Portcullis House
Portcullis House is a building in the City of Westminster , London , which houses the offices of the House of Commons . It used to be difficult to find offices in the neighboring Palace of Westminster and other buildings nearby, so in 1992 Parliament decided to build Portcullis House.
The building is on Bridge Street between Parliament Square and Westminster Bridge , very close to the River Thames . The architects, Michael Hopkins & Partners, published their design in 1993 , and the existing buildings were demolished in 1994 . At the same time, London Underground built an extension of the Jubilee Line , which made it necessary to completely rebuild the Westminster underground station below . For this reason, both projects were carried out together, part of the station serves as the foundation of the Portcullis House.
The facade and the roof with the chimneys are reminiscent of the neo-Gothic style of the Palace of Westminster. The chimneys do not emit smoke, but are part of a sophisticated air conditioning system, which, following the example of the Eastgate Center , does not require any additional energy and uses natural convection . The walls and roof were clad with aluminum bronze .
Portcullis House is after the portcullis ( Engl. Portcullis ) named, formerly displayed on the letterhead and all Parliament's official documents. The building only offers space for a third of all MPs. Further offices are located in the neighboring Norman Shaw Building (until 1967 the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police ), on Parliament Street, on Millbank Street and occasionally in the Palace of Westminster.
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Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 4.7 " N , 0 ° 7 ′ 29.6" W.