PARLIAMENT HOUSE – CRIMINAL COURTS

Project: Parliament House – Elliot and PSA Wings
Client: SCTS
Location: Court of Session, Parliament House
Value: £5m
Listing: Grade A
Date Complete: 2021

From 2007 to 2021 MLA have been lead consultants in several projects in the Grade A Listed Court of Session Building on Parliament Square in Edinburgh. These projects and feasibility studies have included New Offices, Judicial Training Suites, Criminal Courtrooms, DDA lifts and other Fabric improvements.

These works are significant investments by SCTS in the built estate – modernising, rationalising, and introducing new facilities. Meeting modern requirements and continuing to provide fit for purpose facilities to enable the delivery of justice almost inevitably involve internal and external alterations. This is particularly challenging, especially in a historic listed building.

At the Supreme Courts in Edinburgh there is a pressing requirement to improve court facilities, (particularly making alterations to Court 9), for all users, including victims, witnesses and jurors. SCTS is also seeking to reuse parts of the building in order to relocate the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) from Causewayside. This would involve accommodation for offices, tribunal rooms, library facilities and ancillary space. Through careful design, and after considering various options, the proposal has achieved a compromise solution which balances preserving the building’s special architectural and historic interest against meeting these requirements.