Hemicycle

A hemicycle is a semicircular or horseshoe shaped legislative debating chamber, built so members sit in a single curved arc rather than on two rows of benches facing each other as in a Westminster style chamber. The curved seating plan is meant to encourage consensus among parties rather than the direct confrontation that a face to face layout invites. The form has roots in ancient Greek assembly buildings, but the modern hemicycle chamber descends from French parliamentary practice and is now the standard layout for most European national parliaments, the European Parliament, and legislatures in many other democracies.