Parliaments around the world: what can architecture teach us about democracy?

2017-05-18T09:00:00-04:00

David Mulder van der Vegt and Max Cohen de Lara, who comprise the Amsterdam-based creative agency and architecture office XML, 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.

With recent elections in the US and abroad exposing serious divides in the politics of these nations, we have decided to share with you a timely excerpt from their book Parliament, documenting their findings.

The blind justice of Salt Lake City's courthouse

2016-06-28T08:29:00-04:00

Architecture normally receives very little public notice in Salt Lake City, but the new federal courthouse here got the public’s attention. The Salt Lake Tribune and a local TV news station’s website KSL.com received a wave of letters and posts in response to articles about its opening in 2014. The overwhelming consensus was negative.

Archinect - Features

Parliaments around the world: what can architecture teach us about democracy?

The blind justice of Salt Lake City's courthouse