New Scottish Parliament

[Zaqattaq]

http://archrecord.construction.com/p...ttishParlm.asp

I think it looks like a cow

It is amazing inside and even the most sceptical opponents of the Parliment Building could not fail to be impressed by it's interior.

[nukey]

Im going to Edinburgh just to see it. The photos alone take my breath away (especially the interiors) and I only have one hope for when I see it in the flesh, and that is that I dont have a heart attack on the spot. My unit is also going in a month to see his Igualada cemetery... looking forward to that too. SUCH a shame that he died.

[nukey]

[Accura4Matalan]

I'm not a fan of it. Especially when you consider how badly the costs escalated. The project should never have gone ahead.

[nukey]

I think that we are going to avoid Barcelona itself and go around it to Igualada and a high-school that he designed. The idea is that we will go and see things that we can only see with a car, as we will be driving down from Toulouse, and if anyone wants to see more they can come back another time: Barcelona is easier to get to from London than Leeds these days.

[Meditt]

Originally Posted by nukey

I think that we are going to avoid Barcelona itself and go around it to Igualada and a high-school that he designed. The idea is that we will go and see things that we can only see with a car, as we will be driving down from Toulouse, and if anyone wants to see more they can come back another time: Barcelona is easier to get to from London than Leeds these days.

yup, the school in Morella its one of his first projects (still with Carme Pinós)... never been there, but looks interesting.. you should post pics of your trip to Igualada and Morella in these forums... some good architecture is always welcomed..

Morella walls and castle look impressing at night...



and that's the school (below):

[blue_warsaw]

looks...
strange?

[FerrariEnzo]

Very cool.

[samsonyuen]

It's fugly. Went inside, and it's nice. It's what one would expect if Ikea designed a parliament building. Too much wood, and the assembly room is a joke. Wood chairs? Come on.

[Meditt]

It definitely looks very Mirallesque... looking at these pics I think its great and gorgeous (more the interiors than the facades, specially beautiful is the main hall for the deputees or whatever you call this in Scotland)...

I find the use of wood in the interiors very impressing, it gives it a very special atmosphere (never been there so I'm only speculating)... very personal and special, different from what would have been a more predictable use of metal, plastics, stone or other materials more "institutional"...
the wood gives it both an intimate feeling -closer to the people that this hall represents one may say-, but at the same time the space looks big and majestic enough to be breathtaking -the roof of the main hall is astonishing, in particular those wood beams and also the treatment and playfulness of the transparencies in the facade behind the president's table or whoever may sit down there in the center-...

I know it costed 10 times the initial budget, and being public money, I'm sure a lot of scots are pissed off and disgusted with how all this has been managed.. yet I think they must be proud of this building, cause the final result is wonderful and its been wide-worldly exposed (and with great reviews for what I've read)... Congrats.

All in all, I think its fu*king superb... Miralles' swan song couldn't have sounded better and been more spectacular... I'd love to make it up there someday and pay a visit...

[Jonesy55]

I love the building, it's just a shame that the construction cost the British (not just Scottish!) taxpayer 10 times more than originally planned.

[Be_Happy]

It's fugly. Went inside, and it's nice. It's what one would expect if Ikea designed a parliament building. Too much wood, and the assembly room is a joke. Wood chairs? Come on.

What kind of chairs were you expecting? Inflatable? I think it's great. I love how it doesn't follow the stereotypical design of most parliament buildings. It's something completely different. A lot of people had pre-concieved ideas of what a parliament should look like - and because this building doesn't match that vision, they are dissapointed. I think it's amazing, though. The debating chamber is much more impressive than Westminster's in my opinion.

[Met]

Cool!
Catalan design for the Scottish Parliament.

a10!

[Ross]

In response to Jonesy55, its not that when the Scots send all their oil money to the SE of England! and the reason that the British taxes go on this is because it is a british project, we dont moan about our money being used on English projects!!!!!

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by Ross

In response to Jonesy55, its not that when the Scots send all their oil money to the SE of England! and the reason that the British taxes go on this is because it is a british project, we dont moan about our money being used on English projects!!!!!

Well, don't moan about your oil money then, if this is a British project, they are British oil-fields! Are you sure no Scots moaned about the millenium dome??

[centralized pandemonium]

Looks amazing to me.

[samsonyuen]

I normally expect a parliament to look more stately and conservative you're right. However, the shoddy construction is already beginning to show: a few of the seats that were glued or tacked to the different elevations of floor were already broken off. At least the Welsh parliament will look nice.

[nukey]

hey Meditt, Im just back from the trip. We spent a whole day in Igualada, visited the Archery range, EMBT's office, Diagonal Mar Park and got shown around St Caterina and the site office at the top of the building across the road. We only got to see the Gas Natural tower from the outside though cos the project architects were to busy on the day we had free. BTW, what I said in the thread about the Nouvel Tower holds: there isnt the fettishisticaly tight synthesis of form, stucture and function that there is in Swiss Re, which frankly is what sets it apart and makes it so different... not a bad thing. Although I preffered it in pictures to when I saw it in the flesh.

[Meditt]

Originally Posted by nukey

hey Meditt, Im just back from the trip. We spent a whole day in Igualada, visited the Archery range, EMBT's office, Diagonal Mar Park and got shown around St Caterina and the site office at the top of the building across the road. We only got to see the Gas Natural tower from the outside though cos the project architects were to busy on the day we had free. BTW, what I said in the thread about the Nouvel Tower holds: there isnt the fettishisticaly tight synthesis of form, stucture and function that there is in Swiss Re, which frankly is what sets it apart and makes it so different... not a bad thing. Although I preffered it in pictures to when I saw it in the flesh.

sounds like you all had a good archi-time!

so you didn't went down to Morella? I've never been there, but since there was all this fuzz about that school maybe I should go seeing it one day... the pictures look interesting but with that castle and mountain in the background I'm sure seeing it for real it would be very impressive...

I agree with that of the Agbar... I like it more from the distance, wether in pictures or right there, but I'm not crazy about the detailing... still I'm not sure if I prefer the Swiss Re or the Agbar, but one thing for sure, they are completely different... but both architectural wonders...

any pics?

I've been reading more about the Scottish Parliament recently... and the more I read the more I like it... I'm pretty amazed with all the concrete (in situ and prefab) and wood details... now I get why the budget skyrocketed... but the building is so damn beautiful, and the fragmented composition, IMO, very inspired... I don't know how the scottish politicians feel about it, it would be nice to read what the users think about the whole complex...