Imperial Senate Building

This article is about the Senate Building that contained the Senate Chamber. You may be looking for the Executive Building.

For other uses, see Senate and Rotunda.

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"This is where the Senate gathers to discuss many pressing issues and legislation. Where the future of the galaxy is decided. For better or worse."

―Riyo Chuchi, to Omega^[11]

The Imperial Senate Building, formerly known as the Galactic Senate Building, also known as the Senate Building, Senate Rotunda, or the Senate Dome was an immense building located on the planet Coruscant that served as the seat of the Galactic Republic Senate and later the Imperial Senate of the Galactic Empire.

Located in the heart of Coruscant, the Galactic Senate Building was surrounded by the Senate District, including the Senate Office Building where the Supreme Chancellor had his offices.^[9] With its iconic domed shape, the mighty structure was easy to spot. The building and the Senate district were protected by the blue robed Senate Guards who stood watch and blended in with the formal surroundings of the Senate Building. They could also be found at the entrances to many of the delegate platforms and at the entrances to the building itself. Colossal statues outside the building commemorated the Republic's ancient founders.

At the center of the building was the large, rotund Galactic Senate Chamber. It held seats on circular platforms for the hundreds of senators and delegates who would meet to pass laws and discuss legislation. When a member wished to speak, the platform could disconnect from the wall, allowing the member to be seen and heard by all others. In the center was a podium from which the Supreme Chancellor would direct the business of the Senate. The Senate Building also contained many smaller meeting rooms, senatorial offices, including the working office of the chancellor, and other administrative facilities. To allow easy access for diplomats, a docking bay was built along one side of the building.

Description[]

Location and complex[]

Imperial plaza Andor S2E7 — The Imperial Plaza complex connecting the Senate Building with the Imperial Executive building

The building housing the Galactic and later the Imperial Senate sessions^[12] was known as the Galactic Senate Building during the reign of the Galactic Republic^[13] and renamed the Imperial Senate Building^[14] under the Galactic Empire.^[6] It also became known by many names including the Senate Rotunda^[15] Senate Dome,^[16] or simply the Senate Building.^[17] It was an enormous oval-shaped structure^[18] 2 kilometers in diameter,^[5] located in the Imperial Plaza^[1] at the heart of the capital planet Coruscant's Federal District.^[18] The building easily stood out from the surrounding skyline^[19] thanks to its distinctive shape.^[18]

Leading to the building's official entrance was the Avenue of the Core Founders, a vast concourse^[18] adorned with the statues of the Galactic Republic's Core Worlds founders,^[13] although this feature became controversial over time as more non-humanoid cultures joined the Republic.^[18] During the Imperial Era, a large pool was added to the Plaza, running parallel to^[20] the Senate arcade building^[21] whose ground floor housed the Senate Garage and cafe.^[22] The Plaza and auxiliary structure directly connected the Senate Building to the Imperial Executive Building,^[4] which housed Senate offices and working spaces,^[17] allowing Senators to commute between the two buildings on foot^[4] and have meetings in the large open space^[20] as well as inside the large Atrium.^[23] The Galactic Senate Medcenter was also located in the complex, to provide top-notch medical care for all senators and encourage participation to the legislature.^[24]

Interior features[]

Galactic Senate Chamber[]

Main article: Galactic Senate Chamber

The building's main feature, which took up the biggest part of its interior space,^[18] was the Galactic Senate Chamber, the vast room where Senate sessions took place.^[2] The room's walls were lined with 1,024 repulsorpods^[17] which housed more than 1,000 Senators,^[18] Senior Senators^[4] and Junior Representatives representing the various member planets of the Republic and the Empire.^[17] As it received no natural sunlight or air, the chamber's ceiling was lined with lights which, along with its artificial atmosphere, were carefully designed to diminish senators' sense of time to allow debates to continue without being affected by nightfall. It was also equipped with holorecorders,^[18] voice-amplifying microphones and translators,^[17] which fed directly to the media complex and data center located above the Chamber as well as to the screens in the Senators' pods.^[18]

At the center of the room was the 30-meter tall Chancellor's Podium, which retracted from the Chancellor's working office underneath the rotunda and hosted the Supreme Chancellor and the Chair of the Senate. A select team including the Parliamentarian, Official Reporter and the Journal Clerk sat on the podium's lower level and helped regulate the proceedings, while the Sergeant-at-Arms supervised the multiple Senate hovercam droids^[18] that flew around the chamber and recorded closer looks of the Senators' speeches.^[2]

Senate offices[]

Senate Hall — A section of the public corridor

Surrounding the Senate Chamber were 1 kilometer of offices - including Senator-exclusive chambers and public lobbying rooms;the two were separated by the public corridor, which ran the entire length of the Senate Building and was always busy with aides, pages and workers. The various levels of the corridor could be reached via private or commuter turbolifts, with the latter being able to service up to 50 general staff at a time. There were also both horizontal and vertical turbolifts which connected the delegations' inner offices with each other, allowing Senators to come in contact with each other for secret meetings and dealmaking.^[18]

Most offices were uniquely designed, incporporating elements from the Senator's native culture, including building materials and architectural style. The senator-exclusive offices were located directly behind the Senate pods and were reserved for the senators and their high-level aides, incorporating conference rooms and relaxation areas. They were highly secured, with the floors separated with an alarmed anti-saboteur mesh, and restricted to outsiders, including even Senate Guards. Beyond the public corridor were the outer offices, where Senate committees, workers and aides did much of the laborious paperwork to assist each delegation with its public duties.^[18]

Administrative and press facilities[]

Andor-EscapeFromTheSenate — ISB agent Beska tries to arrest Mon Mothma in the press deck for Gate 9 of the Senate Building

To serve arrivals and departures,^[19] a number of shuttle hangars were built^[18] on the side of the building,^[19] right at the base of the dome.^[18] There was also a dining commons^[3] serving dishes from around the galaxy,^[18] and was a popular meeting place for Senators.^[3] The building was also equipped with loading docks^[4] and a sewage recylcing facility at sublevel nine.^[7]

The dome of the building was crested with five Long-Range Antenna clusters to transmit senate rulings, all controlled from the media complex on top of the Senate Chamber.^[18] Press and journalists were accommodated in several news bays managed by a kiosk on the building's ground floor; accredited journalists not assigned to a bay were allowed to "float" around, recording speeches from shared rooms at senate Gates with mounted viewscreens.^[4]

Security[]

Senate entrance Andor S2E7 — Senate Security guards stand watch on an entrance to the building

During the Republic era, the building was guarded by the Senate Guard, a highly trained^[25] unit which also guarded the Senate District alongside the Coruscant Security Force.^[17] The Guard also accompanied the Supreme Chancellor as his personal protective force.^[26] The very best troopers of the guard were handpicked to serve as Senate Commandos, a more active unit which also undertook special missions on behalf of the Republic.^[25]

During the Imperial era, the task of ceremonial Senate guard was passed onto the successors of the Republic unit, renamed the Imperial Senate Guard. The unit consisted of soldiers loyal to the New Order and the Galactic Emperor, who were also tasked with protecting Senators and the District.^[27] Access to the building was controlled via checkpoints consisting of DeTECHt security scanners and manned by Senate Security agents in every one of the several ground-floor entrances. Anyone entering the building had to display their pass and stand in the scanner before being allowed to enter into the main hall;^[28] from there, Senators could access the public corridors through Gates including Gate 9, which consisted of a guarded waiting area for journalists and a private turbolift for Senators and their aides.^[4] The building was also secretly equipped with an Imperial Security Bureau complex on the basement.^[18]

History[]

Establishment of the Senate and early years[]

Senate Plaza by night — The Senate Building by night.

The Galactic Senate was founded in around 1032 BBY,^[29] following the defeat of the Sith in the Jedi-Sith War.^[30] It was meant to be the legislative body of the nascent Galactic Republic, where representatives of all member planets would get an equal chance to speak.^[2] During its early years, the Senate was housed in a small debating chamber on the planet Coruscant, until it was eventually moved to the far larger Galactic Senate Building.^[18]

During the High Republic Era, the Senate Building was also the location of choice for the trial of Marchion Ro, the so-called Eye of the Nihil who had led the Nihil marauders through their conflict with the Republic. Unrepentant, Ro chose to mock the gathered Senate as an ineffective government that chose to do nothing despite its near-limitless power, whereas he, a single man, had done "everything." For his crimes, including his plan to use the blight to wipe out all life in the galaxy, Ro was sentenced to a life of solitary confinement in deep space without the possibility of parole.^[31]

Fall of the Republic[]

Displate-YodaandPalpatine — The Senate Building stands as the site of a duel between the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious and Jedi Grand Master Yoda.

By 32 BBY, the Senate's status had diminished considerably, with corruption and bribery running rampant. Political turmoil engulfed the Republic,^[2] which ultimately led to the creation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a union of planets and corporations who wished to secede from the Republic altogether.^[26] The eruption of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY^[32] resulted in the first open warfare in centuries.^[26] The Galactic Senate became the target of several attacks, including the bombing of Coruscant's central power distribution grid which damaged the building, severing its power supply and interrupting a vital voting session.^[33] Bounty hunter Cad Bane also infiltrated the Executive Building, taking several senators hostage until he was driven away by the Coruscant Security Force and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, in what became known as the Senate hostage crisis.^[34]

In 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was discovered by the Jedi to be Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious; in response, he executed Order 66 which called for the elimination of all Jedi by their clone troopers and transformed the republic into the Galactic Empire. Grand Master Yoda confronted Palpatine in his working office in the Chancellery Secretariat, and the two were engaged in a lightsaber duel in the Senate Chamber. The duel severely damaged the rotunda, with the two Force-sensitives hurling Senate pods at one another; Yoda was ultimately forced to escape through a duct, leaving Palpatine victorious.^[6]

Imperial Senate[]

Following the establishment of the Empire, the building was renamed the Imperial Senate Building to reflect the new government.^[18] Although the rotunda retained its appearance during the first several years,^[11] by 5 BBY a grand Imperial crest was painted in the bottom of the chamber, under the speaker's podium; the same symbol was etched in the Senators' pods.^[35] The outside of the building remained unchanged, as the new government attempted to retain aesthetic ties to its predecessor.^[18] By 2 BBY the Empire also renovated the Imperial Plaza, adding a reflective pool and an arcade building connecting the Senate to the Executive Building.^[4]