Scottish Parliament: A Building That Grows Out of the Hill
Why is it significant?
Stand in front of the Scottish Parliament and look up, past its strange, leaf-shaped roofs, to the great green shoulder of rock rising behind it. That is the whole idea of this building.
Key Facts
| Place | Scottish Parliament: A Building That Grows Out of the Hill |
|---|---|
| Address | Scottish Parliament, Horse Wynd, Edinburgh EH99 1SP, UK |
| Geo Coordinates | 55.95190, -3.17470 |
| Part of Walk | Climbing a Volcano: Arthur's Seat & Holyrood Park, Edinburgh |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand in front of the Scottish Parliament and look up, past its strange, leaf-shaped roofs, to the great green shoulder of rock rising behind it. That is the whole idea of this building. Its Catalan architect, Enric Miralles, wanted a parliament that seemed to grow out of the land itself, and from here you can see the landscape he was talking to: the cliffs of Salisbury Crags, and behind them Arthur's Seat.
Look at the details. The roofs are often compared to upturned boats pulled up on a beach, or to leaves, depending on whom you ask. The landscaped grounds sweep towards the park in long curving strips of grass and concrete, meant to pull the wild hillside right into the city. Inside, each member's office has a little window seat, a bay for thinking, with a view of the old town.
The building had a difficult birth. Scotland voted for its own parliament in 1997, and the members first met in 1999, in a borrowed assembly hall on the Mound. Here, the costs climbed from early estimates in the tens of millions to more than four hundred million pounds, and Miralles died in 2000, years before the building was finished. When it opened in 2004, many Scots were furious... and many visitors were enchanted.
The site matters too. You are standing at the edge of Holyrood Park, a royal park of around two hundred and sixty hectares, a slice of wild Scotland dropped into a capital city. Kings hunted here in the Middle Ages, and in the sixteenth century the park was enclosed with a wall. Its hills, crags and lochs are the remains of a volcano that erupted some 350 million years ago, shaped later by the ice.
This walk climbs that volcano. It is a real climb, more than two hundred metres up from where you stand, on paths that can be steep, rocky and slippery after rain, so wear proper shoes and take your time. First, cross the road to the white, tent-like roof just to the south, where the story of the rocks begins with a man who looked at them differently.