Architect 'Warned Against' Parliament Design Competition

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Archiseek / UK / Scotland / News / 2003 / November 25

The late Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar slapped down his own top architect after he warned that holding a design competition for a new Parliament building posed major risks, the official inquiry into the Holyrood fiasco heard today. Dr John Gibbons, the chief architect at the former Scottish Office, said he was concerned that similar competitions had produced Parliament buildings that went “considerably over-budget”. Dr Gibbons said Mr Dewar first talked about organising an architectural competition in May 1997 – just weeks after Labour had swept to power in the general election.

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