Palace of Westminster, United Kingdom (1840-70)
London's "Mother of All Parliaments" is a spectacular Victorian Gothic-Tudor style palace, designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, that stretches along the River Thames and is crowned by three imposing towers. The Elizabeth Tower houses Big Ben, the bell that has marked the hours for the nation and the BBC, in times of war and peace. Built on the site of the original Palace of Westminster, which was destroyed by fire in 1834, the New Palace was badly damaged by German bombs in 1941. Rebuilt, it is expected to undergo further renovations, with Members of Parliament and Lords moving into another building while the bells of Big Ben fall silent.
Parliament Building, Sri Lanka (1979-82).
From a distance, the soaring copper roofs of Sri Lanka's parliamentary complex, perched on the shores of a lake atop a citadel in the administrative capital, resemble a kind of legendary tent city. Up close, this cluster of 'tropical modern' buildings, designed by Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, does not disappoint. The entrance, along an avenue of magnificent trees bearing large, fragrant white blossoms, sits atop an elevated roadway. Sturdy silver doors lead into the parliamentary chamber, its ceiling gleaming thanks to 20,000 aluminum panels.
National Assembly, Bangladesh (1961-82).
Monumental. Handcrafted. Elemental. This stunning cluster of buildings in Dhaka was commissioned by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1961. Ten years later, after a bitter War of Liberation, what was East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Set on an artificial lake, the main building comprises eight interconnected blocks of concrete and limestone, including an ethereal prayer hall and sublime passageways, surrounding the octagonal parliamentary chamber, crowned by a star-shaped steel roof. The Estonian-American architect Louis Kahn drew inspiration from Scottish castles and the ancient ruins of classical Europe.
Palace of Parliament, Romania (1984-97).
It is one of the largest and heaviest buildings in the world, conceived by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and built by a team of hundreds of architects, led by Anca Petrescu, who was only 32 years old when construction began in the 1980s. Working day and night, at least 20,000 soldiers and political prisoners were needed to create this North Korean-inspired building. Churches, monasteries, synagogues, and houses were demolished for the project. Enormous marble halls house the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, as well as museums, a conference hall, and eight underground levels with secret tunnels. Communism and Ceausescu fell long before this monument was completed in 1997.
Scottish Parliament Building, United Kingdom (1999-2004).
This costly and controversial building stretches from Edinburgh's Old Town to the crags of Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat, the main hill in the Holyrood Park Hills. Nothing like it has ever been built before or since. No two elevations are alike, and the interiors of this extraordinary array of forms were designed by Enric Miralles, a Catalan architect who died in 2000, a year after construction began. The chambers for members of Parliament have windows overlooking the Scottish countryside.
Reichstag Building, Germany (1884-1994)
Designed in a Neo-Baroque style by Paul Wallot and inaugurated as the parliament of Imperial Germany in 1894, the Reichstag in Berlin served as the seat of the Weimar Republic (1919–33) before being set ablaze in 1933, shortly after Hitler came to power. In May 1945, it was the focus of the Soviet assault on Berlin. Devastated, it was converted into offices for the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1960s and renovated in the 1990s by the British architect Norman Foster to serve as the seat of the parliament of a reunified Germany. Red Army graffiti remains, contrasting sharply with Foster's steel and glass dome. Visitors ascend to the top, looking down upon their political representatives.
Parliament House, Finland, (1926-31)
Finland may well be a model of a modern democracy, and yet its parliament building is a truly imposing structure, designed in a sober, classical style by Johan Sigfrid Sirén. It offers a perfect vantage point overlooking the town of Kalvola from its mass of red granite atop Arkadianmäki hill. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917, and perhaps this powerful design reflects its newfound sense of political power. Its colorful interiors are surprisingly modern for their time. The parliament chamber, where the first female members of parliament voted in 1907, is a circular space, illuminated from above, and adorned with nude statues representing Finnish virtues.
Government Palace of Taranto, Italy (1930-34)
When we think of fascist or totalitarian architecture, the enormous neoclassical monuments of Nazi Germany come to mind. However, Mussolini's buildings in Italy, while powerful, are very different. His eclecticism dominated politics. Public buildings were often modern, in the Neo-Romanesque style. In Taranto, Armando Brasini's Government Palace faces the sea like the fortification of an ancient port. Built of brick and stone, flanked by bell towers, and decorated with masterful arches, it could well have been built 1,500 years ago, not in the 1930s.
Tennessee State Capitol Building, United States (1845-59)
The remains of architect William Strickland, designer of this iconic neo-secular Greek temple in Nashville, rest in a tomb in its northeast wall. Though reminiscent of the legendary democracy of ancient Athens, the Tennessee State Capitol made innovative and extensive use of structural iron: Strickland looked back to the ancient Gilded Age and also forward to the era of railroads and industry that would lead the United States to become the most powerful nation in the world. The British were suspicious of classical design at the time, associating it with republicanism and revolution, but unlike Strickland, they did not employ slave labor to build the Palace of Westminster.
Great Hall of the People, China (1958-59)
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party decreed the construction of ten "Great Buildings." One of these, built in just ten months by volunteer workers, was the Great Hall of the People. Dominating the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, this building by Zhang Bo is an exaggerated example of Chinese Neoclassicism. Its footprint exceeds that of the Forbidden City. Inside, the State Banquet Hall accommodates 5,000 guests, while the Grand Auditorium, where political representatives meet, seats 10,000 delegates in neat rows beneath an undulating, cloud-like roof, the center of which is adorned with a colossal, illuminated red star.
Source: BBC News Mundo.
