Scottish Parliament, Holyrood

ScottishParliament,
Holyrood
Architect:EMBTEnricMiralles,BenedettaTagliabue,Barcelona;RMJM,London
Lightingdesigner:OfficeforVisualInteraction(OVI),NewYork(USA):JeanM.
Sundin,EnriquePeiniger
Photographer:DavidLevenson,London
Place:Edinburgh
InEdinburgh,theScottishParliamenthas
beenbuilttotheplansofEnricMiralles.The
extremelypolymorpharchitectureplacedthe
highestdemandsonthelightingdesignand
lightingtechnology.
In1997,theScotssuccessfullyfoughtfor
theirownparliamentviaareferendum-after
almost300yearsofadministrationfromthe
distantcityofLondon.Thearchitectural
competitionwaswonbytheCatalan-national
EnricMiralles(EMBT,Barcelona).Hisdesign
fortheirregularlyshapedsiteinEdinburgh
usedthesympatheticmetaphorofaharbour
bayfullofboats.Despitemanyadversities
andtragicevents-Mirallesdiedin2000,in
themiddleoftheimplementationplanningtheparliamentbuildingwassuccessfully
completedandopenedin2004.Thisisduein
nosmallwaytotheprofessionalismofthe
London-basedarchitecturalofficesofRMJM.
Acollageofdiversitywithorganic-looking
detailscharacterisesthebuilding’s
appearance.
Intheplenarychamber,approximately200
StellaspotlightswithVario-lensesfor150W
HIT-CEmetalhalidelampsmasterthe
balancingactbetweenamedia-friendly,high
illuminancelevelandvisualcomfortforthe
membersofparliament.Thepositionand
directionofthespotlights,whichare
pendant-mountedtotheceilingstructure,
weredecidedonbythedesignersinadvance
withthehelpofERCOvirtualluminairesand
powerfulsimulationsoftware.
Theconferencehallsforpoliticalpartiesand
commissionsareasmultifacetedastherestof
thearchitectureandthereforeeachdemand
theirownindividuallightingconcepts.
VarioustypesofspotlightsonERCO3-circuit
tracksolvedthelightingtasksherewithgreat
flexibility:fromconcentratedsessions
withoutpublicaccesstoturbulentpress
conferences.
Inthepublicfoyeroftheparliament,withits
expressivelyshapedconcretevaulting,a
permanentexhibitioninformsonthehistory
oftheinstitution.Polluxlow-voltagehalogen
spotlights,mountedon3-circuittrackin
recessedceilingchannels,lifttheexhibitsout
ofthehalf-lightofthefoyer.
Inthecafeteriaandthelobbies,thelighting
alsotakesonadecorativecomponent:the
glasscylindersofthefreelyarranged
Starpointdownlightscreatepointsoflight
whichcorrespondtothecurvaceousshapeof
theceilingpanels.Atthesametime,the
recessedluminairesfittedwithlow-voltage
halogenlampsprovideabrilliant,yetpleasant
light.
ScottishParliament,Holyrood,Edinburgh.
www.scottish.parliament.uk
Address:
VisitorServices
TheScottishParliament
EdinburghEH991SP
Tel.+441313485200
Architects
EMBTEnricMirallesBenedettaTagliabue
JoanCallis,ProjectManagement
KarlUnglaub,SupervisingArchitect.
www.mirallestagliabue.com
RMJMScotlandLtd.,Edinburgh
www.rmjm.co.uk/
Lightingdesign
OfficeforVisualInteraction(OVI),NewYork
(USA):JeanM.Sundin,EnriquePeiniger
www.oviinc.com
Totalarea:
30,000m²