Scottish Parliament Building

The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh, designed by the Spanish architect Enric Miralles in partnership with Benedetta Tagliabue through the EMBT and RMJM Scotland joint venture. Construction began in June 1999, and although Miralles died before the building was finished, MSPs held their first debate in it on September 7, 2004, with Queen Elizabeth II formally opening it on October 9, 2004. Built in a postmodern style, the project became highly controversial in Scotland as its cost rose from initial estimates of 10 to 40 million pounds to a final figure of 414 million pounds, three years behind its original schedule, earning it the nickname Follyrood in the press. Despite the controversy over its cost, the building won the 2005 Stirling Prize, the United Kingdom's leading architecture award.