Building Design

On October 30 1998, Enric Miralles's competition-winning proposals for the Scottish Parliament building went on public exhibition in Edinburgh. A number of the more hopeful assertions made that day — notably the prophesied £50 million budget and completion date of autumn 2001 — have subsequently been subjected to the Fraser inquiry's forensic scrutiny. The big question Fraser does not address is whether the completed building succeeds in delivering the grander vision Donald Dewar outlined at that press conference six years ago. Dewar promised the building would present nothing less than “an image of Scotland's new position within the United Kingdom as we move into the 21st century”.