Grand Federal Assembly Hall
The Grand Federal Assembly Hall, also known as the Senate Hall or Senate Dome, was the building on Eternity in the center of the Senate District which served as the seat of the Federal Assembly. The designers claimed that any weapon capable of destroying the Chamber would also have to be powerful enough to destroy the entire planet, making the facility invulnerable against sabotage or orbital bombardment.
Architecture
Exterior
A massive building boasting a shield-shaped dome with a diameter of more than two kilometers, the Senate Building was built some time during 3356 Galactic Standard following the restoration of galactic communications pending the Omega War. Located on Eternity, the building was situated at the end of a large, flat concourse known as the Avenue of the Founders. This area was lined with tall, impressionistic flag poles, each representing a represented Sector of the United Federation of Nations. Surrounded by the Senate Plaza, several parks such as the Gardens of Equality and Justice served as meeting places near the Federal Hall. Adorning the front of the building were two narrow towers. One of these structures contained the primary office of the Chairman of the Federal Assembly. The summit chamber's design was antiquate and offered a wide view of the capital.Interior
Entrance to the Hall was gained after passing through the ceremonial entryway known as the Great Door. Adorned with the Great Seal of the Federation and the sigils of the Federal Assembly, the doors were open to all who might enter, as symbolic of the Federation as the iconography emblazoning the durasteel. Directly beyond the Great Door was the large Atrium of the Senate. This grand, circular chamber was lined with statues of the Federation's greatest heroes, scientists, philosophers, politicians, etc. The atrium continued on deeper into the building where a long, two-story hall granted access to several first level embassies and conference rooms. Among the room's tower pillars senators and diplomats gathered and conversed with one another before proceeding on into the Grand Convocation Chamber just beyond the chamber's far door. Occupying the majority of the building central mass was the cavernous Grand Convocation Chamber, a tiered chamber sometimes referred to as the Senate Arena. The slightly slopping walls of the funnel-shaped room were lined with repulsorpods arranged in concentric patterns from floor to ceiling, which soared over a hundred meters high. The center of the vast chamber was dominated by a podium used by the Chairman, the Vice Chair and the Senior Administrative Aide to coordinate the sessions. The chamber contained a total of 1024 repulsorpods, which could be used by delegations from member systems and large voting blocs. When a Senator or representative wished to address the body they were able to detach their pod from its magnetic berth and move out into the open space of the chamber on an automated path. From there, their address would echo throughout the room, translated into hundreds of different languages instantaneously and piped into the other pods for ease of understanding. Small hovercams constantly hovered around the chamber, recording the words of the speakers and broadcasting them onto the ceiling-mounted vidscreens to allow the congregation to view up close visuals of the orator. Because sessions tended to grow long and last into the night, natural light and air was not used to fill the room. Instead, an artificial glow kept the room lit so as to diminish the senators' sense of time.The Grand Convocation Chamber
Directly beneath the Convocation Chamber was a series of rooms known as the Chairman Secretariat, a set of offices used by the Chairman and his aides while at the Senate Building. At the heart of the Secretariat was the holding office, located directly below the Senate Chamber and home to the Chairman's podium when it was not in use. Before the start of a session of the Senate, the Chairman and his aides would board the podium and the ceiling would dilate and the hydraulics driving the chamber would raise it into arena. A turbolift was also installed under the Chairman's seat, able to evacuate him from the podium without having to lower it. Access to the chamber was granted through a small antechamber where the ceremonial, black clad Black Guard stood at attention. The upper tiers of repulsorpods of the Senate Chamber were each assigned a permanent delegation. These senators represented large voting blocs in the Senate or held long tenures in the Federation, such as the representatives of the Homeworld Sectors. These delegations were afforded permanent wedge-shaped offices, which included a multi-room preparation chamber adjoined to the delegation's platform and a separate, larger set of chambers which stretched to the outer edge of the building and served as a place for each delegation's countless aides to toil endlessly without need of travel. These offices were separated from each other by the sloping, canyon-like Grand Concourse, a long corridor that ringed the entire Convocation chamber on each level. The black-tile floor of the bridges and walkways that made up the Concourse was punctuated by the towering silver impressionistic statues that lined it, similar to those found on the Avenue of the Founders. Private turbolifts lined the walls of the Concourse, conveying senators to and from their offices, connecting them with the rest of the building. Security in the building was monitored from the main security center deep in the heart of the building. Black Guards protected the Senate Chamber as well as delegation offices throughout the building, while members of the Federation Security Force patrolled the halls which were otherwise open to the public. Communications throughout the complex were handled by the Senate Communications Center, which was responsible not only for broadcasting the Senate proceedings throughout the building and the galaxy, but for screening all incoming transmissions to Senators and representatives. Each delegation pod in the chamber had privacy buffers under normal circumstances to prevent eavesdropping during private conversations. Many storefronts and restaurants occupy the Senate Building, allowing Senators and their staff to shop and eat without leaving the complex. The dining commons was a formal eating establishment popular among Senators, while others preferred more casual eateries.
Founding Date
3356 Galactic Standard
Alternative Names
People's Hall-Assembly Hall-Federal Hall-Senate Hall-Senate Dome
Type
Parliament
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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