Page 11 - Guide to Parliament House

Chapter II

Layout of the Building

The Parliament House is a Circular
edifice (560 feet in diameter) with a conti­
nuous open verandah on the first floor, fri­
nged with a colonnade of 144 creamy sand­
stone columns each 27 feet high. The area
enclosed by this impressive building with 12
gates—4 of them with porches—is six acres and
its circumference is one-third of a mile. The
volume of dressed stone used in the building
is 3,75,000 cubic feet.
Within the circular edifice are enclosed a big Central Hall, three chambers
(Lok Sabha Chamber, Rajya Sabba Chamber and the Library Hall), Committee
Rooms and Office Rooms to run the machinery of Parliament.

The Central Hall which attracts the attention of the visitor as he enters Parlia­
ment House is itself a circular structure. On the three main axes facing the Cen­
tral Hall arc placed the three Chambers and between them lie garden courts.

The Committee Rooms which are four in number are located on the first floo r
They are specially designed to suit the needs of Parliamentary Committees which
meet there from time to time.
Reception Office : The single-storeyed building standing opposite Gate No. 1,
called the Reception Office, was built in 1956 to serve as a suitable waiting place for
the large number of visitors who come to the Parliament House to meet Members,
Ministers, etc. or as sight-seers. Behind the two long counters sit the Reception
Staff whom the visitors contact for assistance on arrival—the counter on the right
side being maintained by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and that on the left by the
Lok Sabha Secretariat.

A Sales Counter for selling Parliamentary and Government Facing page :
publications is also located inside the Reception Office. a beve—Reception
office
Outside the Reception Office is a small lawn and a pond with a below—Lavm out-
fide Rece-
Japanese style bridge over it. ption office
Parliament House is surrounded by extensive lawns and the entire Parliament
House estate (comprising the building and the outer lawns) is surrounded by an
ornamental stone wall. There arc fountains both within and outside the building
adding to the charm of the Parliament House. Towards the Eastern and Western
side of the Parliament House are provided motor garages for the use of Members
of Parliament, Officers, Staff, Distinguished Visitors etc.