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senedd - The New National Assembly in Wales

Building design - Innovative and state of the art by Richard Rogers Partnership

As part of the British Government’s programme of political devolution and following a referendum in 1999, the newly formed Welsh Assembly Government was empowered to make decisions regarding budget and secondary legislation on a defined range of policy areas such as the environment, education, social services and the promotion of the Welsh language.

In 1998 the architects, Richard Rogers Partnership, were selected to build the new “Senedd” a building to house a new Debating Chamber and public facilities. Although subject to a number of delays for various political and construction reasons on the 7th February 2006 the building finally opened to the public and the Welsh Assembly Government Assembly Members.

The Sky and the Water

As the centre for all political making decisions in Wales, the building’s design concept takes the two dominant elements of Cardiff Bay – the sky and the water. These elements are followed through into the new building represented by the undulating roof and the horizontal floor plane that rises out from the water’s edge as a series of terraces each providing a changing sequence of heights and volumes between the ground and the roof. This avoided the need for dividing walls, typical of many government buildings, and creates an open and transparent building for public and politicians alike.

The inside

The upper two floors are occupied by the visiting public enjoying the more privileged position of looking down to the polticians working on the floors below – An architects design concept of electorate over elected. The client’s brief called for a building which should ‘not be openly adversarial in shape or in argument ……it will become a visible symbol, recognised and respected throughout the world, wherever the name Wales is used’.

Visible from the outside, through the highly transparent glazed wall, located at the heart of the building is the Debating Chamber, a sculptural funnel shaped form that descends from the undulating roof above. An organic form complimenting the harder lines of the slate terraces and the exposed concrete frame of the other areas of accommodation – the Offices, Committee Rooms, Press Facilities, Members Tea Room, Exhibition spaces and Public Café.

The Assembly building seeks to embody democratic values of openness and participation: “The ideal would be that a child who comes into the place is inspired by the place and decides to become an assembly member”, says Richard Rogers.

Prestigious award

The design of the building has received high acclaim by the architectural media as well as recently receiving the prestigious BREEAM Excellent award for sustainable building construction due to the use of indigenous materials, minimizing the consumption of energy.

"The building design is innovative and state of the art. This is carried through into the internal design making maximum use of new technology, with a modern and user-friendly design to the building interior."

The quality of the building is evident throughout in the meticulous detailing and the high standard of construction. Complimenting the buildings standard of design, the architects have used long lasting and durable materials throughout. Such as indigenous Welsh Oak for the Members Desks and the Public Seating, Welsh Slate as flooring and for the main stair, solid European Oak for loose furniture and wall panelling, stainless steel for handrailing and low iron glass to help bring natural light into the lower areas of the building.

The furnishing

Project Architect John Lowe of Richard Rogers Partnership: ‘We wanted the choice of loose furniture for the building to be sympathetic to the architectural design concept. It had to be of good quality, long lasting and most importantly to our client value for money. The Swans were an obvious choice with their organic form but were even more convincing once we had seen an original still in use at St. Catherines College, Oxford. The Series 7 similarly was another simple organic form while the Oxfords are comfortable, simple and an elegant design that is ideal for use in the Debating Chamber’.

The building was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen of England in a special ceremony on March 1.

See more information about the project on:

www.richardrogers.co.uk

www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding