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Scottish
Parliament
Edinburgh,
EH99 1SP, Scotland, UK.
Tel. +44 (0) 131 348 5000.
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By
Kirsten
Griew
The Scottish Parliament building is located at the bottom end
of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's Old Town, next to Holyrood Palace.
Opened in 2004 to some nation-wide controversy, it is one of the
newest additions to Edinburgh's architectural heritage.
The
building was designed by Catalonian architect Enric Miralles,
to accommodate the Scottish Parliament, which had been reformed
after nearly 300 years in July 1999. The design is extremely modern,
although incorporates Miralles' version of a number of traditional
Scottish architectural styles. The impressive oak beamed ceiling
in the debating chamber, for example, harks back to the traditional
hammerbeam ceilings found in many medieval Scottish castles.
The
building's shape is designed to reflect the landscape, and sits
neatly by the side of Edinburgh's highest and most dramatic hill,
the extinct volcano known as Arthur's Seat.
Guided tours take visitors around the building every fifteen minutes on non-parliamentary days. Visitors are shown the bright and open space of the Garden Lobby; Queensbury House, the restored 17th century townhouse which was incorporated into Miralles' design; the MSPs' block, where members have their offices (each with a feature window or 'contemplation pod'); the debating chamber (where members sit side-by-side 'in the round' rather than face-to-face as at Westminster); and the Committee Rooms, where bills are discussed and laws created. Although visitors are often initially sceptical of this extremely modern building in a city with a legacy of great architecture, most go away feeling the parliament building is an asset to the nation.
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