Casa Poporului

Palace of the Parliament
Palatul Parlamentului
The Palace in July 2016
Location within Romania
Former names	House of the Republic
Alternative names	People's House
General information
Architectural style	Late interpretation of neoclassical architecture
Address	Calea 13 Septembrie 1, Sector 5
Town or city	Bucharest
Country	Romania
Coordinates	44°25′39″N 26°5′15″E / 44.42750°N 26.08750°E / 44.42750; 26.08750Coordinates: 44°25′39″N 26°5′15″E / 44.42750°N 26.08750°E / 44.42750; 26.08750
Groundbreaking	25 June 1984
Completed	1997
Cost	€3 billion
Height
Architectural	84 m (276 ft)
Technical details
Size	240 m (790 ft) long, 270 m (890 ft) wide
Floor count	12
Floor area	365,000 m2 (3,930,000 sq ft)
Grounds	66,000 m2
Design and construction
Architect	700 architects under the direction of chief architect Anca Petrescu
Designations	World's largest civilian building with an administrative function World's most expensive administrative building World's heaviest building
Other information
Number of rooms	1,100

The Palace of the Parliament (Romanian: Palatul Parlamentului) is the seat of the Parliament of Romania. Located on Dealul Arsenalului in central Bucharest (Sector 5), it is the largest administrative building in the world with a height of 84 metres (276 ft), an area of 365,000 square metres (3,930,000 sq ft) and a volume of 2,550,000 cubic metres (90,000,000 cu ft). In terms of weight, the Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing in at around 4,098,500,000 kilograms (9.0356×10⁹ lb).

A colossal parliament building known for its ornate interior composed of 23 sections, it houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, three museums and an international conference center. The museums hosted inside the Palace are the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Communist Totalitarianism (established in 2015) and the Museum of the Palace. Though named the House of the Republic (Romanian: Casa Republicii), after the Romanian Revolution in 1989 it became widely known as the People's House (Romanian: Casa Poporului). Due to its impressive endowments, events organized by state institutions and international bodies such as conferences, symposia, and others take place there, but even so about 70% of the building remains empty.

In 1990, Australian business magnate Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy the building for US $1 billion, but his bid was rejected. As of 2008^[update], the Palace of the Parliament is valued at €3 billion ($3.4 billion), making it the most expensive administrative building in the world. The cost of heating and electric lighting alone exceeds $6 million per year, as much as the cost for a medium-sized city.