Scottish Parliament

At the time of design there were a number of sites being considered as the location of the new Scottish Parliament, one of these was Calton Hill. It is one of three volcanic plugs located in Edinburgh’s city centre the most famous of these is topped by Edinburgh castle. These two Hills sit diagonally opposed at each end of the valley between the old and new towns of Edinburgh, to my mind an appropriate location for the seat of government. Claton Hill has on it a number of monuments and object buildings the most prominent of these being the National Monument, an unfinished replica of the Parthenon, Nelsons Column which overlooks Princes Street and the Royal Observatory and its enclosing garden.

The new building is conceived as an additional monument, taking the form of a pictish broch, joining the existing buildings and monuments on the hill top to create a new public space in between. A new formal route up from Princes Street utilizing escalators would take pedestrians from the end a Princess Street up to the new public space.

The building itself is hierarchically arranged with individual members of parliament located in a plinth for the broch containing committee and interview rooms and ultimately the debating chamber. There are two levels between these two major elements where the public and private come together.

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