20 Years of Holyrood

One of the most innovative buildings designed and winner of numerous architectural awards sits at the foot of the Royal Mile amidst the landscape of Holyrood Park. Constructed from a mixture of steel, oak and granite, the Scottish Parliament building still incites vocal supporters and critics on its aesthetics to the over runs and over-budget price tag. Join a panel to hear more about the inspiration, the drama and the behind-the-scenes stories of a Parliament, the main masterpiece of Enric Miralles and his Barcelona studio that is intended to be viewed as ‘growing out of the land.’

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Chair: Karen Anderson, President, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS)

Panellists:

Ruairidh Moir is an architect with his own BARD architectural practice. Hailing from the Isle of Lewis he moved to Glasgow due to his interest in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Ruairidh then studied and worked in Barcelona at the studio of Miralles Tagliabue EMBT and the Fundacio Enric Miralles. He has had a strong academic presence, tutoring since 2015 and serving as a Teaching Fellow until 2022. Ruairidh is a former chair of the Mackintosh Society Queen’s Cross Church fabric committee and a former Nationally Elected Council member of the RIAS.

Tavish Scott is chief executive of Salmon Scotland and was previously head of external affairs for Scottish Rugby (2019-20) and MSP for Shetland (1999-2019) when he served as a Scottish Government minister in various portfolios, held various Scottish parliamentary positions and is a former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. As an MSP, Tavish was also a member of the Holyrood Progress Group responsible for overseeing the building of the Scottish Parliament. Tavish is non-executive director of People for Places Scotland, a social housing investment charity and a visiting professor for the Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University.

Benedetta Tagliabue is an internationally renowned architect. She is the co-founder with Enric Miralles (1955–2000) of EMBT Architects, as well as the founder and president of the Fundació Enric Miralles. She is known for iconic works like the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, 2004; the Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona, 2005; and the Spanish Pavilion for Expo Shanghai, 2010. Recent works include Ferrara's San Giacomo Apóstolo Church, 2019 and Kálida Sant Pau Centre – part of Maggie's Centre Network in Barcelona, 2019. Benedetta also leads many on-going projects worldwide. Benedetta is a visiting professor at Harvard, Columbia, Yale, and ETSAB and serves on prestigious international award juries. She has received several awards including; the RIBA Stirling and National Spanish prizes.

Interpreters: Megan Frickleton and Jenny Laird