The building scandal: The parliament would preserve facade from 1880 - did not check alternatives

The parliament decided that this facade from 1880 in Prince Street 26 should be preserved - without the Cultural Heritage demanding it. The result was windows up to 30 million, additional earthquake protection and a charge for pastry as politicians "do not remember".

Behind the provisional stage game that today covers the historic facade on Prince Street 26, work hours and millions of ballet are on display.

The price tag on the Parliament 's controversial construction project is now 2.3 billion tax crowns - and for now no one has wanted to guarantee that the bill will stop there. Among the expensive decisions taken is that the entire "feed" of the building in Prince Street 26 should be replaced while the facade should be kept up and maintained.

According to the OAG's review of the project, the Parliament administration has always assumed that the facade of the building could not be torn off because the Cultural Heritage protested. But the Parliament  has never sought to tear the facade - and alternatives have never been discussed.

- The building is not protected. The  the Parliament , which owns and manages the building. Our advice was to take care of the façade, but it was the Parliament  that decided, "says Hanna Geiran, Director of the Cultural Heritage Department, to VG.

- Why was it so important to preserve the facade?

"We believe the building is an important part of the cityscape, and the façade is something many people have a relationship with," says Geiran.

Windows for 25-30 million

Thus, the decision to preserve the facade was the Parliament  itself who took without consulting the Cultural Heritage or others, according to the OAG. There was no assessment of what it cost to keep the facade, rather than tearing and rebuilding.

There are 131 windows for the facade, for between 25 and 30 million kroner.

According to the Parliament  administration, the combination of facade suspension and the excavation of the new basement floor (U2) made the work difficult and risky because the façade becomes very fragile while construction work is underway, the OAG writes.

"It's technically complicated to keep the facade. This affects all workers from the...