have added multiple elements of
India into the design of both the Houses.
“The theme of the Lok Sabha is kept, keeping in mind the national bird, peacock, while the theme of the Rajya Sabha has been done with the Lotus in mind. The Lok Sabha if seen from a distance would look like the colour in the feather of a peacock, where the shade of green gets darker as you move closer to the Chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Bimal Patel said.
The carpets and ceiling of the Lok Sabha is also designed keeping the Peacock motif in mind, while the ceiling of the Rajya Sabha is designed keeping the Lotus motif in mind.
Also, both the Houses of the new Parliament would have natural light coming in from the outside, which is missing in the old Parliament building. For this, the designers are creating exceptionally beautiful Jaalisthemed with Peacock and Lotus for both the Houses with verses from the Indian Constitution inscribed in them. The custom made carpets of the Parliament will have 120 knots per square inch, and is being made by 900 weaver families from 25 villages in Badhoi district of Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Hall which is missing in the new Parliament building would be fed by a huge central lounge for the MPS where they can relax and talk to their peers and colleagues over a cup of coffee or tea. The courtyard would also house a huge Banyan tree, symbolising India’s values, strength and vision. The new building will also have the National Emblem mounted on top of the building and the central mounting structure will represent the secular democracy of India, with multiple windows just below it to showcase the diversity of India.
However, the central space of the building, with arms leading to entrances, will be called the Constitution Hall. The three entrances that lead to this central hall will be public galleries, where some important materials related to the Parliament and the republic will be located. The Constitution Hall will have sculptures and portraits of parliamentarians, and other images representing various aspects of India. To the east of the Constitution Hall, a space will be created called the Constitution Gallery. The original Constitution of India will be displayed here.
At least three restaurants have also been planned inside the new building, for the MPS, the staff members as well as the visitors who would be visiting the Parliament house.
Bimal Patel also mentioned about the need for an advanced acoustic system in the new Parliament and how the old one was insufficient and often caused problems. He said that the new and most advanced technologies are being used, for which HCP has hired a German physicist from a German company who is looking after the sound and acoustic systems for the new Parliament.