ABSTRACT
Both David Boswell Reid’s system in the House of Commons and Charles Barry’s system in the House of Lords were decommissioned. Whilst the problems of thermal comfort continued to be a major driver of further investigations and physical adaptations, it should be noted that the ventilation system was adapted in response to various external environmental factors which had not been fully anticipated in the original design. This chapter focuses on two case studies to solve the persisting problems of thermal comfort. The first case study critically examines the use of ventilation in the House of Lords for cooling purposes over two periods, from 1869 to 1878 and from 1911 to 1947. The second case study explores the investigations from 1913 to 1938 into whether the ventilation system of the House of Commons could be remodelled to account for the physical factors believed to affect thermal comfort, and their impact on the concept behind Dr Oscar Faber’s air-conditioning system.
