Senedd building

(left) and the Senedd building (right) facing Cardiff Bay The Senedd building is in the former Cardiff Docks, about south of Cardiff Castle. Cardiff Docks had been the largest coal-exporting port in the world, but by the 1980s with the decline of the south Wales coalfield, the area had gradually become derelict. By the 1990s the area was being transformed with the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage and was renamed Cardiff Bay. The building faces southwest over Cardiff Bay, it has a glass façade around the entire building and is dominated by a steel roof and wood ceiling. It has three floors; the first and second floors are accessible to the public and the ground floor is a private area for officials. The building was designed to be as open and accessible as possible, the architects, the Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP) said "The building was not to be an insular, closed edifice. Rather it would be a transparent envelope, looking outwards to Cardiff Bay and beyond, making visible the inner workings of the Assembly and encouraging public participation in the democratic process." The main area in the building is the debating chamber, called the Siambr, including a public viewing gallery. Other areas of the building are the Neuadd, which is the main reception area on the first floor and the Oriel on the second floor. The three committee rooms and the Cwrt are on the ground floor. In total, 36% of all materials and labour costs were spent in Wales, with about 1,000 tonnes of Welsh slate used. The environmental features of the building have allowed energy savings of between 30% and 50% compared to buildings without these features. The features include 27 pipes that were drilled 100m below ground, so that during cold spells, water is pumped through the pipes and heated to 14 °C by geothermal energy. Interior and contents Y Siambr (The Chamber; ) is a debating chamber, which holds all 60 Members of the Senedd (MSs) in a circular configuration under the cowl. The Siambr can be increased to accommodate 80 MSs in the future, by removing temporary walls. On the level above is the public viewing gallery, which looks down on the debating chamber and is separated by security glass. Between April 2025 and March 2026, Y Siambr is undergoing refurbishment to increase its capacity to 96 in order to accommodate the larger number of members that will be returned at the Senedd election. During this time, plenary sessions of the Senedd are held in Siambr Hywel within Tŷ Hywel adjacent to the Senedd building. In front of the Llywydd's desk is the ceremonial mace. Melbourne goldsmith Fortunato Rocca was commissioned by the Parliament of New South Wales in 2002 to design it. The mace took 300 hours to craft and is made from gold, silver and brass. In 2006, it was worth around £10,500 (A$25,000) and was handed over to the National Assembly during the opening ceremony. Members of the public enter the building through Y Neuadd ("The Hall" ). This first floor level houses the public reception and information area. The reception desk features a large slate and glass desk and a canopy. Stairs to the left of the desk lead to the Oriel on the second floor. Yr Oriel ("The Gallery", from ; ) is a public sitting and exhibition area with views down to Y Siambr and committee rooms. The glass flooring, which surrounds a large funnel feature, enables visitors to look down into the Siambr two floors below. The Swan chairs selected for the Neuadd and Oriel areas were from Fritz Hansen, a Danish company, and originally designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958. Y Cwrt ("The Courtyard"; ) is an area on the ground floor with a members' tea room, a media briefing room, and access to the Siambr and committee rooms. It is accessible only to MSs, officials of the Senedd and members of the press. An undulating ceiling made of Canadian-sourced Western Redcedar timber spans across the various sections of the building. It was manufactured and installed by BCL Timber Projects (sub-contracted by Taylor Woodrow). Artwork Four pieces of art were originally commissioned by the National Assembly to be both decorative and functional; they cost £300,000 in total. The Swansea-based artist Alexander Beleschenko designed and created the circular and domed Heart of Wales for the centre of the Siambr. It is wide, made out of blue and gold glass, and lit from beneath. Martin Richman designed and created 270 fabric-covered acoustic absorption panels, which were dyed and painted. American sculptor Danny Lane designed and created the wind hedge, Assembly Field. It has five parallel rows of 32 glass plates and was designed to have the practical use of protecting the public from high winds coming off Cardiff Bay. created The Meeting Place on the Plinth, which is 45 tonnes of slate machine-cut into 39 slate slabs; the slate was from Cwt y Bugail Quarry in north Wales. It is an informal seating area south of the building. Harris said of the work, "I wanted to create a space that was to the side of the building, that related closely to the building but was very inviting for people to use – somewhere quieter that people could sit and spend some time." The Welsh sculptor and blacksmith Angharad Pearce Jones designed and created the Three Maps of Wales () that were unveiled in 2021. They consist of three large steel maps of Wales, the smallest shows the boundaries of the 5 electoral regions of the Senedd, the other the 40 constituencies of the Senedd and the largest being the landscape of Wales and weights and is wide and just over 2 metres high. The largest map of the Welsh landscape is on wheels so it can be displayed in other parts of the building if needed. == Etymology ==

The Welsh word means 'senate' or 'parliament'. The Roman Senate () used the word Senatus in its name, which is derived from the Latin word , meaning 'old man', 'old age', 'elder' or 'council of elders'. == Background and construction ==

First site selection process Under the Laws in Wales Act 1536 Wales was fully incorporated into England and administered as a single sovereign state (the Kingdom of England) with a single legal system (English law). A referendum was held in 1979 to decide whether there was support for a Welsh Assembly among the Welsh electorate. After the 1997 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Government published a white paper in July 1997, called A Voice for Wales; in it, the UK Government proposed that "(the Welsh Assembly) headquarters will be in Cardiff ... (the) setting up (of) the Assembly is likely to cost between £12M and £17M. Additional running costs should be between £15M and £20M a year." On 18 September 1997, Wales voted in favour of a National Assembly for Wales in the Welsh devolution referendum, with 50.30% for and 49.70% against. The Government of Wales Act 1998 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and was granted Royal Assent on 31 July 1998. The study was carried out in June 1997, and it considered 20 sites. In October 1997, both the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council agreed to the District Valuer providing an independent assessment of the market value of Cardiff City Hall and the cost of staff relocating to an equivalent standard of accommodation. On 28 April 1998, Davies announced that the site of the National Assembly building would be Capital Waterside. The agreement covered extending the lease of Crickhowell House, later known as Tŷ Hywel, until 2023, renting the Pierhead Building for 15 years and purchasing Site 1E for £1, which would be where the Senedd building was built. The Design Competition Advisory Panel was made up of seven members and was chaired by Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, the former MP for Cardiff South and Penarth and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The chair and four other members were appointed by Davies and the remaining two members were appointed by the RIBA. The competition was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 13 June 1998. The criteria of the competition were that the building should have a functional specification and a price tag of no more than £12 million including fees. Richard Rogers had previously designed the Lloyd's building in London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris with Renzo Piano. 11 days later, Davies resigned as Secretary of State for Wales. It was planned that the outline design would be completed by June 1999, and the detailed design completed by February 2000. Construction of the building was due to begin in November 2000 and be completed in April 2001. On 22 March, Morgan stopped all work on the project to carry out a complete review. An international competition was held to select the main contractor. It was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Community, and in December 2000 Skanska Ltd was selected as the main contractor. Six months after construction had begun and with only the piling and a temporary road around the site having been completed, Hart announced on 17 July 2001 that the National Assembly had terminated the contract of RRP. She said that despite the termination of the contract, the debating chamber should still be built to RRP's design. RRP said of the project that "From the outset, RRP has advised that the project could not be built within a construction budget of £13.1M due to client changes, the political requirement to use indigenous materials at any cost and exceptional contractor changes. RRP's advice was consistently ignored. It is plainly untrue for the Finance Minister to assert that RRP underestimated the costs." Hart said she stopped the project because of the "significant underestimates in the cost plan prepared by RRP", and that RRP "had hidden costs from the Assembly". A legal dispute then arose between RRP claiming £529,000 in fees, and the National Assembly claiming £6.85M in damages. On 10 December 2001 RRP requested an appointment of an adjudicator from the Construction Industry Council to resolve the issue. The adjudication took place in February 2002, and ruled that RRP was entitled to £448,000 of its claim, while the National Assembly was not entitled to any of the damages they had claimed. Schal reported to a Project Board, who reported to the Minister for Finance, Local Government and Communities. The overall aim was to "deliver a landmark building…to time, to an appropriate quality and within budget". Eight companies submitted an interest in the tender process, including Taylor Woodrow, David McLean, Laing and Skanska, of these only David McLean and the Taylor Woodrow Strategic Alliance Partnership with RRP as a subcontractor, The topping out ceremony took place on 25 November 2004 by the Presiding Officer, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Privy Counsellor (PC), AM, which included the lifting into place of the world's largest free rotating wind driven cowl, which was the tallest point of the building. The cowl sits above the roof line and rotates when the wind changes direction to ventilate the debating chamber. Construction of the Senedd building ended on 7 February 2006 when the National Assembly took control of the building. Other subcontractors on the project included Arup (structural engineers), BDSP Partnership and MJN Colston (services engineers), After an address by the Queen, the Parliament of New South Wales presented a ceremonial mace to the National Assembly to recognise the links between Wales and New South Wales. Two years after the opening ceremony in 2008, Taylor Woodrow Construction were fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £71,400, after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Cardiff Crown Court. The breach contributed to the death of John Walsh, a foreman working for Ferson Construction Services Ltd, a subcontractor of Taylor Woodrow. The accident occurred on 14 March 2004 and was due to a cavity wall that Mr Walsh was filling, collapsing on him, even though Taylor Woodrow Construction had recognised the risks before the contract had begun. Judge Neil Bidder QC said "No-one seriously disputes it was an unsafe construction and Ferson (Construction Services) must share blame for that construction." Timeline of cost increases and time delays The cost of the Senedd building increased from £12 million in 1997 to £69.6 million in 2006, an increase of 580%. In a report published in March 2008 by the Wales Audit Office, the reason for the increase was that the original estimate of £12 million was not based on any detailed design of the final requirements of the building. In addition, there were unforeseen security measures after the September 11 attacks in the United States. After the project was stopped in 2001, the contract for the construction of the second phase of the building used a fixed-price design and build contract, which meant a much tighter control of costs than in the first phase. In 2011, the official figures show that more than £157,000 had been spent on repairing the building since it had opened, with £29,000 having been spent on electrical repairs, £25,000 on fixing doors and almost £19,000 on plumbing. In addition, other repairs were also paid for by Vinci Construction under the terms of the contract. In was reported that rain water had leaked into a steel and glass staircase reserved for members and staff and in September 2008, a committee meeting was halted after water started dripping through the ceiling. Following the passing of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, more works to increase the size of the newly enlarged 96 seat chamber needed to take place in order to ensure proper space for new members. In March 2025, the siambr (debate chamber) of the Senedd was closed, with debates being temporarily moved to a smaller chamber inside the Tŷ Hywel government office building. The works include the expansion of members' offices, and an expanded siambr which will be able to properly accommodate 96 MSs. The works are expected to continue until at least March 2026, but are expected to be completed before the new 96 Senedd members sit following the 2026 Senedd election. == Senedd estate in Cardiff Bay ==

The Senedd building is part of the Senedd estate in Cardiff Bay, along with Tŷ Hywel (Howell House) and the Grade I listed Pierhead Building. Tŷ Hywel houses staff of the Senedd Commission, AMs, the First Minister and other ministers. On 26 June 2008, the Prince of Wales officially opened Siambr Hywel, the then National Assembly's youth debating chamber and education centre. It is based in the debating chamber that was used by the National Assembly between 1999 and 2006, while the Senedd building was being constructed. Two covered link bridges connect the Senedd building to Tŷ Hywel. Construction of the link bridges began in September 2004 and they were completed by December 2005. The Pierhead Building was opened in 1897 and designed by William Frame. It was originally the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company and by 1947 it was the administrative office for the Port of Cardiff. The building was reopened in May 2001 as 'The Assembly at the Pierhead', which was a visitor and education centre for the National Assembly. On 1 March 2010, the building was again reopened to the public as a Welsh history museum and exhibition. In 2008, Elis-Thomas announced that the Pierhead Building would display the history of the Black community in Butetown, Cardiff Docks and Welsh devolution.{{cite web |url= http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/09/29/new-plans-for-pierhead-building-91466-24804107/ == In popular culture ==

The Senedd building was involved in what is called the "Sex and the Senedd" controversy. An episode of Caerdydd, the S4C Welsh language television programme set in Cardiff, which started when the broadcast of the episode shot a sex scene was filmed in a toilet room of the Senedd, and not in a television studio. The National Assembly for Wales Commission, who approved filming in the Neuadd area, the corridors of the Senedd building and for one scene in the baby-changing room, were not made aware of the nature of the scene. The Doctor Who episode "The Lazarus Experiment" was filmed in the Senedd building, along with the ending of "The Almost People" as was the Doctor Who spin-off programme Torchwood, which used the Senedd building in the episode "Meat", where Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams sit on the steps of the Senedd building. == Nominations and awards ==

Building • Nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The award was won by Terminal 4, Barajas Airport, Madrid, also an RRP design. • Nominated for the 2006 Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award. • Listed as ''Architects' Journal''s top 50 favourite buildings. • Awarded "Excellent" certification by BREEAM, with the highest assessment score achieved at the time by a building in Wales. • Awarded Major Project of the Year in the 2006 Building Services Awards, organised by Building Sustainable Design and Electrical and Mechanical Contractor magazines. • Awarded the Slate Award in the 2006 Natural Stone Awards. • Awarded the British Constructional Steelwork Association's 2006 Structural Steel Design Award. • Awarded the 2006 Excellence on the Waterfront from the Waterfront Center, in the category Commercial and Mixed Use. • Civic Trust Award winner in 2008. • Awarded a Chicago Athenaeum 2007 International Architecture Awards. Individual award • Jeremy Williams (of Taylor Woodrow Construction) won the Construction Manager of the Year Award in 2006 for his work on the Senedd building by the Society of Professional Engineers. He also won a gold medal in the New Build/Refurbishment Projects Over £25 million category. == See also ==