The palace of Westminster, London, more commonly known as the houses of parliament, sits on the river Thames in Westminster.br/ The building was designed by architect Charles Barry and was built in the 1840's. It covers an area of 8 acres and contains over 1100 rooms. it has approximately 3 miles of corridors and more than 100 staircases.br/ There are no animals allowed inside this government building except for guide dogs, though the building is said to be overrun with mice.