National Assembly of Wales

The inner part of the building. It is supposed to represent a tree.

The chamber where the assembly makes decisions.

Today we visited the National Assembly of Wales. The National Assembly is where the government of Wales makes their laws and referendums. They make the majority of the political decisions in education, health, police, etc. the parts of government that they do not control are taxes, defense, and international relations. The building (top image) is steeped in symbolism the center is meant to represent a tree. The chamber(second image) is concentric circles to make sure there is not an us against them feeling to the room. The chamber is also below the "trunk" of the tree symbolizing that the assembly is the roots of this tree. Also the public is always allowed to come in an listen to the assembly meetings, when the public comes to listen and watch they are seated above the assembly members to remind the assembly members that they are representing the people of Wales. It was interesting to see how the architecture reflects the culture of Wales and the way they want to pursue democracy. 

(Written by Madeline Cook)