Pop-up Parliament
Could stunning (reusable) glass dome designed by genius behind the Gherkin be temporary home for Commons?
AN EXTRAORDINARY pop-up Parliament under a cathedral of glass and steel has emerged as a potential new home for MPs amid plans to shut the Palace of Westminster for vital repairs.
The purpose-built temporary Parliament, designed by Norman Foster, would be built on historic Horse Guards Parade, a few hundred yards from the Commons.
And the project, brainchild of property magnate Sir John Ritblat and renowned architect Lord Foster, would be designed to be taken down and re-used after MPs no longer need it.
The ambitious scheme emerged amid repeated warnings that politicians must vacate the Houses of Parliament to allow for vital restoration of the crumbling 19th Century building.
An existing £4billion, six-year plan to ‘decant’ MPs and peers into two separate locations at Westminster is still awaiting approval, nearly a year after it was backed by a joint Lords and Commons committee. But last night it emerged that MPs and peers have already been offered an alternative, temporary home with replacement Commons and Lords chambers all in one place.
It would be designed by Lord Foster, the man behind a series of landmark buildings in London including the City Hall and the Gherkin, as well as the restored Reichstag in Berlin.
A complete parliamentary complex would be created under a glass dome akin to the original plateglass and cast-iron Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, with exact replicas of the Commons and Lords’ chambers.
Last night, Lord Foster said his plan could turn the problem of restoring Parliament into an ‘extraordinary opportunity’.
Comparing the scheme to his work co-designing Mexico City’s new airport, he said the proposed dome-like structure ‘could be a showcase for British design’. Lord Foster – one of a handful of so-called ‘starchitects’ because of his global reputation – told The Mail on Sunday: ‘You could re-create the existing Commons and Lords down to the cracks in the leather. ‘Think of it as a building within a building. By prefabricating everything, you could achieve this in a one-year programme.’
And in a nod to the original Crystal Palace, he also said that the building could be re-used as an exhibition centre once MPs no longer needed it – becoming ‘the ultimate exercise in recycling’. However, Westminster sources stressed that the Queen would have to be happy with the idea, as for several years she would have to find a new location for the Trooping the Colour on her official birthday.
MPs and peers were given a confidential briefing by former British Land chairman Sir John on the idea last year, only for the proposal to be rejected initially on security grounds, as it did not include office space for MPs and peers on site.
MPs have since said privately that the terrorist attack on Parliament earlier this year, in which PC Keith Palmer was murdered, meant that security was now even more important. Under existing ‘decant’ proposals, all MPs are due to be rehoused in offices in the Palace’s so-called Northern Estate – meaning they would have to cross Whitehall each time a vote was called, unless a temporary Parliament provided offices.
However, it is understood that a revised Ritblat/Foster scheme could now include office accommodation to assuage the concerns of security chiefs.
Last night, Tory MP Jacob ReesMogg – a member of the joint committee of MPs and peers on the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster – suggested the Horse Guards Parade project could merit a second look. He added: ‘Any proposal put forward by someone as respected as John Ritblat is worthy of consideration and if the security objections are surmountable, it may be worth revisiting.’
A spokesman for the Restoration and Renewal Programme said last night: ‘Horse Guards Parade had been considered as a possible location. However, it is currently not the preferred temporary accommodation option.’
‘A stunning showcase for British design’