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started his design of the Parliament complex and was aware of Scotland’s unique cultural traditions and history.
‘He ensured that much iconography and symbolism was built into the fabric of the building. The tour led us past Art works and into the Garden Lobby where generally there were gasps from the visitors at the beauty of the place. The Garden Lobby gives access to Queensbury House, which Miralles was desperately anxious to incorporate into the Parliamentary Complex, bringing an air of antiquity, contrasting the old with the new - 1707 dissolution with the recreation.
‘At the top of the stairs there were further symbolic links to Scotland’s democratic past. Then into the glazed corridor where opportunities abounded for further discussion on Miralles’s architectural concepts, before taking the visitors into the floor of the chamber, to stand beside the symbol of Parliamentary authority, the Mace with its aspirations of what the Scottish people want of their MSPs “Wisdom, Justice, Compassion and Integrity.”
‘For the final part of the tour we brought the visitors into a Committee Room, allowed them to sit on the visitors’ chairs and fire any questions at the guide. By this time most people had lost their predetermined opinion of the complex.
‘Questions ranged from building costs, parliamentary procedures, history, architectural concepts, Scottish politics and Scottish independence! It was an exciting time guiding in the Scottish Parliament, seeing Scottish political figures in the flesh. They frequently interacted with the visiting parties especially with school parties. I remember once when I was guiding a group of about two dozen children, when First Minister, Jack McConnell, stepped out of a lift and immediately took over my group.
‘I followed him and after five minutes or so had to ask him to give me back my group so that I could continue the tour! On another occasion I was asked to guide Benedetta Tagliabuie who had brought a party of Spanish architects to see the building. She was charming. I was very nervous but I delivered my normal tour which was heavily weighted into Miralles’s concepts. She thanked me at the end for my kind words and presented me with a book on the Scottish Parliament that she had signed. It made my day!
Andrew Thackrey said he greatly enjoyed guiding in Parliament and the questions which people put to him. ‘The one I remember is: ‘Where is Tony Blair’s seat?’
Helen Manning remembers doing the last tour of the day with four visitors - one couple were Scottish and the others were on holiday and were English.
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