Extension to the Parliament Building, The Hague

The design for the new extension to the Dutch Parliament Building incorporates a number of existing properties, including the former Ministries of Justice and of Colonies and an old hotel. The central feature in this new ensemble is the 100-metre-long and 24-metre-high Statenpassage (‘Passageway of the States General’). This runs parallel with the medieval Binnenhof (Inner Court) and Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) and constitutes the axial backbone of the complex. A series of committee rooms and meeting spaces are ranked along this public passage on several floors. The semicircular debating chamber for plenary gives the new structure its characteristic form. A glass-walled corridor around the chamber is an expression of the open character of Dutch democracy.