Lendlease was appointed to build AHMM鈥檚 scheme last year
Parliament has today released images of AHMM鈥檚 鈥渢emporary鈥� chamber that MPs will use while the Palace of Westminster undergoes its long-planned refurbishment, led by BDP.
Controversially, House of Commons business will relocate to a redeveloped Richmond House, on Whitehall, while the House of Lords will sit at the QEII Centre.
Lendlease was appointed to carry out the job last May.
Architectural heritage campaigners object to the destruction of all but the fa莽ade of grade II-listed Richmond House, the 1987 former Department of Health headquarters. Michael Hopkins and Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage published an alternative proposal for the temporary adaptation of Portcullis House.
AHMM鈥檚 proposals will essentially create a new building with a triple height central lobby space that reveals the inside of the retained fa莽ade.
Founding partner Paul Monaghan said the practice鈥檚 design approach for Richmond House 鈥渞eflected the best qualities of the existing buildings on the site鈥� to create a confident, contemporary new place for parliament which 鈥渒nits together鈥� existing elements with new structures.
鈥淲hilst the new building is being designed to provide space for the specific purpose of the temporary House of Commons chamber and offices for MPs and their staff, its longer-term use has been carefully considered to remain as flexible as possible to offer a range of future legacy uses,鈥� he said.
Long considered at risk of a serious fire, the grade I-listed Palace of Westminster 鈥� itself a Unesco World Heritage Site 鈥� will still be in in use until the mid-2020s under the current refurbishment timetable. The cost of the work is projected to be a minimum of 拢3.5bn at 2014 prices.
Meg Hillier, who chairs parliament鈥檚 Public Accounts Committee told BBC Radio 4鈥檚 Today programme that the full cost of the work could not begin to be known until the buildings had been vacated and a full assessment of what was required had been made.
鈥漈here are lots of unknown things in the building, lots of asbestos, there are layers of services鈥� you have steam pipes next to electrical pipes鈥� wires that you wouldn鈥檛 cut because you don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e attached to,鈥� she said.
Earlier this year, Liz Peace 鈥� who chairs the shadow sponsor board of the restoration and renewal project 鈥� said work would start 鈥渂y the mid-2020s and last between six and seven years鈥�.
Shoreditch MP Hillier suggested a longer timescale on the Today programme. 鈥滶ight years, ten years, it鈥檚 very difficult to be absolutely sure,鈥� she said.
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Richmond House is part of the high-profile contract to upgrade a number of buildings set to contain MPs鈥� offices in Westminster, known as the Northern Estate Programme. BDP is the lead architect on the Northern programme as well as on the Palace of Westminster. Parliament鈥檚 latest cost estimate for the programme is 拢600m-拢800m, half of which is expected to relate to Richmond House.
The Northern Estate scheme includes the grade-I listed Norman Shaw North and grade-II listed Norman Shaw South buildings 鈥� both over 100 years old 鈥� and 1 Derby Gate and 1 Parliament Street 鈥� two grade II-listed buildings from the 1880s. Together around 15,300sq m of office space will be refurbished.
Most of the buildings have not been refurbished in more than 40 years and so essential works are now needed to improve fire safety, building performance and M&E services.
The proposals unveiled today are out to consultation until 28 June.
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