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Design Your Own Parliament Key Stage 3: Extension Design Your Own Parliament Materials • Flip chart paper • Markers • Internet access • Optional – Minecraft or Minecraft Education Edition Outline This creative activity will help the pupils understand the role of a parliament. Divide your class into small groups and challenge the pupils to design a parliament building fit for the modern age. Encourage the pupils to read the technical specification and overview of functions (below) before working in a team to sketch their ideas. You could subdivide the teams, with some pupils focusing on the exterior and others concentrating on the internal features. As an alternative to paper, you could ask the pupils to use an app such as Minecraft or Minecraft Education Edition to design their buildings in a three-dimensional form. Pupil Challenge Tell the pupils that Parliament Buildings, Stormont was designed and built in the 1930s in a neoclassical architectural style. Ask them: If you were to design a brand new building to house the Northern Ireland Assembly, what would it look like? Encourage the pupils to consider: • size • location • function • the number of people it would need to cater for • transport links • sustainability, including renewable energy • the symbolism of the architecture Ask each group to consider the technical specification below before designing their buildings and presenting their ideas to the class. ©The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland / CCEA 1 Key Stage 3: Extension Design Your Own Parliament The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are both housed in modern buildings located in city centres. Some background information is provided below. Display the images of the real buildings on your classroom screen and draw comparison between their features and the ideas the pupils generated. Technical Specification The building must: • have a debating chamber which holds 90 MLAs; • have a public gallery in the Assembly Chamber; • have several smaller meeting rooms for committees; • have public galleries in the committee rooms; • have office space for 250 staff members; • be accessible to all; • cater for the media – journalists, TV crews; and • be open to the public. Also consider the outside space, including parking, transport links and landscape architecture. Overview of Northern Ireland Assembly functions To design a building, it is important to understand its function. The Northern Ireland Assembly, made up of Members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs, has three main functions: 1. Making Laws The Northern Ireland Assembly is the legislature for Northern Ireland. This means it has the power to make laws, or legislate, on local issues. These include health, education, policing, agriculture, environment, roads and public transport. Proposals for laws are called bills. They are debated in the Assembly Chamber. 2. Representing Constituents MLAs represent the people in their constituency. They put forward their constituents’ views on legislation being considered by the Assembly and ask Ministers questions on behalf of constituents. They also propose motions for debate on issues that affect their constituents. This happens in the Assembly Chamber and in smaller meetings called committees. 3. Scrutinising the Executive Committee The Executive Committee is the Northern Ireland Government. It is made up of Ministers, including the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, who lead Government Departments. The Assembly must check the work of ministers and departments to ensure that they are doing a good job. This role is known as scrutiny. As the elected body, the Assembly holds the Executive to account on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland. The MLAs carry out this scrutiny role through their work in the Assembly Chamber and in committees. ©The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland / CCEA 2 Key Stage 3: Extension Design Your Own Parliament Example of a modern parliament building design: Senedd, Cardiff, Wales The home of the Welsh Parliament is called the Senedd and is an example of a modern parliament building. Overlooking Cardiff Bay and the Bristol Channel, its design represents open and transparent government. The location, on the site of former dockland, was intended to stimulate regeneration and embodies changing land use in the area. The Senedd was designed to be an inviting public space that accommodates the Welsh Parliament. The debating chamber is a circular room in the heart of the building. The striking sculpted roof, inspired by nature, folds and turns in on itself. The Senedd also has exhibition and education spaces, a café, committee and meeting rooms, press facilities, offices for the principal officers of the parliament and a members’ lounge. The building was designed with sustainability in mind, using an innovative ventilation and air conditioning system. Rainwater, collected from the roof, is used to flush the toilets and geothermal energy heats the building. The design achieves significant energy savings compared to traditional buildings. Scotland Scotland’s Parliament sits at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. The building is constructed from a mixture of steel, oak and granite. The complex building was hailed on opening as one of the most innovative designs in Britain today. You can find out more about it here. Encourage the class to research other parliament buildings for inspiration. ©The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland / CCEA 3.
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