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Friday 26 December 2014

Knowle relocation project: 'badly rundown' late nineteenth century building will mean 'partial relocation'

It might seem ridiculous to compare the former Knowle Hotel and the Palace of Westminster
... but it just so happens that the consultants to the District Council on its Knowle relocation project
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: 'Developers looking to get the most out of their stock in difficult economic conditions are increasingly turning to refurbishment rather than redevelopment. Davis Langdon look at the cost implications'

... are also acting as consultants to HM Govt on its Westminster Palace project:

Architects to report on Parliament move next summer


HOK and Aecom working up plans for the restoration work
Aecom, Deloitte and HOK will publish their recommendations for the restoration of the Houses of Parliament next summer.
The three were appointed last December to draw up options for restoring the Houses of Parliament, which could involve the temporary or partial relocation of MPs and peers for a minimum of five years during the works.
The consortium has said it has been reappointed to complete their appraisal and it expects Parliament to assess its recommendations from next summer, with a decision taken on what to do by spring 2016.
The cost of restoring the badly rundown Palace of Westminster could be more than £3 billion, with major issues to be tackled including crumbling facades, large quantities of asbestos, leaking pipes and miles of outdated wiring and cables.
The 1870-built Gothic-style building took 32 years to build and was plagued by problems during construction.
Deloitte, Aecom and HOK will be retained through to spring 2016 and will work on detailed designs once their report is published in the summer.
These studies are beginning now so Parliament is ready to commission design work once a decision has been made, with a potential 2020 or 2021 start date for works.
Architects to report on Parliament move next summer | News | Building Design

There are clearly several interesting parallel issues...

REFURBISHMENT COSTS - VS RELOCATION COSTS:

Considering this late nineteenth century building is so 'badly run-down', perhaps parliament might consider relocating: after all, £3bn is rather a lot. 
We could compare this to the cost of a spanking new parliament at Strasbourg, which over a decade ago cost only £400m to build:
BBC News | Europe | New EU building spares no expense

CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION:

However, due to reorganisation in government, the Strasbourg building is now surplus to requirements:
European Parliament to scrap Strasbourg HQ and make Brussels sole seat | Daily Mail Online

RELOCATING TO THE CENTRE:

Whilst London/the South-East might be the centre of the UK demographically
Population of the countries of the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
... perhaps a small field in Shropshire would be the ideal spot for parliament to relocate to:
BBC News - Shropshire village could become centre of UK

AECOM/DAVIS LANGDON:

Aecom is now the world's largest architectural consultancy
WA100 2015: The big list | Features | Building Design
... as well as a “one stop shop for construction”:
Poacher, gamekeeper or shoot owner? | East Devon Alliance
Davis Langdon is part of the Aecom conglomerate: 
Goodbye Davis Langdon: Aecom to scrap historic brand | Magazine News | Building
... and is consultant to the District Council:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: latest news on the FOI tribunal
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