Museum of Scotland Building [1998] (Edinburgh, Scotland) : Interior, seating area at base of stairs surrounded with open slot

Creator:

Benson & Forsyth, founded ca. 1985

Published/Created:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Chambers Street and George IV Bridge
1991-1998

Date Depicted:

5/3/2009

Materials:

gold Moray sandstone facade; steel; glass

Notes:

Benson & Forsyth (Gordon Benson and Alan Forysth) were nominated for the Stirling Prize in 1999 for the Museum of Scotland design, their first major building (winning competition design, 1991). The spaces and shapes echo Modernism and Le Corbusier, but also reference the context of Old Town. The yellow Moray sandstone cladding also speaks to Scottish history. The main feature is the circular entrance tower, which echoes the Edinburgh castle battery (the Half Moon Battery). The center has a dramatic seven story high triangular glass atrium flooded with daylight. Stairs and walkways connect the galleries on the different levels. The building was controversial in part because it adjoins the (former) Royal Museum, a very notable Victorian Italianate building (1861-1888). The two collections (Museum of Scotland and Royal Museum) were formally merged under the name National Museum of Scotland in 2006. The collections in the 1998 building cover Scottish history in an essentially chronological arrangement, beginning with prehistory to the early medieval period at the lowest level, with later periods in the higher levels.

Variant Titles:

National Museum of Scotland: former Museum of Scotland building

Topics:

Architecture -- Britain -- 20th century -- (YVRC)
Architecture -- Scotland -- 20th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Modernist
Twentieth century

Culture:

British
Scottish

Accession Number:

1A1-BF-NMS-A39

Coordinates:

+55.946803-3.190463

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
exhibition buildings: museums (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

buildings; exhibition buildings; museums; buildings; exhibition buildings; museums; art museums architecture; contemporary (1960 to present); Art museums; Museology; history museum

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Addition Module Seven

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
5/3/2009 12:00:00 AM

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4349

OID:

10460362

PID:

digcoll:1787898