New Zealand Parliament Buildings
From Open Encyclopedia
Image:SIF-Parliament-and-Beehive-2-Cropped.jpg New Zealand Parliament Buildings are situated on a 45,000 square metre site in and around the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington. They consist of Parliament House, the Executive Wing, the Parliamentary Library, Bowen House, and the old Government Buildings.
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Parliament House
The main building of the complex is Parliament House. It was built in 1912 following the destruction of the earlier wooden Parliament House by fire in 1907. Only the northern two-thirds of the building was completed - plans for a southern wing were abandoned in 1922.
The building contains the Debating Chamber, Speaker's Office, Visitors' Centre, and committee rooms.
The Beehive
- Main article: Beehive (building)
The Executive Wing's shape has given it the nickname of "The Beehive". The Beehive sits where the southern wing of Parliament House was planned to go. This distinctive building was designed by British architect Sir Basil Spence in 1964, and completed in 1981.
The building is ten storeys (72 metres) high. The top floor is occupied by the Cabinet offices, with the Prime Minister's offices on the floor immediately below. Other floors contain the offices of individual cabinet ministers, and various function rooms.
The Parliamentary Library
Completed in 1899, this is the oldest of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings.
Bowen House
A multi-storey office building next to the Beehive, Bowen House houses MPs' offices and support staff. It is connected to the rest of the parliamentary complex by a tunnel under Bowen Street.
Government Buildings
Built in 1876, old Government Buildings sit opposite Parliament House. The four-storey building is the second-largest wooden building in the world, and the largest in the southern hemisphere. No longer used by New Zealand's Parliament, it now houses Victoria University of Wellington's Law School as part of the University's Pipitea campus.
