New Scottish Parliament

[Paul Clerkin]

Stilll very much a building site, and hard to photograph, but here's a few shots I managed on a very dull grey day....








Picture of model here:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/graphics/holyrood/model-bg.jpg

And lots more pictures here
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/holyrood/pip-00.htm

[alan d]

The window pod seating areas you're photographing Paul, have turned out to be too small for some Scots MSP backsides.

Miralles obviously did not think through the consequencces of an Irn Bru and fried mars bar diet . Tapas anyone ? Aye right

[notjim]

400 million pounds sterling! (1) i am so glad i amn't paying and (2) i can't wait to see it.

[roskav]

Article in observer

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1015516,00.html

[alan d]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/edinburgh2003/story/0,13366,1016286,00.html

......and from Glancey in the Guardian. Pearman must be keeping his powder dry

[sw101]

this is such a strange building. dunno where i saw em but the original concept was of a rose with solid petals when viewed from the mountains of edinburgh. seems a bit crap though

[Paul Clerkin]

Anyone following this - no-one is coming out with their reputations enhanced especially not Miralles or Donald Dewar.....

For those not familiar with the Frazer Inquiry.... some news cuttings here....

http://scotland.archiseek.com/news/2003/november.html

http://scotland.archiseek.com/news/2003/december.html

[sw101]

how much is it costing now? its a hideous building in the flesh, whats made so far anyway

[what?]

have to say i dont agree with you there, sw101 i was in edinburgh recently and saw the paliament and the exhibition they have on it nearby. the only bit you can see that is finished is the office block with the famous projecting window seats. i think this is a very poetic and interesting way of looking at individuals within a whole. the foyer space with its leaf-like roof lights looks like it will be even more interesting when it complete. but the thing i think will change peoples minds about this when its finished is the landscape element that flows out into holyrood park. this can in no way be appreciated at the moment and will connect the parliament to the site much more than any imposed miesian pavillion ever could.

[what?]

main foyer under construction

[Paul Clerkin]

The Inquiry
http://www.holyroodinquiry.org/

[shadow]

Astonishing. If this can happen in “Village Scotland” maybe a similar exercise can be carried out on “Village Ireland”. The list of projects that should warrant a similar investigation, carried out with the same openness and efficiency as this Scottish Enquiry gets longer by the day.

[John O]

I think this entire controversy is bordering on the pathetic. Understanding the 'spriralling costs' issue, a major building, the parliament building no less, is being built in Scotland, and these inquiries merely serve to expose details that are most likely commonplace for any major commission. Notwithstanding, it does not bode well for the priorities of devolution and what Scotland's future architectural heritage holds. In London, for example, when you get a tourist bus and it passes the Houses of Parliament, the announcer never declares; "...and it came in on budget...".

[what?]

i agree and think id feel the same if it was a new parliament builing in dublin. to some extent f**k the cost it is possibly the most important building in the country and a symbol of a nation. and secondly how on earth they managed to estimate a mirrales builing of that scale, as origionally costing 40 million pounds in the first place i dont know.

[alan d]

If you were a competitor What? working solidly on the project submission, spending around £120,000 and it was always "destined" to be Miralles as the winner. How would you feel now?

I hope it is a truly outstanding building, as good as Sydney Opera House for more than the architecture.

[Hugh]

Original projected cost of Sydney Opera House, January 1957: A$7 million.

1958: A$9.62 million

1961: A$18.6 million

1962: A$27.5 million

1964: A$34.4 million

1965: A$ 49.4 million

1967 (after Utzon was forced out): A$85 million

Final bill: A$102 million

Source: Peter Murray's "The saga of Sydney Opera House", a gripping read.

[what?]

if i was a competitior, and lost i would obviously be pissed off, especially if i was scottish and it was to build my countries parliament.
but unless you are a cynic towards mirralles' work i think you have to admire the poetics with which he dealt with the site, and the magic he brings to what could very easily have just been iconic for the sake of it. to me hes a modern day gaudi, an architect to be admired but no one in their right mind would attempt to emulate.

[alan d]

His plan was beautiful, I agree.

His philosophy about a building of the land was in direct opposition to ours and very poetic and engaging . We may well have an outstanding parliament building and as I've said, I hope so but to hear that the competition looks as though it was a sham is heartbreaking. To capp it all Andy Mc Millan has said publicly that it was like Scotland and Holland which is rubbing our face in it. Perhaps it is so but as far as I know the Holland referee was'nt also a "homer"

Our building would also have been excellent, I'm sure of it.

Hugh's point is also very relevant about cost

[what?]

Alan obviously im missing something here i havnt been following the political side of things to a great degree. it sounds like your referring to the competition being fixed or something along those lines? has there been some recent revelation?

[alan d]

There are revelations every day of the Fraser Enquiry and they don't make good reading at all, either as an architect, a Scotsman, a competitor or a bloke with three kids and a wife. My partner and I are among the most vocal supporters of the parliament building and of Miralles, but at the moment it looks very dark indeed and yes corruption, un professionalism , and incompetence are words most used alonside debacle

[Paul Clerkin]

Read the newspapers what? - it definitely doesnt seem like a fair competition to me

http://scotland.archiseek.com/news/2003/index.html

[what?]

ok now i see, yes very dodgy indeed. you have every right to be angry alan, echos of our own u2 tower on a larger scale..
i love miralles' work but fair is fair....

[alan d]

I'm not angry, What? Depressed more like. It's my wife and family that's fucking angry

More so really for my partner, he analysed the brief set the whole process up, made the return, got Jimmy Gibson ( his pal ) of Denton Corker Marshall involved and we both took some shit from our fellow architects in Scotland who did not make it to the shortlist and so said we were "caddies" and yet he still has been unequivocal throughout in his support for the parliament , Benedetta and Miralles.

He and Jimmy have been let down more than me, really. Still there may be evidence still to be produced which will right it all. I hope so.

[alan d]

........and there was no need for the quick Holland vs Scotland soundbite from an architect I admired greatly, at everyones expense. Daft, eh?

[shadow]

Increasingly the lack of proper open objective criteria and assesment in competitions makes lairs and fools of all of us. In addition how is architecture ever hoped to move away from unprofessional amaturism with nepotistic tendencies and be taken seriously amongst other members of society or is it true that the inconsistencies of the Architecture Profession are just more visible than others (ENRON Etc.)