Scottish Parliament Building

The Scottish Parliament Building is now the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh. The Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the building on Tuesday, September 7, 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on October 9, 2004.

The buildings

The Parliament Building is actually a complex of several buildings with a total floor area of around 29,000 m² (312,000 square feet), providing accommodation for the 129 MSPs and around 1,000 parliamentary staff and civil servants. The buildings include:

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Debating Chamber

The Debating Chamber contains a shallow horseshoe of seating for the MSPs. Galleries above the main floor can also accommodate a total of 255 members of the public, 18 guests, and 34 members of the press. The roof, reminiscent of an upturned boat, is supported by a structure of laminated oak beams joined at a total of 112 stainless steel connectors (each slightly different), which in turn are suspended on steel rods from the walls. In entering the chamber, MSPs pass under a stone lintel that was once part of the pre-1707 parliament building, Parliament Hall.

Related Topics:
Boat - Laminated - Oak - Stainless steel - 1707 - Parliament Hall

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Tower Buildings

Tower Buildings contain six committee rooms with curving white plaster vaulted ceilings, and the offices of Ministers plus parliamentary and government support staff.

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MSP building

The MSP building contains offices for each MSP and two members of staff, fitted out with custom designed furniture. The building is between four and six storeys in height, and is clad in granite mosaic. The famous 'Think Pods', which give each MSP a bay window projecting out of their office, are located on the Reid's close façade of the building, supposedly inspired by Henry Raeburn's painting "The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch". At its north end the building is six storeys high (ground floor plus five) stepping down to four storeys (ground floor plus three) at the south end.

Related Topics:
Granite - Mosaic - Henry Raeburn

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Canongate Buildings

Construced behind a retained facade, the Cannongate Buildings behind house IT, finance, procurement and information offices.

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Queensberry House

Originally dating from 1667, Queensbury House has been extensively refurbished to provide facilities for the Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officers, the Chief Executive, and various parliamentary support staff.

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Media Tower

A separate Media Tower has been constructed adjacent to the Debating Chamber to provide media facilities.

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Public facilities

The facilities for the public include meeting rooms in Tower Buildings, and a restaurant, education centre, exhibition space, and a shop below the Debating Chamber.

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Trivia

On many of the buildings there are a series of 'trigger panels', constructed out of timber or granite. These have been variously said to represent anvils, hairdryers, guns, question marks or even the hammer and sickle, but shortly after the building's official opening Enric Miralles' widow, Benedetta Tagliabue, revealed that the design is simply that of a window curtain pulled back. http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=177&id=1201712004

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