Page 13 - Guide to Parliament House

Chapter III

Construction of the Building

Indian Art: The architect's keen sense of appreciation of Indian Art is widely
evident in several features of construction of the Parliament House, This is specialty
noticeable in his use of Indian symbols and in the carving of the typical Indian
'Chhajja' which shades the walls and windows. In the many varied forms of 'Jali'
adopted in the work of the building, in marble, stone and wood, the architect has
drawn inspiration from the traditional Indian art and architecture.

J
l taces Jrom wnere material obtained : As already stated, the Parliament House
building took about six years to complete. All the materials used in this building
are indigenous. The black marble used in the columns was procured from Gaya;
the white and the various coloured marbles which line the walls of the Library Hall
came from Makrana. The timber used for the doors (Teak and other varieties)
came from Assam and Burma, while the black wood (Shisame) was obtained from
South India.

Modern Equipment : Side by side with features of Indian art are seen in the
building modern scientific contrivances in acoustics, air-conditioning, automatic
vote recording, simultaneous interpretation system, etc. The ceilings of the Chambers
are covered with special sound absorbent tiles which prevent the voice of speakers
reverberating in the domes above, while the floors and the walls of the Chambers
are honey-combed with ducts for air-conditioning.

Cost involved : The Parliament House was built at a cost of Rs. 83,00,000
and is now valued at. about rupees six crores.

Mechanical and Manual Labour : With the exception of special lifting cranes
for hoisting large blocks of stone and the utilisation of a special team for cutting
and dressing the stone, set up under the supervision of Mr. W. B. Cairns, the
entire construction work was carried out by Indian labour.

Electric Fittings : All the electric wiring in this huge building consists of the
buried steel conduit system. But instead of having a system of ducts for carrying
the conduit pipes and cables to each floor, the ducting system is confined to the
First Floor, and conduits are then run up and down from this level.

In order to maintain uninterrupted supply of electricity in the event of power
failure an automatic diesel driven 95 K..W.A. generating set was-installed in the
building in December, 1962 in replacement of then existing two sets of 35 K.W.A.

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