| Parliament Building | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Parliament | |
.jpg) Front façade viewed from the south-west | |
 Interactive map of Parliament Building | |
| Former names | Tintenpalast |
| Alternative names | Legislative Assembly Building[citation needed] |
| General information | |
| Type | ParliamentHouse |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | 14A Love Street,Windhoek Central Business District,Windhoek,Namibia |
| Coordinates | 22°34′00″S17°05′21″E / 22.5666°S 17.0893°E /-22.5666; 17.0893 |
| Construction started | 1912 |
| Inaugurated | 12 April 1913 |
| Renovated | 7 December 2009 – 7 May 2012 |
| Cost | |
| Client | Bruno von Schuckmann(1910) |
| Owner |  German South West Africa(1913–15) South West Africa (1915–90) Namibia (since 1990) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Gottlieb Redecker |
| Architecture firm | Sander & Kock |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheParliament Building, Windhoek, also known as theTintenpalast (German forInk Palace), is the seat of both houses of theParliament of Namibia (theNational Council and theNational Assembly). It is located in the Namibian capital ofWindhoek.
The Tintenpalast, which is located just north of Robert Mugabe Avenue, was designed by German architectGottlieb Redecker with aNeoclassical front façade and built by the companySander & Kock between 1912 and 1913 from regional materials as an administration building for the German government, whichcolonised Namibia at the time.[1] The building project used forced labour byHerero andNama people who, having survived theHerero and Nama genocide, had been placed inconcentration camps.[2][3]
The building was opened on 12 April 1913.[1] As an allusion to the extensive usage of ink by the workers in the building, it was named "Tintenpalast" or "Ink Palace".[4] When Namibia achieved its independence in 1990, the Tintenpalast became the seat of theNational Assembly.[1]
Due to a change to theConstitution in 2014, the number of parliamentarians increased significantly. As a result, there have been calls for a bigger parliament building, since many parliamentarians and support staff are not able to be housed in the Tintenpalast.[5] Moses Ndjarakana argues that the "structure and shape of the Chamber is not conducive to a House of the People" and that the "current state of affairs with regard to office space" is "miserable and undesirable as it contributes to an ineffective service delivery system."[1]
The Tintenpalast is surrounded by theParliament Gardens, which is very popular among the inhabitants of Windhoek.[4]
Notes
Citations
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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