Putting Houses in order

On June 22 this year, just ahead of the political storm of the Brexit referendum that was about to sweep over Britain, a storm of a more tangible kind hit the Houses of Parliament in central London. The torrential rain that wreaked havoc across the British capital, inundated the gullies, drainpipes, and gutters of the 19th-century Palace of Westminster. This led to flooding of roof spaces and courtyards, damaging stonework and knocking out fire safety systems for several days. “We get a lot heavier rainfall than they had in the 19th century and the palace wasn’t designed to deal with such torrential rain,” says Richard Ware, who heads the Restoration and Renewal Programme at Parliament.

Flooding — whether from rain or leaky pipes — has become fairly common at the Houses of Parliament, and is one of the few visible signs that the grand Victorian construct, whose impressive façade and interiors attract thousands of visitors each year, is not in as good nick as it appears to be. “The building looks lovely but it’s hiding a guilty secret,” says Ware. Its aged infrastructure also manifests in other ways: there are frequent fire alarms, the ceiling has netting in many places to guard against “the risk of falling objects”, and MP offices are freezing during winter, as many of the bronze windows fail to shut and open properly. The main problem, however, lies within the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing or “MEP system” and the prevalence of asbestos, which, though not life-threatening, does pose a hazard during repair or restoration work.

Patch-up work has been on for many decades — carried out immediately when absolutely needed or whenever the Houses are not in session — but it has proved to be a bit of a hotchpotch. The basement bears the scars; and this is precisely where Ware takes Parliamentarians and decision-makers on tours, to give them an idea of the extent of work needed. “They’re often very surprised — it’s extraordinary how under such a fine building there’s such a mess, a tangle of antiquated machinery and cables in confined spaces, and very suboptimal conditions: steam near fire safety systems and electrical cables,” says Ware.

That this deal-with-as-you-go-along approach will no longer suffice has been apparent for a while now, and in July last year, a joint parliamentary committee was set up to examine what was needed to be done and review the findings of independent analysis conducted by Deloitte and others. This September, the parliamentarians concluded that there was an “impending crisis” that couldn’t be ignored. “It is impossible to say when this will happen, but there is a substantial and growing risk of either a single catastrophic event, such as a major fire, or a succession of incremental failures in essential systems which would lead to Parliament no longer being able to occupy the Palace,” concluded the report.

Ship out, shape up

An inability to occupy Parliament in the long term would deal a devastating blow in a country where, in modern history at least, parliamentarians have only decamped under extremely hostile conditions. After the Fire of London in 1834, the only time that neither Houses sat in their chambers was after a particularly heavy bombing raid in 1941, which destroyed the House of Commons chamber. For much of the rest of World War II, and despite the threat to the city and the Houses, the Commons sat in the House of Lords, while the Lords moved to the ceremonial Robing Room.

Still, this history makes the move something of a wrench for the parliamentarians. The Deloitte committee clearly concluded that the only feasible and cost-effective way would be to move out for the five to eight years it would take to complete the work. They considered two other options — moving the Houses out one at a time, and doing the work gradually over time by delaying the date on which the parliamentarians returned after summer break. Neither proved feasible, threatening to raise costs and time (if both Houses remained, it would take a whopping 32 years to complete the work). Even at its most cost-efficient, the project will involve £3.5-3.8 billion.

Stick to a plan

Whether the parliamentarians agree remains to be seen. None apart from the Scottish National Party has questioned the move, though the high cost at a time of national austerity will weigh on their minds. Debates and votes for the go-ahead in both Houses are expected before the end of the year, with a nod seen as most likely, albeit with strong conditions attached. “People are saying we wouldn’t have chosen to take on a huge construction project, but if we have to do it, let’s make it a good one,” says Ware.

If approved, the extraordinary challenge will be one of restoring and transforming the UNESCO World Heritage Site into a 21st-century workspace, while at the same time creating the temporary space for two fully functioning Houses. While many of the 650 MPs and 300 Lords have offices outside the main palace, the debating chambers and other official activities have been confined to the palace. To give a sense of the scale of the project: the Parliament has over 1,100 rooms, 4,000 windows, about 7 km of pipework and 402 km of cabling. “We have to replace the entire life-support system for the Houses,” says Ware. “It will feel and look totally different.”

The ongoing restoration programmes of the Austrian and Canadian parliaments will provide a kind of template, but the British Parliament will largely be looking to the 2012 Olympics, whose execution by the Olympic Delivery Authority was widely hailed as a new gold standard for game delivery. The arms-length Olympic Delivery Authority not only ensured timely work but also fulfilled other goals, such as the inclusion of small local businesses in the supply chain, and equipped the electricians, engineers and other workers with new skills. And, crucially, sticking to plan (by contrast, one of the reasons the construction of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh was beset by delays and cost increases was the changes to plans along the way). “The delivery authority will have to be given a very clear remit and left to get on with it,” says Ware.

The old and the new

Ahead of that, much is up for debate when it comes to “rethinking the palace”, as Ware puts it. “A big question is how much we’d be willing to compromise the original design to meet very real 21st-century requirements,” he says, pointing to how the renovation could not just make the Houses more wheelchair-accessible but also ensure that wheelchair users (particularly relevant to the House of Lords) have equal access to the Houses and their facilities.

“What is the balance between modernity and conservation?”

The question may not be as difficult or controversial as it likely appears. “Some features of the original design are very significant because they were part of the artistry of the 19th century and how the Victorians thought about Parliament, but there is a lot in the building that has been knocked about and not used for its original purpose.” Many of the beautiful courtyards are currently marred by delivery vans and rubbish disposal systems, something that the renovation could take underground. Reclaimed, such courtyards could be used as spaces for the public to meet with politicians. (The British Museum has created an amazingly atmospheric public space within its walls by covering over a former courtyard.)

Though 21st-century technology will aid the programme, one of the challenges will be to rediscover many of the 19th-century skills that have been lost over the years. It took much trial-and-error for Parliament’s specialist supplier to master the technique for handcrafted “encaustic tiles”. A separate project at the University of Kent is looking into whether the Victorian system of natural ventilation (they used chimneys that were cleverly designed as gothic towers) could be updated and incorporated into contemporary design.

While much remains uncertain, Ware is clear about one thing: the transformation of this iconic site will be in keeping with its history and one that will hopefully set a gold standard for restoration projects of actively used historic buildings across the world.

“Nobody wants to transform this into a soulless modern building. People love the Palace’s sense of history and the beauty of the original design. No one is going to do anything to damage that,” says Ware.