2024-05-05T07:36:53-04:00 https://archinect.com/features/article/150007828/parliaments-around-the-world-what-can-architecture-teach-us-about-democracy general@x-m-l.org 2017-05-18T09:00:00-04:00 >2022-03-16T09:16:08-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/ck/ckv2eiohgmehn21f.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>David Mulder van der Vegt and Max Cohen de Lara, who comprise the Amsterdam-based creative agency and architecture office <a href="http://www.x-m-l.org" target="_blank">XML</a>, have spent the past five-years studying the halls of Parliament. Comparing all 193 different assembly halls, the duo investigates how the architecture of these political congregations affects the governing process and in effect, how architecture shapes political culture.</p><p>With recent elections in the US and abroad exposing serious divides in the politics of these nations,&nbsp;we have decided to share with you a timely excerpt from their book&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.parliamentbook.com" target="_blank">Parliament</a>, </em>documenting their findings.&nbsp;</p>