page_title: Scottish Parliament Building
section_title: Artwork and features
hierarchical_section_title: Scottish Parliament Building / Parliamentary complex / Artwork and features
caption_attribution_description: Taken by me, November 2006.
context_page_description: The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Spanish architect who designed the building, died before its completion.
  From 1999 until the opening of the new building in 2004, committee rooms and the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament were housed in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland located on The Mound in Edinburgh. Office and administrative accommodation in support of the Parliament were provided in buildings leased from the City of Edinburgh Council. The new Scottish Parliament Building brought together these different elements into one purpose-built parliamentary complex, housing 129 MSPs and more than 1,000 staff and civil servants.
  From the outset, the building and its construction have been controversial.
context_section_description: The Scottish Parliament holds a wide variety of artwork and sculpture ranging from specially commissioned pieces to official gifts from overseas parliamentary delegations. The intention of including artwork and sculptures in the building reinforces the desire of Miralles that the project should reflect the nature of Scotland, particularly its land and people.  In order to facilitate the incorporation of art into the building, a consultative steering group was established by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) under the chairmanship of Jamie Stone MSP with the remit of deciding which artworks should be chosen. Some pieces of artwork are on public display in the building. 
  As well as artwork and sculptures, quotations, furniture and photography have been commissioned as part of the art strategy. A range of quotations have been inscribed onto the stonework in and around the parliamentary complex. Beneath the Canongate Building façade is the Canongate Wall, constructed from a variety of indigenous Scottish rocks such as Lewisian gneiss, Torridonian sandstone and Easdale slate. The stones are set into large concrete casts, each one inscribed with a quotation. The Canongate Wall contains a total of 24 quotations. Etched along the lower stretch of the wall is a pictorial representation of the Old Town of Edinburgh-based around a sketch by Enric Miralles showing the view of the Old Town from his bedroom window in the Balmoral Hotel.
  The Main Hall of the Parliament contains a number of distinctive features and sculptures, including the gold-plated Honours of Scotland sculpture. Presented by the Queen upon the opening of the Parliament building, the sculpture is modelled on the actual Honours of Scotland, the crown, sceptre and the sword of the state, and combines these three separate elements into one composition. During meetings of the original Parliament of Scotland, the actual Honours were always present but since 1819 they have been permanently housed in Edinburgh Castle.  The 11 m (36 ft) long Visitor Information Desk also stands in the Main Hall.  Commissioned by the art strategy group, the desk combines a unique design constructed from oak and sycamore and functions as a workstation for six members of parliamentary staff.  At a cost of £88,000 the desk has been criticised by some over its price and functionality.
  Another feature gifted to the Scottish Parliament by the Queen, following its inauguration in July 1999, is the parliamentary mace. The mace is housed in a glass case in the debating chamber and has a formal, ceremonial role during meetings of the Parliament. The mace sits in front of the Presiding Officers' desk and is made from silver and inlaid with gold panned from Scottish rivers and inscribed with the words "Wisdom", "Compassion", "Justice" and "Integrity". The words "There shall be a Scottish Parliament" (which are the first words of the Scotland Act 1998), are inscribed around the head of the mace. At the beginning of each session in the chamber, the case is removed to symbolise that a full meeting of the Parliament is taking place.
caption: The Canongate Wall façade of the parliamentary complex has quotations inscribed onto pieces of rock.
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