“The new Parliament sits in the land – this was our goal.
We had the feeling that the building should be like the land,
built out of land and carved in the land,
in the form of people gathering.”
— Enric Miralles, 1998
Introduction
This exhibition presents for the first time a reflection on the creation of the Scottish Parliament through original documents from the archives of the studio Enric Miralles Benedetta Tagliabue EMBT. It also shows new projects of the Barcelona Studio which continues the legacy of the Scottish Parliament today through new public space projects that respond to communities, cultural and urban contexts.
Many of the original design documents featured in this exhibition are shown in Scotland for the first time. These include hand-drawn concept images, sketches, collages, site studies, and competition boards all part of the rich creative process led by Enric Miralles and carried forward by the EMBT team under Benedetta Tagliabue following his untimely passing in 2000.
Awarded the international competition in 1998, led by Enric Miralles, EMBT + RMJM envisioned a building that would embody the democratic ideals of Scotland a space of civic gathering, rooted in its landscape, its traditions, and its people. Designed in close dialogue with its site in Holyrood, the building was praised by Rafael Moneo as one of the most significant architectural works of the 20th century. It remains a powerful expression of political vision and poetic form.
In partnership with RMJM Scotland Ltd, the Edinburgh-based firm that supported the local delivery of the project, EMBT developed the Parliament as a complex interplay of form, topography, material, and symbolism. This collaboration allowed the studio to translate its conceptual vision into built reality on Scottish soil.
The exhibition also includes a selection of works developed by EMBT, such as the Santa Caterina Market (1997-2005), Hafencity (2002-2024), Kálida Sant Pau Maggie’s Center (2010-2019) and Parco del Mare Waterfront Rimini
(2017-ongoing), all of which continue the studio’s investigation into the public realm spaces that serve communities, regenerate urban environments and engage local identity. These projects resonate with the design ideas of the Scottish Parliament building , forming a narrative of continuity in the studio’s evolving architectural language – a dialogue between place, people and purpose.
AI Summary
Enric Miralles: Creating the Scottish Parliament and Other Stories explores the genesis of Scotland’s Parliament as a visionary project of civic architecture, shaped by Enric Miralles and continued by Benedetta Tagliabue and EMBT. Through original drawings and recent works, the exhibition traces an evolving architectural language rooted in place, community, and poetic expression.
