Houses of Parliament, London, 1835

London has been the seat of British parliament since time immemorial. The old buildings were grouped around St. Stephens Chapel, which had been the seat of the House of Commons since 1547.

William Kent (English architect, ) Christopher Wren (English architect and mathematician, )

John Soane (English architect, ) Sir John Soane was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy and an official architect to the Office of Works. He received a knighthood in 1831.

In 1834 a fire broke out which destroyed much of the old palace William Lamb (2nd Viscount Melbourne )

Charles Hanbury Tracy (Aristocrat, politician ) Thomas Lidell ( ) Competition announced

Parliament itself should have been Gothic or Elizabethan. The Gothic style was characteristic of the glorious early years of parliament. Moreover, Gothic was seen as a typical British style, which was quite appropriate for a British national symbol. Until the early nineteenth century, Gothic had been more or less a prerogative of the elite. This changed in 1818, when the Church Building Commission decided that Gothic was the most appropriate style for religious buildings.

Problems and solutions Firstly, Westminster Hall, which had survived the fire, was to form part of the complex. Westminster Hall

Problems and solutions Secondly,what remained of St. Stephens: should it be rebuilt and incorporated, or torn down?

Another problem was the characteristically elongated shape of the building site. The facade along the Thames would measure no less than three hundred metres. This brought with it problems of internal circulation, the accessibility of the different quarters and the convenience of the floor plan.

David Hamilton (Scottish architect, ) The jury had roughly two categories of designs to judge. The more uniform designs, with a symmetrical Classicist floor plan, and designs of a varied structure, which were asymmetrical with an irregular floor plan. Entries of the first category included the designs by J.C. Buckler ( ) and David Hamilton ( ) who were awarded second and third prize respectively. Buckler had chosen the Tudor style and Hamilton was one of the few who had chosen Elizabethan. Hamiltons floor plan would later serve as an example for Barry, after he had won the competition.

Barrys winning design had one long, uninterrupted, regular facade along the Thames. The libraries and halls of assembly were situated behind this facade. The design followed the slanting lines between Westminster Hall and St. Stephens, causing a wedge-shaped floor plan to develop. Barry later straightened out the wedge shape with the aid of Hamiltons design. The House of Lords and the House of Commons opened out into a central hall which, in turn, was connected to St. Stephens. The resulting design was far more balanced than Barrys earlier design. Barry and Pugin

Augustus Pugin (English architect, designer, artist, and critic, ) Charles Barry (English architect, )