The Solomon Islands Parliament Building in

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...

is the seat of the

National Parliament of Solomon Islands The National Parliament of the Solomon Islands is the legislature of the Solomon Islands. Its 50 members are elected for a four-year term in 50 single-seat constituencies.

History

From 1978 to 1994, Parliament met at Kalala House, which now houses the High Court. The parliamentary building was built as a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

5 million gift from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government, in memory of the US servicemen who died in the

Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...

. The two-storey conical concrete building was built by Japanese construction company, Kitano, in 1993, under the supervision of the US Naval Services. The first meeting was held in November 1993. The building includes a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

chamber, 600 seat public gallery, library, offices for the speaker and clerk, as well as committee rooms but no offices for parliamentary members and staff. During the

2021 Solomon Islands unrest The 2021 Solomon Islands unrest was a series of demonstrations and violent riots in Solomon Islands from 24 to 27 November 2021. It started off as a peaceful protest against the government's decision to recognize the People's Republic of China ...

a building adjoining the parliamentary building was burnt down and the parliamentary building occupied by protestors.

Architecture

The project was administered by the Department of the Navy, Pacific Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, who selected the

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

-based architectural firm, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, to design the building. The project architect, Michael J. Batchelor, described the Solomon Island government requested "that it be representative of their emerging democracy" and that it should be "essentially Solomon Islands in style, not an imposed architecture." It is a two-storey, building with a steel frame, reinforced concrete and extensive glazing. The building's shell roof is an abstract version of two local roof styles, those of Temotu and

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

provinces. The roof's defining conical shape is derived from native Temotu roofs and has an unusual ridge, characteristic of indigenous Guadalcanal roofs. The detail at the top is unique to the Solomon Islands. It has seven major elements symbolising the seven

provinces of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is divided into nine provinces. The national capital, Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, is separately governed as the country's Capital Territory. History Under the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, there were initi ...

. The roof in its completed form has an overall diameter of , with a height of at its apex. The functional requirements of the unicameral chamber results in the conical-shaped roof being column free for the interior diameter of the roof. The roof also has a perimeter cantilever extending beyond the exterior walls.

References

{{Solomon Islands topics Seats of national legislatures Government buildings completed in 1994 National Parliament of the Solomon Islands Government buildings in the Solomon Islands Buildings and structures in Honiara