PALACE OF WESTMINSTER

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A&E Catering Design have carried out a series of projects for the Parliamentary Estate. They have assisted the House with re-modelling aspects of the Terrace Restaurant, No7 Milbank and Portcullis House.  More recently, compliance works associated with the food and beverage areas located on the Principal Floor in the historic Grade I listed Palace of Westminster.

 

The Pugin Room and Members’ Smoking Room are two of a series of fine rooms used for hospitality and dining on the Principal Floor of the River Front of the Palace of Westminster. The Pugin Room was originally a committee room in the House of Lords, converted to its present use in the 1980s.  It forms part of the House tour, and serves afternoon tea.  A&E worked alongside Conservation Architects, Donald Insall Associates, to deliver a design sensitive to the surroundings, improving the bar layout to meet demand, salvaging existing linen-fold panelling to clad new countering.

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Works were also carried out in the Members’ Tea Room to improve ventilation and operational efficiency of the two local service pantries and dining area.  Existing counters were modified to improve flow and re-clad with existing and matching decorative louver panels specifically designed to accommodate the complex underfloor room ventilation system. 

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The Palace was never designed to accommodate ‘modern’ technology.  Limited power supplies, complex duct routes, fire safety restrictions and space limitation, particularly in the Members’ Tea Room Pantries, required innovative design solutions.  A&E introduced accelerated cooking technology, compact in footprint and requiring minimum ventilation to provide a local, flexible re-heat and call-order cooking medium for a range of products from paninis, tea cakes and toast to steak and full English Breakfast. Door style refrigerated cabinets were replaced with built-in drawer type to offer more efficient storage and increased capacity.

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Architect: Donald Insall

Project Manager: Lend Lease