Portal:Architecture/Selected article
The Senedd (Senate or Parliament), also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The 5,308 square metres (57,100 sq ft) building was opened in 2006. The Senedd is part of the National Assembly estate that includes Tŷ Hywel and the Pierhead Building.
After two selection processes, the decision was taken that the debating chamber would be on a new site, at Capital Waterside in Cardiff Bay. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers won an international architectural design competition, managed by RIBA Competitions, to design the building. It was designed to be sustainable with use of renewable technologies and be energy efficient. The building was awarded an "Excellent" certification by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the highest ever awarded in Wales, and was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize.
The Senedd was constructed in two phases, the first in 2001 and the second from August 2003 until it was handed over to the National Assembly in February 2006. (more…)