Ex-peer says government should ātake cueā from grand projects of 19th century
Norman Foster has called on the government to launch an architectural competition to design a new House of Lords complex if ministers pursue proposals to relocate parliamentās upper chamber.
His proposals came in response to at the weekend that permanently moving peers to York or Birmingham was āone of a range of optionsā under consideration to āreconnectā politics with voters outside of the capital.
Foster, who sat in the Lords as Lord Foster of Thames Bank between 1999 and 2010 when he , used a letter to The Times to argue that if peers were relocated to a new home that base should properly reflect the nationās vision of the future.
āIf the House of Lords is to be relocated north, we must use the power of architecture to express our political and economic ambitions,ā he said.
āWe should take our cue from the 19th century, which understood how great buildings could demonstrate confidence in our future.ā
Foster, who is president of the Royal Fine Art Commission, pointed to the reconstruction of parliament following the fire of 1834.
āBritain applied its finest minds to creating a replacement,ā he said.
āThe process, overseen by Prince Albert as chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission, gave us the magnificent Palace of Westminster.
āBut the north, too, expressed its economic might through its buildings. St Georgeās Hall in Liverpool and Manchester Town Hall represent some of the finest civic architecture ever built in Britain.
āIf we are to build a new House of Lords, we must set our sights every bit as high and produce work that represents the very best that our age can offer.ā
He concluded: āAn architectural competition, backed by a clear brief, would be the place to start.ā
Prince Andrew was patron of the Royal Fine Art Commission for six months last year, until controversy surrounding his friendship with millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from his public roles.
Prince Albert was his great, great, great grandfather.
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