Houses of Parliament London building restoration, UK capital city renewal contracts news, BDP refurb

Palace of Westminster London Restoration

Palace of Westminster Refurbishment: Neo-Gothic Building Restoration, UK – Winning Architects

post updated 24 October 2024

Russ MacMillan was announced this week as the new Chief Executive of the Delivery Authority, which helps design and deliver the Restoration and Renewal Programme for the Palace of Westminster restoration and related works on behalf of both Houses of Parliament.

Russ MacMillan:

photo courtesy of the Delivery Authority

Houses of Parliament Restoration Appointment

Russ MacMillan Appointed to Lead Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority

He will lead the team of architects, engineers, project managers and specialist contractors who will help shape the future direction of the restoration work for the Houses of Parliament.

Russ has a successful track record leading major programmes in the defence, transport and early-stage technology sectors. Russ is currently Director for Rail Infrastructure North and West at the Department for Transport where he is responsible for a £20bn portfolio of capital investment across Wales and the North and West of England. Russ has many years of experience across a range of product related, commercial, and business transformation programmes in both the public and private sectors.

The appointment was made by the Delivery Authority Chair Mike Brown CBE MVO after a competitive recruitment process.

Mike Brown CBE MVO, Chair of the Delivery Authority, said: “Following a competitive recruitment process I am delighted that Russ will be joining the Delivery Authority as our new Chief Executive.

“As we move into the next year, the Delivery Authority has important work to deliver. We will continue to work closely with Parliament to further develop two of the three options outlined in the Strategic Case for the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Programme.

“Our focus is also on progressing plans for early works to ensure that the benefits from R&R can be delivered as quickly as possible, and continuing building surveys and investigations to increase further our understanding of the Palace.

“Russ brings a wealth of experience in managing major programmes and will ensure the Delivery Authority continues to build on the progress made so far.”

The Clerk of the House of Commons Tom Goldsmith, and Clerk of the Parliaments Simon Burton, who are members of the R&R Client Board and Programme Board, said: “We are delighted that Russ is bringing his many years of experience to this important role as we move towards costed proposals for R&R coming to both Houses next year for a decision.”

Russ MacMillan, said of his appointment: “I am delighted to be joining the Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority at such a crucial time as it further develops two of the three proposals for restoration of the Palace in a way which will benefit the whole of the UK.

“I am excited to be working with talented colleagues from across the Delivery Authority and Parliament to build on their significant progress and to support decision making on how best to renew this unique and internationally recognised building.”

Tanya Coff, Chief Financial Officer, is acting as interim CEO until Russ takes up the post in mid-February 2025. She has been leading the Delivery Authority since the departure of previous CEO David Goldstone CBE in August 2024.

The Delivery Authority is developing two options to deliver the Palace of Westminster restoration – a full decant option and a continued presence option – and Parliament’s Strategic Estates team are developing a third option – Enhanced Maintenance and Improvement – to deliver the works through the R&R Programme.

Option 1: Full decant – Both Houses leave the Palace and relocate nearby on a temporary basis while the majority of the works are completed.

Option 2: Continued presence – A continued presence of the House of Commons Chamber and essential support functions in the Palace throughout the works. Temporary relocation of the House of Lords and other House of Commons functions.

Option 3: Enhanced maintenance and improvement – Enhanced maintenance and improvement of the Palace delivered as part of a rolling, sequenced, programme of works. Some relocation will be required depending on the work.

Costed proposals for the three options are expected to be ready for presentation to both Houses of Parliament before the end of 2025.

Previously on e-architect:

10 June 2022

Palace of Westminster Building Survey News

Palace of Westminster Building Survey

22 May 2021

Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Programme News

Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal

post updated 26 Mar 2021

Houses of Parliament Restoration Programme

Palace of Westminster Detailed Record

Parliament restoration programme launches nationwide invitation for specialist surveyors to help develop most detailed record of the Palace of Westminster ever created.

• Intrusive surveys on Victorian building services, archaeology, stonework and more
• Restoration programme will support thousands of jobs and apprenticeships across UK, including through apprentice loan scheme to support small and medium businesses

Specialists from across the UK are being invited to play a part in the first stage of the vital and complex restoration of the Palace of Westminster.

The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Programme has today launched a procurement drive to invite expressions of interest from specialist surveyors, including small and medium sized businesses across the UK, to carry out dozens of on-site surveys in the Palace of Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster building viewed across the River Thames from the south:

photograph © UK Parliament

More than 100 surveys are being carried out during the first stage of the restoration project to develop the most detailed record of the Palace of Westminster ever created.

The survey analysis will map out the condition of all the complex mechanical and engineering systems including the Victorian heating and cooling system.

Expert surveyors will also look at the miles of gas and electric pipes that often run directly alongside one another in the basement, and in thousands of spaces in floors, walls and risers that were originally designed as part of the Victorian ventilation system. Many of the systems reached the end of their expected life decades ago and urgently need replacing.

Other surveys will focus on archaeology and the structure of the building and investigators will also look at fire safety, the condition of windows, walls, floors and stonework, and heat loss from the building.

Restoring the building will create thousands of jobs across the UK, including through an industry-leading apprentice loan scheme that will see around 160 apprentices, including engineers, designers, stonemasons, and carpenters, employed by the organisations overseeing and delivering the restoration of the Palace of Westminster and loaned to UK businesses working on the restoration.

photograph © Nick Weall

David Goldstone, CEO of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority said:

“Our experts are carrying out more than 100 surveys to develop the most detailed record of Parliament ever created, as we get on with the job of preparing the detailed and costed plan that will for the first time give a true sense of the costs and timescales of restoring the Palace of Westminster.”

The in-depth surveys are a key part of developing a detailed and costed restoration plan that will for the first time give an accurate sense of the costs and timescales for restoring the Palace, as well as designs for a restored Parliament. Most of these surveys will be procured through the intrusive surveys framework contracts.

The surveys involve specialists spending thousands of hours studying and analysing the building to better understand the full scale of work that needs to be done. The Palace of Westminster is falling apart faster than it can be fixed and urgently needs extensive work to protect it for future generations.

Surveys are expected to begin later this year and every supplier will go through the same rigorous security checks as existing Parliamentary contractors and suppliers.

In total, there are eight categories where suppliers are being invited to apply to be part of an Intrusive Surveys Supplier Framework, making the final procurement of dozens of individual surveys much quicker.

picture © Nick Weall

Palace of Westminster Intrusive Surveys Supplier Framework

The categories are:

• Civil Engineering / Structural
• Ground Investigations & Geotechnical
• Instrumentation & Monitoring
• Environmental
• Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health
• Archaeology
• Asbestos Removal
• Conservation Contractor

The framework is for up to £80m of survey contracts over the next four years, with around £10m of contracts expected to be procured in the first year. A range of other surveys are already being carried out through existing frameworks. Findings from surveys will be used as the restoration team develops a detailed and costed plan for restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

In line with best practice and guidance from the National Audit Office and Infrastructure Projects Authority, this detailed and costed restoration and renewal plan will explore options based on extensive investigations, surveys and analysis with a strong focus on a ‘do essential’ option.

As the programme develops the detailed and costed restoration and renewal plan, it will also continue working closely with Parliament to determine all the functions that the building needs to have in future, as well as what needs to be done to improve the building. With 3000 people working in and visiting the 150-year-old building every day, there are a huge number of requirements to take into account as the programme plans the restoration of one of the most recognised buildings in the world.

The detailed and costed restoration plan will be considered by Parliament, and work on the Palace itself is due to start in the mid-2020s, as previously expected.

Westminster Hall Steps:

photograph © UK Parliament

Background

The contract framework notice is published here: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006188-2021?

Governance

The organisations which will lead the UK’s biggest heritage renovation project, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, were launched in April 2020 as independent bodies, separate from, but accountable to, Parliament. The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body has been set up to tackle the work needed to protect the Palace, ensuring it can continue to serve as the home of the UK Parliament in the 21st century and beyond.

The Sponsor Body will set the scope, budget and timescale for the project in response to the requirements of Parliament. It oversees the Delivery Authority, which will be responsible for developing and delivering the work to the Sponsor Body’s specifications, and which is responsible for this surveys procurement.

6 Dec 2017

Houses of Parliament Renewal Debate

Discussion about Palace of Westminster

Discussion about how to ensure safe and secure future of Palace of Westminster

The exclusion of historians and archaeologists from the Westminster Hall repair project does not bode well for the rest of the Palace of Westminster, reports The Guardian.

Charlotte Higgins has nailed the dilemma of the Palace of Westminster (The Houses of Parliament are falling down, 2 December). Politicians are the last people who should be managing such a complex and precious estate on their own, says Mike Pitts, Editor, British Archaeology. Those who oversaw Augustus Pugin and Charles Barry, as they struggled to build the thing in the 19th century, have been described as “probably the worst clients in Britain”, and their successors have ever since strived to live up to that dictum.

But the palace is nonetheless valuable, as a work of art, a symbol and a location with a richer, and more enriching, history than any other in the UK. We should encourage parliament to know that making the building safe, accessible and sustainable, while restoring and respecting its architectural heritage, is a project of international significance that, done well, would display courage and vision and earn the nation’s respect.

The Westminster Hall roof is being fixed, but historians and archaeologists have been excluded from the project, with a baseless argument about cost. Without archaeologists on board, one of the great wonders of the medieval world – and the greatest treasure in this world heritage site – is at risk of compromise.

photo courtesy of architects Foster + Partners

Website: Houses of Parliament Renewal Debate

14 Jan 2021

Westminster Hall Restoration

Renovations: Perfect Circle and SCAPE

image courtesy of architects practice
Westminster Hall Restoration

22 Jul 2017

Houses of Parliament Renewal Contracts

UK Parliament Renewal Contracts awarded to help ensure safe and secure future of Palace of Westminster

British architectural firm BDP win the architectural contract for the Palace of Westminster London Restoration.

In December 2015 the following four major international architects firms were shortlisted:

Allies and Morrison
BDP
Foster + Partners
HOK

CH2M win for Lot 2.

The shortlist:

• Aecom & Mace (Joint Venture)
• Capita Property Infrastructure & Gleeds Cost Management (Joint Venture)
• CH2M Hill
• EC Harris (ARCADIS)
• Turner & Townsend

BDP and CH2M have been selected to take forward vital work that needs to be done to protect the heritage of the Palace of Westminster from the substantial and growing risk of failure of its essential services. This follows a procurement process run by Parliament, and will help ensure the continued running of a safe, secure and viable home for the UK Parliament.

The Palace of Westminster is a Grade I listed building, and, with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s Church, is part of the UNESCO Westminster World Heritage site.

Since its construction in the mid-1800s, many features and systems in the Palace have never undergone a major renovation, and the heating, ventilation, water, drainage and electrical systems are extremely antiquated. In awarding these contracts, Parliament can take forward the crucial work required to safeguard the Palace and keep Parliament running.

An urgent programme of mechanical and electrical (M&E) repair work which began in 2009 only protects the Palace until 2020 and only addresses those systems at highest risk of failure. These contracts will provide for a new round of medium-term M&E work, to ensure that the Palace remains safe and habitable beyond 2020.

The work will also include detailed exploration of the condition of the building, a building-wide security strategy, planning for a major programme of asbestos removal, and fire safety improvements. Parliament expects to spend around £12 million under these two contracts over the rest of this financial year.

The successful bidders, both of which submitted the best value for money bids, with highest overall score combining quality and price, are:

BDP for Lot 1 – Architectural and building design services.

CH2M for Lot 2 – Programme, project and cost management services.

Photos © UK Parliament unless stated otherwise

This preliminary work does not affect decisions on which option the two Houses may want to consider in any future debates on a way forward for a Restoration and Renewal Programme for the Palace of Westminster, but will lay the groundwork for a longer-term strategy that will protect the heritage of the building and ensure it can continue to serve as home to the UK Parliament in the 21st century. Work that companies may be asked to carry out at this early stage will be option neutral, that is, will be required whichever delivery option Members of both Houses may choose.

photo from architects

This next, detailed preparatory stage will ensure Parliament is ready to commission design work once Members of both Houses have made a decision in principle and will ensure that taxpayers, as well as Government and Parliament, can be confident that the final proposal is the most cost-effective, and ensures value for money for taxpayers. Before the final go-ahead for the chosen option is given, a detailed design brief, business case and budget will be developed for Parliament’s approval.

photo from architects

Brian Finnimore, Managing Director of Parliament’s Strategic Estates team, said: “We are delighted to be making these contract announcements today, as an important step towards our goal of preserving the Palace of Westminster for future generations. We look forward to working with BDP and CH2M to ensure the Palace remains safe and secure for the more than a million people, including 100,000 schoolchildren, who visit Parliament each year.”

Westminster Hall London building interior, oldest part of the Parliamentary Estate:

“We welcome BDP and CH2M on board, and the expertise they will bring in architectural and engineering design and in delivering projects. We have seen from other major public projects that effort put into early planning is rewarded later with financial savings, so this appointment now will help put value for money for the taxpayer at the heart of this essential work.”

Tim Leach, Architect Director at BDP, said: “It’s an enormous privilege for the practice to be entrusted with helping to safeguard the Palace of Westminster, this international symbol of democracy and our society’s shared values. This new programme of work presents the unique and very special challenge of responding to the needs of Parliament and its visitors, and conserving its historic fabric for this and all future generations.”

Jonathan Baker, Managing Director of the National Governments client sector at CH2M said: “We are delighted to have been named as the provider of programme, project and cost services for this important work. CH2M has a strong record of delivering solutions for complex and challenging programmes and we are honoured to be working in collaboration with the Restoration and Renewal Team to help preserve and enhance the use of the Palace for future generations.”

The building is both a symbol for the United Kingdom and of democracy throughout the world.

Transforming the magnificent 19th century architecture into a functioning 21st century parliament building within a UNESCO heritage site will be a major challenge. Architects BDP, formerly known as Building Design Partnership, started in Preston, Lancashire, and retains a large office in the area, in Manchester. It is a major British architecture firm with work across the world.

Previously on e-architect:

9 Sep 2016

Houses of Parliament Renewal

Palace of Westminster Building Restoration Update

Prime Minister Theresa May backs moving MPs out of the Houses of Parliament for at least 6 years. It will be the first time MPs have moved out since the Blitz.

MPs would relocate to the Department of Health while the House of Lords would decamp to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster.

Palace of Westminster London Renewal

Palace of Westminster Building Renewal Details

The Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster concluded in a report that the Palace of Westminster ‘faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore’.

source: Houses of Parliament Restoration

Temporary UK Parliament on the River Thames

picture © Project Posiedon
Houses of Parliament on the River Thames in London – 3 Oct 2016

17 Dec 2013

Houses of Parliament Restoration & Renewal

Deloitte Real Estate and AECOM with HOK to support the Palace of Westminster’s Restoration and Renewal programme

The House of Commons and House of Lords announced Deloitte Real Estate, AECOM and HOK as the team appointed to undertake an Independent Options Appraisal as part of the ‘Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme’.

Built: 1840-68
Architects: Barry + Pugin

Large Victorian Gothic Building

Palace of Westminster London

Houses of Parliament Building Restoration

Location: Parliament Square, London, SW1, England, UK

Architecture in London

London Architecture Links – chronological list

Whitehall Buildings

Another building by one of the Houses of Parliament Architects – Pugin : Hub Edinburgh

Big Ben Photographs [2007] taken with Panasonic DMC-FX01 lumix camera;
Leica lense: 2816×2112 pixels – original photos available upon request: info(at)e-architect.com