The Rotunda

Seat of The Northern Alliance Government

The Rotunda is the centre of The Northern Alliance's government and the meeting place for the Chief Scientist and their Advisory Council. With construction started on 18th August 2493 and completed a little under a year later on 11th July 2494, the building is considered a feat of engineering due to its size, shape, and design that sees it wrap around the mid-way point of three of the tallest trees in Haven. Although initially used as quarters and labs for scientists, the building was repurposed for use as a government building shortly after The Northern Alliance formed on 28th June 2497. It is renowned for its far-reaching views across the settlement of Haven and the surrounding Anapteros Forest due to being completely encircled by windows.

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Purpose / Function

A few years after Haven was first settled, the independent government of the time was focused on trying to build structures up in the trees rather than relying on a makeshift camp on the forest floor. The Rotunda was the first, and easily the most ambitious, treehouse construction project to get underway. Initially, the idea was to create a habitation and laboratory module for scientists that needed a more comfortable and clinical area to work in. The Rotunda was divided into living quarters, food storage units, laboratories, and a communications centre. When The Northern Alliance formed in 2497 and more habitation treehouses were built over time, The Rotunda was turned into the government building it is recognised as today, hosting the meeting chamber, administrative offices, archives, and envoy quarters. 

Alterations

The Rotunda was initially constructed around a single tree, forming a complete circular structure that was connected to the ground via a mechanically-operated lift and spiral stairs wrapped around the tree's trunk. In 2498, a year after The Northern Alliance's formation, it was deemed necessary to extend The Rotunda with two extra partly-circular structures which would adjoin the central one from two other nearby trees. This extension created a much larger complex suited to housing the various rooms and equipment required for government. The east and west wings, as they are known, were eventually connected up with the Security Department and Rations Office buildings with covered walkways, whilst new habitation buildings built below the central rotunda meant that over time, the means of accessing the ground had to be altered to accommodate the newer structures. This meant building a new elevator system that ran on the outside of the structures beneath The Rotunda, with the outside stairs being removed in favour of the connecting walkways to other buildings.     

Architecture

The Rotunda's base structure which supports it is made of steel beams recycled from old starship parts - particularly the struts which form the skeleton of the ship. These beams were affixed to the tree with heavy-duty bolts and secured deep in the ground at the tree's base, forming a steel cage that not only prevented the tree from moving too much in the wind, but also allowed heavy structures to be built on the sturdy frame. The rest of the building is made of wood collected naturally from the forest, or sourced from other factions via sustainable logging. Almost the entirety of The Rotunda is windowed; thick panes of metallic glass (most of which were also taken from the old exploratory ships) with one-way visibility provide panoramic views of the surrounding settlement and forest. The roof of the building supports the solar energy array, which are solar panels that can be elevated beyond the tree's canopy to capture sunlight, and retracted again during bad weather to keep them from being damaged. The array is capable of powering the entire rotunda for 24 hours a day, even on overcast days, making the building entirely self-sufficient from the rest of Haven's power grid.   

-PLEASE NOTE: This archive entry is still a work in progress and some of the information within may be missing or incomplete. Only verified information is permitted to be entered into the archive. Thank you for your understanding.-

:VI-0679 'Alexandria': (CFAS Archiving Virtual Intelligence)

Founding Date

11th July 2494

Type

Ministry / City hall

Owning Organization

The Northern Alliance