The Senate Chamber, also known by names such as the Great Rotunda, Senate Rotunda, or Convocation Chamber, and later as the Grand Convocation Chamber under the New Republic, functioned as the main chamber within the Senate Building found in the Senate District on the planet of Coruscant. Serving as the focal point for the Galactic Senate, it represented the very center of all galactic governing bodies going all the way back to 25,000 BBY. The chamber reached a height of 100 meters and included 1,024 repulsorpods intended for the various senatorial delegations that came from across the galaxy. Surrounded by the canyon-like Grand Concourse, the chamber's interior was illuminated by lavender lighting, a color chosen by designers of old because it was the only color that had not, historically, been linked to mourning, war, or anger.
At the center of the convocation chamber, a thirty-meter-tall podium rose up from the floor, capable of descending into a series of offices that housed the holding office for the Supreme Chancellor, the elected leader of the Galactic Republic. The Supreme Chancellor would be joined on this podium by the Vice Chair and the Chancellor's Staff Aide on the higher level, while the Senate scribe, journal clerk, parliamentarian, and Sergeant at Arms were situated on the lower level.
Throughout the Galactic Republic's history, numerous significant events unfolded within this space, notably the ratification of the Ruusan Reformation in 1000 BBY, the enactment of the Military Creation Act in 24 BBY, and the Declaration of a New Order in 19 BBY. After undergoing renovations during the Galactic Empire's rule, the chamber remained the home of the renamed Imperial Senate for two decades before its dissolution in 0 BBY.
Following the New Republic's liberation of Coruscant during the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic's Senate took over the chamber. Following a terrorist bombing in 17 ABY, the chamber was rebuilt. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Grand Convocation Chamber was transformed into the Well of the World Brain, becoming the residence of the World Brain, a colossal Yuuzhan Vong creature that oversaw the Vongforming activities on the planet. After the defeat of the extra-galactic invaders in 29 ABY, the chamber was once more restored to its original state and functioned as the seat of the Galactic Alliance's Senate.
Constructed by the Galactic Republic around 3996 BBY after the Great Sith War, the Senate Rotunda was erected on the site of the previous Senate Hall, which had been abandoned following the duel between Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas and Sith Lord Exar Kun.
Toward the end of the Republic's Golden Age, the Senate accepted the Vote of No Confidence against Chancellor Finis Valorum, leading to Senator Palpatine from the Chommell sector becoming Chancellor. During his tenure, the Separatist Crisis caused the Republic to fracture; as more planets seceded, tensions escalated. During this period, Dark Jedi Granta Omega attacked the Senate, using a hazardous air-borne toxin created by scientist Jenna Zan Arbor to kill several senators.
The conflict within the Senate ultimately evolved into the Clone Wars. As thousands of star systems withdrew from the capital and the Jedi Order suffered significant losses in the war, the debates within the Senate chamber became as intense as the battles on the Republic's warfronts. After three years marked by death and destruction in the name of peace, Chancellor Palpatine declared the war's end and announced the Declaration of a New Order, establishing the first Galactic Empire. Palpatine, who was secretly the mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, disbanded the Jedi Order and was confronted by the Order's Grand Master, Yoda, in the Convocation Chamber. During their confrontation, the newly appointed Emperor Palpatine used the Force to hurl over a dozen repulsorpods and damage many others, fighting Yoda to a stalemate before the latter fled into exile.
The extent of the damage within the building's convocation chamber did not go unnoticed by the Senators. The chamber's closure for repairs did not stop the spread of rumors that Grand Master Yoda had led an attack on Emperor Palpatine himself and had been killed. Once the repairs were completed, the newly formed Imperial Senate began to convene in an advisory role, holding what were essentially elaborate meetings with the Grand Vizier, who would then report the outcomes to the Emperor. The Emperor, whose scars limited his public appearances, would consider the Senate's views to moderate his own decisions before acting decisively, leaving no room for further debate. In 0 BBY, almost two decades after the Empire's rise, the Imperial Senate was dissolved after Senator Leia Organa of the Alderaan sector was exposed as a member of the Rebel Alliance. Three years later, the former Grand Convocation Chamber was repurposed as an opera house, hosting a performance of The Kallea Cycle, a well-known Brentaalii drama about the life of Freia Kallea and the establishment of the Hydian Way.
Following the Emperor's death in 4 ABY, the rapidly collapsing Empire's warring factions inflicted destruction on Coruscant. The Senate Building, along with the nearby Imperial Palace, sustained significant damage but remained resilient. As the New Republic took its place as the galaxy's leader, the Senate Building was repaired, and the New Republic Senate began convening within its halls. It was in this room that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker appealed to the assembly to allow him to reestablish the Jedi Order and seek out new recruits. With majority support, Skywalker promised that the new Order would serve as protectors of the Republic, as the Jedi had done for millennia before the Empire.
Although the structure had proven resistant to external attacks in the past, it was vulnerable to internal assaults. In 17 ABY, during a full Senate session, several detonations shook the tower, sending debris into the Plaza outside and causing the central speaking podium to collapse. After recovering the dead and injured, it was discovered that the Dark Jedi Kueller was responsible for the attack. Once the bombing's aftermath was addressed, the Senate Hall was gutted, and new architects redesigned the interior so extensively that many considered it an entirely new complex.
As the New Republic struggled to establish itself, the galaxy was invaded by an alien race known as the Yuuzhan Vong. As attacks on Republic planets increased, Yuuzhan Vong representative Nom Anor addressed the Senate, urging them to denounce the Jedi and hand them over to the invaders. However, Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya rejected Anor's plea and had him escorted off Coruscant. Nevertheless, Anor succeeded in increasing anti-Jedi sentiment among the senators, leading to many Jedi being handed over to the Yuuzhan Vong across the galaxy. As the Senate continued to debate how to address the new threat to the Republic, the Yuuzhan Vong attacked Coruscant in force, breaching its orbital defenses and invading the city world's skylanes. Following a decisive victory by the invaders, mass evacuations occurred, and the Senate Building was left relatively intact but abandoned.
Following Coruscant's fall, the Yuuzhan Vong chose the ruins of the Senate Building as the location for their World Brain, a massive dhuryam that would transform Coruscant into the invaders' legendary homeworld, Yuuzhan'tar. The Senate Building ruins, referred to as the Well by the Yuuzhan Vong, were hollowed out, and the exterior was rapidly consumed by yorik coral, which hardened into an impenetrable substance. The Well, resembling a decaying skull from the outside, was further protected by a deadly hedge maze planted over the Senate Plaza. Despite these defenses, Jedi Knights Jacen Solo and Ganner Rhysode managed to enter the Well under the guise of Solo consulting with the World Brain before sacrificing Rhysode to the True Gods. Within the Well, Jedi Rhysode sacrificed himself to protect Solo as he consulted with the World Brain, persuading it to subtly sabotage the Yuuzhan Vong's terraforming of the planet.
In an effort to reclaim Coruscant, members of the Jedi Order planned to destroy the World Brain. As Republic heroes Han and Leia Solo entered the former Atrium with defected Yuuzhan Vong Harrar, a group of Shamed Ones, the alien invaders' lower class, stormed the building as part of a heretical movement to overthrow the Yuuzhan Vong caste system. Aided by Jedi Masters Kenth Hamner, Mara Jade Skywalker, and Jedi Tahiri Veila, the Jedi and Republic fighters convinced the World Brain to surrender and, through other events on the planet, reclaimed Coruscant for the Republic.
Following the Yuuzhan Vong's defeat, the New Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Alliance, and after meeting on Dac during the Alliance's early years, the Senate returned to Coruscant after the [Swarm War] and reoccupied the restored Senate Building. Stripped of all traces of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the complex was reopened, and the Senate quickly convened to discuss the second Corellian insurrection. As debates echoed in the Grand Convocation Chamber, protesters from across the galaxy gathered in the Plaza to support Corellia.
The vast Grand Convocation Chamber, sometimes called the Senate Arena, occupied most of the building's central area. The slightly inclined walls of the funnel-shaped chamber were lined with repulsorpods arranged in concentric circular patterns from the floor to the ceiling, reaching heights of over a hundred meters. A podium used by the Supreme Chancellor, the Vice Chair, and the Senior Administrative Aide to manage the sessions dominated the chamber's center. The chamber contained 1,024 repulsorpods for delegations from member systems and large voting blocs. Senators or representatives wishing to address the body could detach their pod from its magnetic berth and move into the chamber's open space along an automated path. Their addresses would then resonate throughout the room, translated instantaneously into hundreds of languages and broadcast into the other pods for easy understanding. Small hovercams constantly circled the chamber, recording the speakers' words and broadcasting them onto ceiling-mounted vidscreens for close-up visuals. To diminish the senators' sense of time, the room was lit artificially, as natural light and air were not used due to the tendency of sessions to extend late into the night.
The main control panel for the chamber's repulsorpods was located on Senate Tier 125. A smaller version of the Convocation Chamber, the 20-tiered Senate Hearing Chamber, was also located within the Senate Building.
Directly beneath the Convocation Chamber was a series of rooms known as the Chancellery Secretariat, a set of offices used by the Chancellor and his aides while at the Senate Building. At the heart of the Secretariat was the holding office, located directly below the Senate Chamber and home to the Chancellor's podium when it was not in use. Before a session of the Congress, the Chancellor and his aides would board the podium, the ceiling would open, and the hydraulics driving the chamber would raise it into the arena. A turbolift was also installed under the Chancellor's seat, allowing for evacuation from the podium without lowering it.
Access to the chamber was granted through a small antechamber where the ceremonial, blue-robed Senate Guard stood at attention. The upper tiers of repulsorpods in the Senate Chamber were permanently assigned to specific delegations. These senators represented large voting blocs in the Senate or had long tenures in the Republic, such as the representatives of the Core Worlds. These delegations had permanent wedge-shaped offices, including a multi-room preparation chamber connected to the delegation's platform and a separate, larger set of chambers extending to the building's outer edge, providing space for each delegation's numerous aides to work without needing to travel.
Following the Declaration of a New Order, the Galactic Republic Senate was transformed into the Imperial Senate, which continued to use the Senate Building. Statues of the Jedi Order were removed, and certain privacy buffers in the Senate pods and offices were eliminated. Many high-ranking Imperials relocated their offices to the Imperial Palace, and the number of planets seeking admission into the Empire was far fewer than during the Republic. After the destructive duel between Emperor Palpatine and Grand Master Yoda, the Emperor instructed the architects to install an extensive crystal ceiling, replacing the old holomonitors and casting a shimmering light on the central podium. The senior members of the Senate were seated on the lower levels of the chamber during this time, while the newer and less powerful Senators were seated in the upper tiers.
The Senate Building remained largely unchanged after the Empire's fall and the New Republic Senate's occupation of the Building. This changed in 17 ABY when the Dark Jedi Kueller bombed the structure, causing the Chancellor's podium to collapse, tearing out parts of the chamber, and killing many members of the Congress. By the time of Ponc Gavrisom's term as Chief of State, the building had been rebuilt with completely replaced internal fittings in the auditorium, leading many contemporaries to consider the Grand Convocation Chamber an entirely "new" structure, distinct from the old rotunda. The chamber was extensively redecorated, the Chief of State's podium was lowered to ground level, and, most notably, the seating for delegates was organized into clusters of differing sizes and shapes arranged around the rotunda, connected by ramps and stairways, and capable of holding more than 2,000 delegates, replacing the former geometric arrangement of repulsorpods. The upper levels were randomly fitted with large chambers to seat other senators or representatives temporarily visiting the planet. It was rumored that some of the rooms had been replaced with repulsorlift pods, but by the time the Yuuzhan Vong took the planet, that plan had been abandoned. The overall design created a complex arrangement of contrasting forms and details, combined into a clear, coherent harmony. As membership in the New Republic grew, new balconies were added to the existing clusters to accommodate the growth; rumors about reincorporating the repulsorpods spread during Borsk Fey'lya's administration, but never materialized under the New Republic.
Following the Battle of Coruscant during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Convocation Chamber was filled with a pool of nutrients and became the home of the giant World Brain, the controlling organ behind the invaders' terraforming project. Still accessible from the Senate's former Atrium, a long corridor cut half a kilometer into the building and onto a bridge that spanned half the convocation chamber. The holding office below was converted into a secret bunker, where a single escape craft was preserved for Nom Anor.
After the Yuuzhan Vong's defeat, the Galactic Alliance restored the Building to its pre-Imperial form. The Chief of State's Suite was placed at the building's summit, and repulsorpods were reincorporated into the Grand Convocation Chamber. However, the Chief's podium was not recreated; instead, they would occupy their own floating platform to address the Senate.
Contrary to previous sources stating that the Grand Convocation Chamber was built after the duel in the old Senate Hall between Exar Kun and Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas during the Great Sith War, Timeline 12: The Great Hyperspace War portrays the Chamber in use nearly a thousand years before it should have first appeared. No explanation has yet been provided for this discrepancy.