title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: “When I’m Gone” was written in 2003 and released in 2005 by Shady Records, on the album "Curtain Call: The Hits". It was thought at the time that this album would mark the beginning of an extended musical hiatus for Eminem, who had said "I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going...This is the reason that we called it "Curtain Call", because this could be the final thing. We don't know."


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: The song's lyrics pertain to Eminem's life as a celebrity musician interfering with his family. Eminem uses imagery to evoke a feeling of sadness about his family falling apart.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: The music video for the song was directed by Anthony Mandler. Tarick Salmaci, from the TV show "The Contender", makes an appearance in the video with his wife.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: AllMusic wrote a mixed to positive overview: "There's the closing "When I'm Gone," a sentimental chapter in the Eminem domestic psychodrama that bears the unmistakable suggestion that Em is going away for a while. While it's not up to the standard of "Mockingbird," it is more fully realized than the two other new cuts here..." Pitchfork considered: "When I'm Gone" is an all desolate placeholder—lesser version of Eminem songs that already piss me off. "Gone" is the worst offender, yet another love letter from Em to daughter Hailie, it, like Encore's "Mockingbird", is heavy-handed and saccharine."


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: IGN also panned the single: "The latter, however, is another prime example of the beat dragging Eminem down. The sluggish, lumbering bump causes his lyrics to stumble and sound forced in their delivery. The heartfelt storyline would have been better served drenched in some warm, fuzzy, but ultimately mournful soul instead." "NME" called this song disappointing. Sputnik Music wrote a mixed review: "Eminem gives a powerful vocal performance, with some rather touching lyrics and a nice chorus. However, much like much of his previous work on Encore, it gets bogged down in a repetitive and boring beat." Rolling Stone agreed.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: The music video starts with Eminem rapping on a podium about his life at a small gathering. He's at an open house where he completely ignores his daughter's creations but before he can see the error of his actions, it is too late. As he watches her walk away, he raps ""Then turn right around in that song and tell her you love her/And put hands on her mother, who's a spitting image of her"", feeling remorse for writing songs about being violent towards Kim, who is Hailie's mother, and wonders how he could be a good parent.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: Then, he is confronted by his daughter piling boxes in front of the door to prevent him from leaving. He convinces his daughter to let him go but she insists to give him a necklace with her picture. He then finds himself in a hotel room and then on a stage where he raps. At the end of his performance on the stage, he finds his daughter has followed him and tells him of the divorce.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: Afterwards, Eminem goes backstage as the "bad" Slim Shady and looks in a mirror. He then punches it as a way of "killing" Slim Shady, a reference to his debut EP as the character. He then finds himself back at home playing with his daughters on the swing. The video ends with him being applauded at the podium.


title: When I'm Gone (Eminem song)

text: The video features actresses playing his daughter Hailie Jade and his ex-wife Kim, from whom Eminem was divorced when the song was released. Hailie's half sibling Stevie Laine Scott, Kim's child to another man, also appears in the video played by an actress near the end of the video. Eminem adopted Stevie and thinks of them as his own child. They’re the younger kid on the swing, at the moment in the lyrics when he says, "Hailie just smiles and winks at her little sister". The scene where he performs onstage is the cover art for the single and "Curtain Call" album.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: NXT TakeOver: XXV was the 25th NXT TakeOver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and took place on June 1, 2019, at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: Seven matches were contested at the event, including two taped for the following week's episode of "NXT". In the main event, Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT Championship. The undercard saw NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler and NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream defeating Io Shirai and Tyler Breeze, respectively, to retain their titles, and Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) won the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship in a four-way ladder match.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: TakeOver was a series of professional wrestling shows that began in May 2014, as WWE's then-developmental league NXT held their second WWE Network-exclusive event, billed as TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Titled for being the 25th NXT TakeOver event, TakeOver: XXV was held on June 1, 2019, at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: The card comprised five matches. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, "NXT".


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: At , Johnny Gargano defeated Adam Cole in a two-out-of-three falls match to win the vacant NXT Championship. On the May 15, 2019 episode of "NXT", a rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for TakeOver: XXV.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: During the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) were drafted to Raw. They then voluntarily relinquished the titles on the May 1, 2019 taping of "NXT" (aired May 15), though had one final title defense against Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) that ended in disqualification after The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch got involved. A four-way tag team ladder match was later scheduled for TakeOver: XXV between Lorcan and Burch, Street Profits, The Forgotten Sons, and The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish).


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: In the opening match, Matt Riddle faced Roderick Strong. Riddle performed a Cradle Belly to Back Inverted Mat Slam on Strong to win.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: Next, The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly), The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford), Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch and The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) competed in a Ladder match for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship. Ford retrieved the belts to win the title.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: After that, The Velveteen Dream defended the NXT North American Championship against Tyler Breeze. Dream performed a Purple Rainmaker on Breeze to retain the title. Following the match, the two would earn each other’s respect and take a selfie together.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: In the penultimate match, Shayna Baszler defended the NXT Women's Championship against Io Shirai. Baszler forced Shirai to submit to the Kirifuda Clutch to retain the title. After the match, Shirai struck Baszler with a kendo stick and performed a Moonsault on Baszler. Shirai then performed a Moonsault with a chair on Baszler.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: In the main event, Johnny Gargano defended the NXT Championship against Adam Cole. Gargano performed a Slingshot DDT on Cole for a near-fall. Cole performed a "Panama Sunrise" off the ring apron on Gargano and scored a near-fall. Cole applied the "Garga-No-Escape" but Gargano escaped. Gargano performed a "Last Shot" on Cole for a near-fall. Cole performed a Last Shot on Gargano for a near-fall. Gargano inadvertently performed a Suicide Dive on Drake Wuertz, the referee, and then performed a Superkick into a chair on Cole. Gargano applied the Garga-No-Escape but Cole escaped. Cole performed a second Panama Sunrise and a second Last Shot on Gargano to win the title. As the show closed, Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong posed and celebrated Cole's victory.


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: NXT TakeOver: XXV was met with highly positive reviews among fans and wrestling journalists. Larry Csonka of 411Mania gave the show an 8/10. He described the event by stating "To the surprise of absolutely no one, NXT TakeOver: XXV was another great TakeOver event with all four titles on the line a big moment for some stars that have been waiting for their chance on the big stage, and a new champion being crowned as the power in NXT shifts."


title: NXT TakeOver: XXV

text: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also praised the event with all the matches getting positive ratings. Rating out of a possible 5 stars, he awarded Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong and the NXT Tag Team Championship ladder matches 4.5 stars, the NXT North American Championship match of Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze 3.75 stars, the NXT Women's Championship match of Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai 4 stars and the NXT Championship match of Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole 5.25 stars, making it only the second WWE match Meltzer has given more than 5 stars.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Little Island at Pier 55 (stylized as Little Island @Pier55) is an artificial island park in the Hudson River west of Manhattan in New York City, adjoining Hudson River Park. Designed by Heatherwick Studio, it is near the intersection of West Street and 13th Street in the Meatpacking District and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan. It is located slightly west of the Manhattan shoreline atop Hudson River Pier 55, connected to Hudson River Park in Manhattan by footbridges at 13th and 14th Streets.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Little Island covers and is supported by 132 pot-shaped structures (called "tulips") suspended above the water, which in turn stand on 280 concrete pilings extending into the riverbed. The tops of the pots range from above the mean waterline. Engineer Arup Group oversaw the installation of the pots manufactured in Upstate New York by the Fort Miller Company. The park has various lawns, paths, and plants, which were arranged by landscape architect Signe Nielsen. The plantings and soil were engineered to reduce erosion and were also arranged aesthetically. In addition, Little Island has a small stage and three concession stands, as well as a 687-seat amphitheater.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Plans arose in November 2014 for a new park, known as Pier 55, designed by Heatherwick Studio and largely funded by Barry Diller and Diane von Fürstenberg, with some funding from the New York City and state governments. Originally, construction was to begin in 2015 and the park would have been completed in 2018 or 2019. However, the park's construction was delayed by lawsuits from the City Club of New York. Plans for the pier were scrapped in September 2017 due to lawsuits and cost overruns. The next month, the proposal was revived when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo agreed to provide funding for the park. Construction of the structure began in April 2018 and a symbolic cornerstone was laid in December 2018. The project was renamed Little Island in 2019 and opened on May 21, 2021.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Little Island adjoins Hudson River Park near the intersection of West Street and 13th Street in Manhattan. The park is in the Meatpacking District and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan. Commissioned by businessman Barry Diller and designed by Thomas Heatherwick's company Heatherwick Studio, the park covers . It is accessible from two passageways extending across the water from Hudson River Park: a southern esplanade at Little West 12th Street and a northern esplanade at 14th Street. The park can fit 1,000 people simultaneously. , the park is open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, but visitors are required to book reservations if they visit after noon.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Arup Group oversaw the structural design of the park. Little Island is supported by 132 pot-shaped structures suspended above the water. These "tulip pots" vary in height and are between above the mean waterline. This was meant to protect the park from a 500-year flood, in which the water level in the river rises as much as . The heights of the pots was intended to give the appearance of a floating leaf or a wave. Numerous other firms were involved in the structural design, including precast cement contractor Fort Miller Company, marine consultant Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, and marine contractor Weeks Marine.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Each pot has four to six lightweight concrete sections, referred to as "petals", which are designed to reduce the load on the pilings. The precast concrete is also meant to be resistant to erosion and corrosion. The concrete pots were manufactured by the Fort Miller Company at their factory in Easton in Upstate New York. The Fort Miller Company hired a partner to create foam molds for the pieces of the pots using a laser cutter, then cleared out a 600-foot-long building for these foam pieces. Thirty-nine types of molds were fabricated. According to the company's president, "A full one-third of our annual production capacity was displaced by this project."


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: After the petals were manufactured, they were driven to the Port of Coeymans, a port on the Hudson River south of Albany, New York. At the Port of Coeymans, Weeks Marine assembled the individual petals and used a crane to load them onto barges. The barges typically traveled from the Port of Coeymans to Manhattan in 14 hours. Once in Manhattan, the pots were installed on their supports using a 350-ton crane. The largest support is tall and weighs . The pots stand on 267 or 280 concrete pilings, which extend at most into the bottom of the Hudson River. Each piling measures in diameter and can handle loads of . The pilings were hollowed at their cores, with metal guide rails to allow the pots to be installed without the pilings tipping over. The edges of the pots are placed apart.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Signe Nielsen of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects was the landscape architect for the park, while BrightView Landscape Development was the landscape contractor. Nielsen "wanted New Yorkers to feel delight and excitement around every turn from the moment they set foot here." To accomplish this, the plantings were arranged in specific color patterns. For instance, a portion of the park was planted with yellow, gold, lavender, and purple plants contrasting with each other.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The landscape includes 35 tree species and 65 shrub species. In addition, there are 270 species of perennials and grasses. At the park's opening in 2021, the landscape contained sixty-six thousand bulbs and 114 trees. The original trees are up to tall with trunk diameters of . The trees are planted in of soil, which is stabilized by geofibers and fed by a large irrigation system. The composition of the soil was engineered to reduce erosion, and evergreens and other plantings were used to shield the park from strong winds from the Hudson River.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The park's four corners are designed with different topologies. There are three lawns, as well as a "secret garden" planted exclusively with white flora. One of the lawns, the Main Lawn, is in the center of the park. Alongside the landscapes, the park contains scenic observation areas as well as plazas and performance spaces. There are overlooks at the northwest, southwest, and southeast corners of the park. Walkways lead up to the highest portions of Little Island, in a layout similar to the southern portion of Governors Island.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: A portion of the park contains a small stage and concession stands. According to Diller, the park's management had interviewed Danny Meyer's company for the concessionaire position before selecting a smaller firm, Savory Hospitality. Savory operates three concession stalls for food and drinks around a plaza called "The Play Ground". The drinks served at the concession stalls include cocktails that are custom-made for park visitors. The southern portion of the park contains "The Glade", an arts and crafts area for families and children.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: There is also a 687-seat amphitheater nicknamed "The Amph", which is in the western end of Little Island. The Amph is on the north side of the park's tallest hill, where there is a flat pier with public restrooms and actors' changing rooms. The utilities had to be placed on top of the flat pier. At the park's opening in 2021, most events at the Amph were free but, for ticketed shows, thirty percent of tickets were to be sold online. The ticketed shows are largely free or have low admission fees, and educational programming and performances are scheduled for six days a week. The free or low admission fees were a term of Diller's lease agreement from the Hudson River Park Trust, which operates Hudson River Park. Under the terms of the agreement, at least 51 percent of tickets must be under 30 dollars, including tickets sold for free.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: By 2011, Hudson River Pier 55 was deteriorating, a situation that was worsened by Hurricane Sandy in New York the next year. At a 2011 party for donors of the High Line park, Diana Taylor of the Hudson River Park Trust approached Diller to determine his interest in rebuilding the pier. Diller supported the idea of rebuilding the pier but said he would like to be "ambitious" about the space. His initial concept called for a $35 million amoeba-shaped structure "with a few trees".


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: In November 2014, it was announced that a new park would be designed by Heatherwick Studio on the site of the former Pier 55 along the Hudson River. Estimates of the park ranged from between $130 million and $160 million. Diller's foundation, headed jointly by his wife Diane von Fürstenberg, contributed $100 million and made plans to donate another $30 million. The city and state promised to give $17 million and $18 million, respectively. At the time, construction was to begin in 2015 and end in 2018 or 2019. The project was provisionally known as "Pier 55" and was to be built between the sites of Pier 54 and 56. The park was to float completely above the water, resting on 300 concrete pillars.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: By 2015, the Hudson River Park Trust had approved plans to construct a park at 13th Street that extended west into the Hudson River. Manhattan Community Board 2 also supported plans for the park. Diller had cold-called Heatherwick to design a park at the site. According to Diller, the first plan was "completely unbuildable" and resembled "Noah's Ark in stainless steel". Heatherwick's subsequent plan for the raised concrete pots was designed over a year and a half, while it took Nielsen a year to engineer the individual pots to hold dirt. Von Fürstenberg had tried to convince Diller not to build the park, saying it was vulnerable to rising sea levels, but Diller said the plans were safe from a thousand-year flood. The project was nicknamed "Diller Island" because of Diller's close association with the project. According to von Fürstenberg, the park plans were all "Barry's dream".


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The City Club of New York filed a lawsuit to stop the park's construction in 2015, alleging that the plans had not undergone a proper environmental review and that the project was instead using an old review conducted on the demolition of the adjacent Pier 54. According to the City Club, the trust had concluded there were no adverse environmental effects in installing 547 deep pilings for the park. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had yet to approve plans for the park. The DEC approved the plans in March 2016. The next month, a judge for the New York Supreme Court dismissed the case. The City Club filed an appeal, and a hearing was scheduled for September 2016. In the meantime, an appellate court placed an injunction in June 2016, temporarily stopping any further work from proceeding. Less than a month later, the injunction was partially lifted, allowing work on nine pilings to proceed. At the appellate hearing, representatives of Pier 55's developers argued that the trust had performed a proper environmental review. The court rejected the City Club's appeal. The suit was escalated to the New York Court of Appeals, which also rejected the appeal.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: During the appeal process of the City Club's lawsuit, Diller claimed that developer Douglas Durst was financing the lawsuit against Pier 55. Durst, once a supporter of Hudson River Park, had given up his chairmanship with the Hudson River Park Trust over various disagreements. Early in 2017, Durst confirmed that he had funded the City Club's suit against the project, though he said he had not been involved with the lawsuits for half a year. In an interview with "The Villager" newspaper, Durst said that he did not want to personalize the dispute over Pier 55. Durst claimed, "I have nothing against Diller—except he said he wishes I had been killed by my brother", businessman Robert Durst. At the time, Robert Durst had been accused of killing acquaintances, and Diller subsequently apologized for the comments.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The project still faced legal issues from the DEC, over a disputed environmental permit, and from the USACE, over allegations that the plans violated the Clean Water Act. The USACE had approved a permit by March 2017, when a United States District Court judge ruled that the permit was invalid because it had failed to consider the proposed park's impact on a nearby wildlife sanctuary. The project's costs had reached $200 million by then, and the work had to be halted. In June 2017, the USACE issued a permit for the park's construction after plans were slightly modified. The continuing dispute between the City Club and Pier 55 developers led New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to request that Durst stop funding the lawsuits against the park.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Plans for the park were scrapped in September 2017 due to continuing legal disputes. The park also experienced cost overruns as its budget had exceeded $200 million by then. According to Diller, he had already invested $45 million of his foundation's money. On the day the project was canceled, he was scheduled to order $80 million in cement. After his lawyers advised him that the City Club's lawyers may request an injunction on the project, von Fürstenberg and the couple's children advised Diller to stop the project and "go where you're wanted". The City Club's lawyers expressed excitement over the park's cancellation. Among the disappointed supporters of the project were the Hudson River Park Trust, de Blasio, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The cancellation of the park lasted only forty-three days. On October 25, 2017, Cuomo arranged an agreement in which Pier 55 would be completed. Cuomo agreed to complete the remaining 30 percent of the incomplete Hudson River Park, provided that he won the 2018 New York gubernatorial election. Cuomo also promised the ecology of the Hudson River estuary would not be adversely affected by the construction of Pier 55. In exchange, the City Club's lawyers dropped their lawsuits against Pier 55.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Cuomo provided $50 million for the park in April 2018, but with the condition that the city raise a matching amount. Construction of the structure began the same month, with the construction of walkways from the Hudson River Park esplanade to the future park site. The new estimate for the project was $250 million. By that August, the pilings were being installed. A symbolic cornerstone was laid in December 2018. At this time, the first of the park's pots was delivered from upstate New York and installed at Pier 55. The park itself was planned to be significantly completed in 2020 and open to the public in early 2021. The pots were manufactured and delivered by the Fort Miller Company starting in 2018. The pilings upon which the pots were to be installed, could only be driven from May to November of each year. As a result, 164 piles were driven in 2018 and the remaining 103 piles were driven from May to July 2019. The subsequent construction of the landscape, concession, and programming areas required coordination between the different contractors due to limited space for staging areas. Several cranes were used, including one on a barge, and materials were delivered by barge.By October 2019, much of the park's perimeter had been installed. That month, the project was renamed Little Island. The first trees at Little Island were installed in March 2020. According to photos taken the next month, all the piles and pots had been installed, and the layers of soil supporting the vegetation were being planted. Despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City during 2020, the park's construction was allowed to proceed even as most other projects were forced to stop. Work was temporarily halted for three weeks to disinfect the worksite, but the park was otherwise classified as an "essential project". Since most of the work was conducted outdoors, Little Island's construction site was considered a less likely place for COVID-19 to spread compared to indoor projects. The park's construction was nearly completed by early 2021.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The idea of performances in the park was created midway through the park's development. Among the artistic advisors Diller hired were film director Stephen Daldry, playwright George Wolfe, and theater film producer Scott Rudin. In early 2021, Little Island's developers announced that the park would have a program of artists in residence. The first artists in residence are choreographer Ayodele Casel, and thespians Tina Landau, Michael McElroy, and the PigPen Theatre Company. The residencies had been planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of restrictions that prevented indoor performances, Little Island's executive director Trish Santini said the artists' work was more important. The artists in residence were to work with the park's production team over a period of three years. Rudin continued to serve as an artistic advisor to Little Island even after allegations of abuse against him arose in early 2021.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: The park officially opened on May 21, 2021. It ultimately cost $260 million to construct. Visitors were asked to book reservations if they wished to visit during the midday. The opening of the park coincided with the loosening of pandemic restrictions in New York City, and the resulting heavy traffic led the park's ticket website to crash. At the opening of the park, architecture critic Michael Kimmelman wrote for "The New York Times" that the design concept "is in the theatrical vein of 18th century English garden follies". The Diller family foundation has agreed to fund the upkeep of the park, including programming, for twenty years. According to Barry Diller, the foundation's total contribution to the park reaches an estimated figure of $380 million, of which the upkeep costs comprise $120 million.


title: Little Island at Pier 55

text: Acts scheduled for the Amph's opening season included the American Ballet Theatre. During its 2022 season, Little Island hosted a three-week performing-arts festival called "The Big Mix".


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Scottish Parliament Building (; ) is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Spanish architect who designed the building, died before its completion.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: From 1999 until the opening of the new building in 2004, committee rooms and the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament were housed in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland located on The Mound in Edinburgh. Office and administrative accommodation in support of the Parliament were provided in buildings leased from the City of Edinburgh Council. The new Scottish Parliament Building brought together these different elements into one purpose-built parliamentary complex, housing 129 MSPs and more than 1,000 staff and civil servants.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: From the outset, the building and its construction have been controversial. The choices of location, architect, design, and construction company were all criticised by politicians, the media and the Scottish public. Scheduled to open in 2001, it did so in 2004, more than three years late with an estimated final cost of £414 million, many times higher than initial estimates of between £10m and £40m. A major public inquiry into the handling of the construction, chaired by the former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, was established in 2003. The inquiry concluded in September 2004 and criticised the management of the whole project from the realisation of cost increases down to the way in which major design changes were implemented. Despite these criticisms and a mixed public reaction, the building was welcomed by architectural academics and critics. The building aimed to achieve a poetic union between the Scottish landscape, its people, its culture, and the city of Edinburgh. The Parliament Building won numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize and has been described by landscape architect Charles Jencks as "a tour de force of arts and crafts and quality without parallel in the last 100 years of British architecture".


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Comprising an area of 1.6 ha (4 acres), with a perimeter of 480 m (1570 ft), the Scottish Parliament Building is located 1 km (0.6 mi) east of Edinburgh city centre on the edge of the Old Town. The large site previously housed the headquarters of the Scottish and Newcastle brewery which were demolished to make way for the building. The boundary of the site is marked by the Canongate stretch of the Royal Mile on its northern side, Horse Wynd on its eastern side, where the public entrance to the building is, and Reid's Close on its western side. Reid's Close connects the Canongate and Holyrood Road on the southwestern side of the complex. The south eastern side of the complex is bounded by the Our Dynamic Earth visitor attraction which opened in July 1999, and Queen's Drive which fringes the slopes of Salisbury Crags.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: In the immediate vicinity of the building is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is bordered by the broad expanse of Holyrood Park. To the south of the parliamentary complex are the steep slopes of Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. The Holyrood and Dumbiedykes areas, to the west of the site, have been extensively redeveloped since 1998, with new retail, hotel and office developments, including Barclay House, the new offices of The Scotsman Publications Ltd.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Before 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign independent state which had its own legislature—the Parliament of Scotland—which met, latterly, at Parliament House on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The Treaty of Union, signed in 1707, created an incorporating political union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England. This created the Kingdom of Great Britain. The two previous Acts of Union (one for the Parliament of England and one for the Parliament of Scotland) had dissolved the previous parliaments. The Treaty of Union created the Parliament of Great Britain which was housed in the Palace of Westminster in London. As a consequence, Scotland was directly governed from London for the next 292 years without a legislature or a Parliament building of its own.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: A referendum of the Scottish electorate, held on 11 September 1997, approved the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Parliament to legislate on most domestic affairs. Following this, the Scottish Office, led by the then Secretary of State for Scotland, Donald Dewar, decided that a new purpose-built facility would be constructed in Edinburgh, to house the Scottish Parliament.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Initially, three sites in and around Edinburgh were considered as possible locations for the building, including St Andrew's House (St Andrews House being the home of the Scottish Office—later the Scottish Government); New Parliament House (better known as the imposing former Old Royal High School, Calton Hill); Victoria Quay at Leith docks (adjacent to the major Scottish Office building there) and Haymarket on the vacant railway goods yard, in the west end of the city. The Holyrood site was not entered into the picture until after the official closure date of the competition between the three sites. The date for announcing the winner overran and on the date of the expected announcement instead it was announced that they were going to "rethink their decision" (inferring that indeed a decision had been made) and add the Holyrood Brewery site into the running (which had only just closed). However negotiations with the brewing company Scottish and Newcastle, who owned the land, resulted in the company indicating that they would be able to vacate the site in early 1999. As a consequence, the Secretary of State for Scotland agreed that the Holyrood site merited inclusion on the shortlist of proposed locations. The Scottish Office commissioned feasibility studies of the specified areas in late 1997 and in January 1998, the Holyrood site was selected from the shortlist.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Following on from the site selection, the Scottish Office announced that an international competition would be held to find a designer for a new building to house the Parliament. A design committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Dewar, and was tasked with choosing from a shortlist of designs. Proposals were submitted from internationally renowned architects such as Rafael Viñoly, Michael Wilford and Richard Meier. Twelve designs were selected in March 1998, which were whittled down to five by the following May. The five final designs were put on public display throughout Scotland in June 1998. Feedback from the public displays showed that the designs of the Spanish architect Enric Miralles were amongst the most popular. The design team took account of public opinion on the designs and invited all five shortlisted entrants to make presentations on their proposed designs before announcing a winner.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: On 6 July 1998, it was declared that the design of Enric Miralles was chosen, with work being awarded to EMBT/RMJM (Scotland) Ltd, a Spanish-Scottish joint venture design company created for the project. Construction, which was undertaken by Bovis Lend Lease, commenced in June 1999, with the demolition of the Scottish and Newcastle brewery and the beginning of foundation work to support the structure of the building. MSPs began to move into the building complex in the Summer of 2004, with the official opening by the Queen taking place in October of the same year.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: As part of the construction process, archaeologists conducted excavations of the site. These investigations found several phases of use of the site before it became the parliamentary complex:


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Miralles sought to design a parliament building that could represent and present a national identity. This intractably difficult question was tackled by displacing the question of identity into the landscape of Scotland. In a characteristically poetic approach he talked about slotting the building into the land "in the form of a gathering situation: an amphitheatre, coming out from Arthur's Seat." where the building would reflect a dialogue between the landscape and the act of people sitting. So an early goal of the design was to open the building and its public spaces, not just to Edinburgh but to a more general concept of the Scottish landscape. Miralles intended to use the parliament to help build the end of Canongate—"not just another building on the street...it should reinforce the existing qualities of the site and its surroundings. In a subtle game of cross views and political implications."


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The result was a non-hierarchical, organic collection of low-lying buildings intended to allow views of, and blend in with, the surrounding rugged scenery and symbolise the connection between nature and the Scottish people. As a consequence the building has many features connected to nature and land, such as the leaf shaped motifs of the roof in the Garden Lobby of the building, and the large windows of the debating chamber, committee rooms and the Tower Buildings which face the broad expanse of Holyrood Park, Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags. Inside the buildings, the connection to the land is reinforced by the use of Scottish rock such as gneiss and granite in the flooring and walls, and the use of oak and sycamore in the construction of the furniture.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Parliament is actually a campus of several buildings, reflecting different architectural styles, with a total floor area of 31,000 square metres (312,000 sq ft), providing accommodation for MSPs, their researchers and parliamentary staff. The buildings have a variety of features, with the most distinctive external characterisation being the roof of the Tower Buildings, said to be reminiscent of upturned boats on the shoreline. The inspiration had come from Edwin Lutyens' sheds, made from upturned herring busses (boats) which Miralles saw on a visit to Lindisfarne in Northumberland. It is said that in the first design meeting, Miralles, armed with some twigs and leaves, thrust them onto a table and declared "This is the Scottish Parliament" reinforcing the unique and abstract nature of the parliamentary campus.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The north-western boundaries of the site, the MSPs' building, Queensberry House and the Canongate Building reinforce the existing medieval street patterns "expressing intimacy with the city and its citizens". The south-eastern aspect of the complex is extensively landscaped. Concrete "branches", covered in turf and wild grass extend from the parliamentary buildings, and provide members of the public with somewhere to sit and relax. Indigenous Scottish wildflowers and plants cover much of the area, blending the Parliament's grounds with the nearby Holyrood Park and Salisbury Crags. Oak, Rowan, Lime and Cherry trees have also been planted in the grounds. Adjacent to the landscaped area of the complex, where it meets Horse Wynd, there is an open plan piazza, with bike racks, seating and external lighting shaped like rocks incorporated into concrete paving. Three distinctive water features provide the centrepiece for this area.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: References to Scottish culture are also reflected in the building and particularly on some of the building's elevations. There are a series of "trigger panels", constructed out of timber or granite. Not to everyone's taste, these have been said to represent anvils, hairdryers, guns, question marks or even the hammer and sickle. Shortly after the official opening of the building, Enric Miralles' widow, Benedetta Tagliabue, revealed that the design is simply that of a window curtain pulled back. Her late husband however, enjoying the use of ambiguous forms with multiple meanings, had previously said he would love the profile to evoke an icon of Scottish culture, the painting of "The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch". The architectural critic Charles Jencks finds this a particularly apt metaphor for balanced movement and democratic debate and also notes the irony that Miralles too was skating on ice with his designs for the building. Elsewhere, in the public area beneath the debating chamber, the curved concrete vaults carry various stylised Saltires. Here the architect intends another metaphor; by setting the debating chamber directly above the public area, he seeks to remind MSPs whilst sitting in the chamber that their power derives from the people below them.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Scottish Parliament Building is open to visitors all year round. On non-sitting days, normally Mondays, Fridays and weekends as well as during parliamentary recess periods, visitors are able to view the Main Hall of the building and can access the public galleries of the debating chamber and main committee rooms. Guided tours are also available on non-sitting days and these allow visitors access to the floor of the chamber, the Garden Lobby, Queensberry House and committee rooms in the company of a parliamentary guide. On sitting days, members of the public must obtain tickets for the public galleries of both the chamber and committee rooms.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Scottish Parliament Building was designed with a number of sustainability features in mind. The decision to build the Parliament on a brownfield site and its proximity to hubs of public transport are seen as sustainable, environmentally friendly features. All of the electricity purchased for the building comes from renewable sources and solar panels on the Canongate Building are used for heating water in the complex.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: A high level of insulation was used to keep the building warm during the winter months. This approach, however, brings with it the potential problem of overheating during the summer due to solar heat gains through the glazing, body heat and the use of computers and electric lighting. Standard solutions to the problem usually involve using energy intensive HVAC systems. The Scottish Parliament Building, however, reduces the requirements for such systems to only 20% of the accommodation by a variety of strategies. Natural ventilation is used wherever possible. A computerised management system senses the temperature in different parts of the Parliament and automatically opens windows to keep the building cool. During summer months, the building opens the windows during the night time when it is unoccupied and permits the heavy concrete floors and structure to cool and rid themselves of heat absorbed during the day. This then helps to keep the building temperature down during the day by absorbing the excess heat from the glazing, occupants and electrical equipment. Some of the concrete floors are further cooled by water from 25 metres (80 ft) deep bore holes beneath the parliamentary campus which also provide water for the toilet facilities. The building achieves the highest rating in the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The debating chamber contains a shallow elliptical horseshoe of seating for the MSPs, with the governing party or parties sitting in the middle of the semicircle and opposition parties on either side, similar to other European legislatures. Such a layout is intended to blur political divisions and principally reflects the desire to encourage consensus amongst elected members. This is in contrast to the "adversarial" layout reminiscent of other Westminster style national legislatures, including the House of Commons, where government and opposition sit apart and facing one another. There are 131 desks and chairs on the floor of the chamber for all the elected members of the Scottish Parliament and members of the Scottish Government. The desks are constructed out of oak and sycamore and are fitted with a lectern, a microphone and in-built speakers as well as the electronic voting equipment used by MSPs. Galleries above the main floor can accommodate a total of 255 members of the public, 18 guests and 34 members of the press.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The most notable feature of the chamber is the roof. The roof is supported by a structure of laminated oak beams joined with a total of 112 stainless steel connectors (each slightly different), which in turn are suspended on steel rods from the walls. The connecting nodes were fabricated by welders for Scotland's oil industry. Such a structure enables the debating chamber to span over 30 metres (100 ft) without any supporting columns. In entering the chamber, MSPs pass under a stone lintel—the Arniston Stone—that was once part of the pre-1707 Parliament building, Parliament House. The use of the Arniston Stone in the structure of the debating chamber symbolises the connection between the historical Parliament of Scotland and the present day Scottish Parliament.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Cut into the western wall of the debating chamber are laminated glass panels, of different shapes, intended to give a human dimension to the chamber. At night, light is shone through the glass panels and is projected onto the MSPs' desks to create the impression that the chamber is never unoccupied. Natural light diffuses into the chamber and is provided by "glass fins" which run down from light spaces in the ceiling. Glimpses out of the chamber are given to the landscape and city beyond, intentionally, to visually connect the MSPs to Scotland. The necessities of a modern parliament, banks of light, cameras, electronic voting and the MSPs' console have all been transformed into works of craft and art, displaying the sweeping curves and leaf motifs that inform the rest of the building. Such is the level of craftsmanship, a result of the union of Miralles' inventive designs, superb detailing by RMJM and excellent craftsmanship in execution, that Jencks was prompted to state that the [Parliament] is "an arts and crafts building, designed with high-tech flair. You really have to go back to the Houses of Parliament in London to get interior design of such a high creative level—in fact, it is more creative".


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: On 2 March 2006, a beam in the roof of the debating chamber swung loose from its hinges during a debate, resulting in the evacuation of the debating chamber and the suspension of parliamentary business. Parliament moved to other premises while the whole roof structure was inspected and remedial works were carried out. The structural engineers, Arup, stated that the problem with the collapsed beam was entirely due to the failure of one bolt and the absence of another. There was no design fault. The engineers concluded, in a report to MSPs, that the damage is likely to have been done during construction work on the chamber roof, in the latter phases of the project. The report also indicated that whilst one of the bolts was missing, the other was broken and had damaged threads commensurate with being overtightened or jammed, which twisted the head off, or came close to doing so.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Garden Lobby is at the centre of the parliamentary complex and connects the debating chamber, committee rooms and administrative offices of the Tower Buildings, with Queensberry House and the MSP building. The Garden Lobby is the place where official events as well as television interviews normally take place and it is used as an open social space for MSPs and parliamentary staff.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The main feature of the Garden Lobby are the rooflights, which when viewed from above resemble leaves or the early Christian "vesica" shape and allow natural light into the building. The rooflights are made from stainless steel and the glasswork is covered by a lattice of solid oak struts. The route through the Garden Lobby up the main staircase to the debating chamber has been described as "one of the great processional routes in contemporary architecture."


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The MSP building is connected to the Tower Buildings by way of the Garden Lobby and stands at the western end of the parliamentary complex, adjoining Reid's Close. The block contains offices for each MSP and two members of staff, fitted out with custom-designed furniture. The building is between four and six storeys in height, and is clad in granite. MSPs occupy 108 of the total 114 rooms in the building. Each office is divided into two parts—one for the MSP, with a floor space of 15 square metres (160 sq ft) and another part for their staff, which has a floor space of 12 square metres (130 sq ft). The most distinctive feature of the MSP block are the unusual windows which project out from the building onto the western elevation of the parliamentary complex, inspired by a combination of the repeated leaf motif and the traditional Scottish stepped gable. In each office, these bay windows have a seat and shelving and are intended as "contemplation spaces". Constructed from stainless steel and framed in oak, with oak lattices covering the glass, the windows are designed to provide MSPs with privacy and shade from the sun. Ahead of the opening of the Parliament, some MSPs who questioned whether the design would allow sufficient natural light into their offices. To remove the uniformity from the western side of the building, the windows jut out at different widths and angles. At its north end, the building is six storeys high (ground floor plus five) stepping down to four storeys (ground floor plus three) at the south end.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Four tower buildings fan out along the front, or eastern edge, of the parliamentary complex and are notable for the curvature of their roofs. The Tower Buildings are home to the public entrance of the Scottish Parliament and to the Main Hall which is located on the eastern side of the parliamentary complex, beneath the debating chamber. A stone vaulted ceiling is the principal feature of the Main Hall, which has cross like representations carved into it, reminiscent of the Saltire—the national flag of Scotland. The main hall contains permanent exhibitions on the role of the Scottish Parliament, as well as public seating, a visitor information desk, a shop, lockers and a creche. Like much of the parliamentary complex, the materials used to construct the Main Hall and its vaulted ceiling include Kemnay Granite from Aberdeenshire in north east Scotland and Caithness stone which is used in much of the flooring in the buildings. Connected to the Tower Buildings in the eastern portion of the complex are the Media and Canongate Buildings, which house the IT and procurement departments of the Parliament, as well as media offices and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). The centrepiece of the Canongate Building is a two-storey cantilever structure, with the building connected at one end by reinforced concrete and 18 metres (60 ft) of the building suspended above ground and protruding outwards unsupported by any columns.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Originally dating from 1667, Queensberry House is an example of a seventeenth century Edinburgh townhouse and contrasts with the modern architecture of the rest of the parliamentary complex. From c.1800, Queensberry House has been used as a hospital, army barracks, a refuge and a geriatric hospital. In 1996, the geriatric hospital closed and the building was incorporated into the Scottish and Newcastle brewery, who owned the surrounding site. The building has been extensively refurbished, and returned to its original height of three storeys to provide facilities for the Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officers, the Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament and various parliamentary support staff. Internally and externally the building has been strengthened with reinforced steel and concrete. The original timber flooring has been replaced throughout with a mixture of carpet, vinyl, oak and Caithness stone. Queensberry House also contains the Donald Dewar Room, dedicated to the founding First Minister of Scotland who died in October 2000. The room hosts the personal collection of books and other memorabilia donated to the Parliament by the family of Donald Dewar after his death.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Scottish Parliament holds a wide variety of artwork and sculpture ranging from specially commissioned pieces to official gifts from overseas parliamentary delegations. The intention of including artwork and sculptures in the building reinforces the desire of Miralles that the project should reflect the nature of Scotland, particularly its land and people. In order to facilitate the incorporation of art into the building, a consultative steering group was established by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) under the chairmanship of Jamie Stone MSP with the remit of deciding which artworks should be chosen. Some pieces of artwork are on public display in the building.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: As well as artwork and sculptures, quotations, furniture and photography have been commissioned as part of the art strategy. A range of quotations have been inscribed onto the stonework in and around the parliamentary complex. Beneath the Canongate Building façade is the Canongate Wall, constructed from a variety of indigenous Scottish rocks such as Lewisian gneiss, Torridonian sandstone and Easdale slate. The stones are set into large concrete casts, each one inscribed with a quotation. The Canongate Wall contains a total of 24 quotations. Etched along the lower stretch of the wall is a pictorial representation of the Old Town of Edinburgh-based around a sketch by Enric Miralles showing the view of the Old Town from his bedroom window in the Balmoral Hotel.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Main Hall of the Parliament contains a number of distinctive features and sculptures, including the gold-plated "Honours of Scotland" sculpture. Presented by the Queen upon the opening of the Parliament building, the sculpture is modelled on the actual Honours of Scotland, the crown, sceptre and the sword of the state, and combines these three separate elements into one composition. During meetings of the original Parliament of Scotland, the actual Honours were always present but since 1819 they have been permanently housed in Edinburgh Castle. The 11 m (36 ft) long Visitor Information Desk also stands in the Main Hall. Commissioned by the art strategy group, the desk combines a unique design constructed from oak and sycamore and functions as a workstation for six members of parliamentary staff. At a cost of £88,000 the desk has been criticised by some over its price and functionality.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Another feature gifted to the Scottish Parliament by the Queen, following its inauguration in July 1999, is the parliamentary mace. The mace is housed in a glass case in the debating chamber and has a formal, ceremonial role during meetings of the Parliament. The mace sits in front of the Presiding Officers' desk and is made from silver and inlaid with gold panned from Scottish rivers and inscribed with the words "Wisdom", "Compassion", "Justice" and "Integrity". The words "There shall be a Scottish Parliament" (which are the first words of the Scotland Act 1998), are inscribed around the head of the mace. At the beginning of each session in the chamber, the case is removed to symbolise that a full meeting of the Parliament is taking place.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Public reaction to the design of the building has been mixed. In the first 6 months of the building being open to the public, 250,000 people visited it, which Presiding Officer George Reid has said showed the public were "voting with their feet". Critics of the building, such as Margo MacDonald MSP, pointed out that the high number of visitors does not prove that all of them like the building. As well as cost, criticisms of the building stem primarily from the modernist and abstract architecture, the quality of the building work and the location of the building.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The mixed public reaction contrasts sharply with the response from architectural critics. Its rampant complexity, iconography and layering of meaning and metaphor are widely regarded as producing a building which is "quite a meal". This prompted Catherine Slessor, writing in the "Architectural Review", to describe it as "A Celtic-Spanish cocktail to blow both minds and budgets, it doesn't play safe, energetically mining a new seam of National Romanticism refined and reinterpreted for the twenty-first century." Jencks attempted to dampen criticism of the cost overruns by questioning how 'value for money' might be judged. For him, the building is not just a functional or economic enterprise, it is an exploration of national identity and in comparing it to other comparable assemblies, not least the Palace of Westminster, he argues the cost is comparable. The conception of the building has been singled out for praise, particularly in the way it re-establishes Scotland's traditional focus towards mainland Europe and its values by means of the layout of the non-adversarial debating chamber and the creation of the public spaces in front of the building, "where people can meet and express themselves as a force". In an era of the Bilbao effect and the iconic building, Jencks is impressed that rather than being a monumental building, as is usual for capital landmarks, the building creates a complex union of nature and culture that nestles itself into the landscape.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The building has also won a number of awards, including an award at the VIII Biennial of Spanish Architecture, the RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture, and the 2005 Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architecture award. The inclusion of the Scottish Parliament Building on the shortlist for the Stirling Prize in 2004, led the judges to describe the building as "a statement of sparkling excellence". In October 2005 the building was identified as Scotland's 4th greatest modern building by readers of "Prospect" magazine. In 2004 the satirical magazine Private Eye also granted the building their Sir Hugh Casson Award for "worst new building of the year".


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The construction of the Scottish Parliament Building has generated controversy in several respects. Rising costs and the use of public money to fund the project generated most controversy. Initial estimates for constructing a new building were projected to be between £10m and £40m in 1997. By early 2004, the estimated final cost of the project was set at £430m, some ten times greater.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Notwithstanding the level of controversy surrounding cost, the Scottish Parliament Building proved controversial in a number of other respects: the decision to construct a new building, the choice of site, the selection of a non-Scottish architect, and the selection of Bovis Lend Lease as construction manager after having earlier been excluded from the shortlist. In 1997, the initial cost of constructing a new Parliament building was given as £40 million, a figure produced by the Scottish Office, prior to the September 1997 devolution referendum, and subsequently revealed to be the figure for housing MSPs. Further controversy surrounding the project sprang from the selection of the Holyrood site, which was a late entrant onto the list of sites to be considered, and the rejection of the Royal High School on Calton Hill, long thought to be the home of any future devolved Scottish Parliament. After a formal visit to the Royal High School by Dewar and his aides on 30 May 1997, it was rejected as unsuitable on the grounds of size and location.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Control of the building project passed from the Scottish Office to the cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) on 1 June 1999, headed by the Parliament's then Presiding Officer, Sir David Steel, at a time of increasing costs. Rising costs sprang from the need for a formal entrance and the need to accommodate parliamentary staff in light of better knowledge of how Parliament was working at its primary location on the Royal Mile, where it was clear there were staff overcrowding problems. With the cost increases in mind, and heightened media interest in the Holyrood Project, the Members of the Scottish Parliament held a debate on whether to continue with construction on 17 June 1999 voting by a majority of 66 to 57 in favour to complete the project.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: In August 1999, the architect informed the project group that the Parliament would need to be further increased in size by . A subsequent costing revealed that taking into account the increased floorspace net construction costs had risen to £115m by September 1999. Early in 2000, the SPCB commissioned an independent report by the architect John Spencely. The report concluded that savings of 20% could be made on the current project and that scrapping the project completely at that stage or moving to another site would entail additional costs of £30m. Spencely also cited poor communication between the SPCB and construction officials as increasingly costly. Given the outcomes of the Spencely report, MSPs voted to continue with the construction project on the Holyrood site in a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 5 April 2000.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The project was also complicated by the deaths of Miralles in July 2000, of Dewar the following October and the existence of a multi-headed client consisting of the SPCB, the Presiding Officer and an architectural advisor. The client took over the running of the project from the Scottish Executive (formerly the Scottish Office) while it was already under construction. Subsequently, the events of 9/11 led to further design changes, especially with regard to security, which again resulted in rising costs. However, it was later rejected that the re-designs required to incorporate greater security into the building structure were the "single biggest" factor affecting the increased costs of the project.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: By March 2004 the cost had reached the sum of £430m (compared to an original budget of £55m in July 1998 when the architects were appointed). This equates to £85 for each of the 5.1 million people in Scotland. A report published by the Auditor General for Scotland in July 2004 specifically identified elements that contributed to both increasing costs and the delay in completing the project. His report criticised the overall management of the project and stated that had the management and construction process been executed better, costs could have been reduced. The report attempted to identify the reasons why there had been an acceleration in cost from £195m in September 2000 to £431m in February 2004 and concluded that over 2000 design changes to the project were a major factor. The building was finally certified for occupation in the Summer of 2004, with the official opening in October of the same year, three years behind schedule.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: In May 2003 the First Minister, Jack McConnell, announced a major public inquiry into the handling of the building project. The inquiry (known as the Holyrood Inquiry, or the Fraser Inquiry) was headed by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie and held at the Scottish Land Court in Edinburgh. The inquiry took evidence from architects, civil servants, politicians and the building companies. Evidence was taken over the course of 49 hearings and the final report ran to 300 pages.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Presenting his report in September 2004, Lord Fraser told how he was "astonished" that year after year the ministers who were in charge were kept so much in the dark over the increases in cost estimates. He also stated that a Parliament building of sufficient scale could never have been built for less than £50m, and was "amazed" that the belief that it could be was perpetuated for so long. He believed that from at least April 2000, when MSPs commissioned the Spencely Report to decide whether the building should continue, it should have been realised that the building was bound to cost in excess of £200m. Furthermore, £150m of the final cost was wasted as a result of design delays, over-optimistic programming and uncertain authority.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Despite having only an outline design, the designers RMJM/EMBT (Scotland) Ltd stated without foundation that the building could be completed within a £50m budget. Nevertheless, these estimates were believed by officials. The two architectural practices in the RMJM and EMBT joint venture operated dysfunctionally and failed to communicate effectively with each other and the project manager. The death of Miralles also gave rise to a substantial period of disharmony. The Brief emphasised the importance of design and quality over cost, and was not updated despite considerable evolution of the design. Ministers were not informed of grave concerns within the Scottish Office over the cost of the project and officials failed to take the advice of the cost consultants.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The Scottish Office decided to procure the construction work under a "construction management contract", rather than under a Private Finance Initiative, in order to speed construction, but without properly evaluating the financial risks of doing so, and – in a decision that Fraser stated "beggars belief" – without asking Ministers to approve it. This was one of the two most flawed decisions which the report singled out, the other was the insistence on a rigid programme. Officials decided that rapid delivery of the new building was to be the priority, but that quality should be maintained. It was therefore inevitable that the cost would suffer. The client was obsessed with early completion and failed to understand the impact on cost and the completion date if high-quality work and a complex building were required. In attempting to achieve early completion, the management contractor produced optimistic programmes, to which the architects were unwise to commit. The main causes of the slippage were delays in designing a challenging project that was to be delivered against a tight timetable using an unusual procurement route.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: The inquiry was widely seen as clearing Donald Dewar for the initial mishandling of the project. This came after speculation suggesting that Dewar was aware that the initial costs of a new Parliament Building, circulated to the public, were too low. However, in his report, Lord Fraser stated "there was no evidence whatsoever, that he [Dewar] deliberately or knowingly misled MSPs. He relied on cost figures given to him by senior civil servants." The inquiry also resisted the temptation to "lay all of the blame at the door of a deceased wayward architectural genius [Miralles]...costs rose because the client wanted increases and changes or at least approved of them in one manifestation or other."


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: In his report, Lord Fraser set out a number of recommendations stemming from the inquiry. Primarily, in terms of design selection and when using an international architect linking with a Scottish-based firm, the report advised that a full analysis of the compatibility of different working cultures and practices needs to be made.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Lord Fraser advocated that when "construction management" contracts were used, civil servants or local government officials should evaluate the risks of such a contract and set out the advantages and disadvantages of embarking upon such a route before their political superiors. Alongside that recommendation, Lord Fraser stated that independent advisors should be retained and have the ability to communicate their advice to ministers, without those views being "filtered" by public officials. Similarly, where civil servants are part of large project management contracts, clear guidelines of governance should be set out and be as rigorous as standards applied in the private sector.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: Following publication of the report, Jack McConnell stated that the Fraser recommendations would be fully implemented, and that fundamental reform of the civil service was already under way, with trained professionals being recruited to handle such projects. The First Minister emphasised that he was keen to see an increase in the specialist skills of civil servants, in order for them to be able to administer projects of such magnitude in the future. John Elvidge, the most senior civil servant in Scotland, admitted that best practice had not been followed and apologised for the way the project had been handled. He did not rule out the possibility of taking disciplinary action against civil service staff, although subsequent Scottish Government investigations resulted in no action being taken against individual public officials involved with the project.


title: Scottish Parliament Building

text: In 2015, the pro-independence group People's Voice established a demonstration camp on the grounds of the Scottish parliament demanding independence. The camp was objected to as it risked infringing on the political neutrality of the parliamentary estate and prevented others from using the grounds. Sheriff officers issued the campers with a notice ordering them to leave, but the campers refused to do so.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: "Don't" is a song by English singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, from his second studio album, "×" (2014). Written by Sheeran and Benny Blanco and produced by Blanco and Rick Rubin, the song samples "Don't Mess with My Man" by Lucy Pearl. It was initially planned as the album's lead single, but was passed over in favour of "Sing". It was instead released to iTunes on 13 June 2014 as the second "instant grat" promotional single from "×". "Don't" officially impacted US contemporary hit radio on 15 July 2014 as the album's second single.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: "Don't" peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it became Sheeran's first top 10 single. It also made the top 10 in eight other countries.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: The song developed from a riff which Sheeran had on his phone for a year. Sheeran first recorded the track with producer Benny Blanco, who was also credited as co-writer under his real name, Benjamin Levin. Sheeran recorded it again with Rick Rubin. The two producers produced the final cut. "Don't" is an R&B song with a "blue-eyed soul hymn".


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: The lyrics consist of three verses, which Sheeran elaborated: "The first verse is the setup, the second explains the situation, and the third is the outcome, with a chorus in between each." A lyrical screed, it alludes to events attendant to the short-lived relationship Sheeran had with another singer. He sings: "For me and her, we make money the same way/ Four cities, two planes in the same day." Sheeran scorned the former girl for having sex with another guy, and expressed an expletive such as in the line "Don't fuck with my love". Sheeran revealed he wrote the song out of frustration, and, story-wise, the lyrics are self-explanatory. He recalled the events that inspired his writing: "[...] it was one of those situations where someone comes across as a very, very sweet, innocent person, and you take that for granted, then stuff unravels and you see a different side to them." The song was therapeutic because writing it made him feel better afterwards.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: About his other songs, Sheeran has openly stated who inspired the lyrical content. But since the release of "Don't", he had remained silent to whom the song is directed to. In a 2014 interview with "Rolling Stone", Sheeran articulated that he had dated a few singers, but his friend Taylor Swift was not among them, and in fact, he played the track for her. The same interview mentions tabloids that have linked Sheeran with Ellie Goulding and Selena Gomez. On 31 October 2015, Fuse posted an interview in which Sheeran says, "'Don't' is just a song that’s close to the bone and definitely opened up a door that I probably shouldn't have opened up. [...] I just won't say who it's about because... I mean everyone, everyone fucking knows anyway. But like I just won't say who it's about cause it's quite a negative song."


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: Sheeran did not intend to release the song on the album, because the lyrics were therapeutic and personal. He was however persuaded by those who had heard the song to release it, as it was "an alright song". He revealed that "the more [he] listened back [he] thought this is an alright song".


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: "Don't" was planned to be released as the first single from the album until March 2014, when "Sing" was chosen. "Billboard" speculated that the provocative, "Don't fuck with my love", chorus prompted the change. Sheeran debuted a snippet of the song in a commercial for Beats by Dr. Dre in May 2014.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: On 13 June 2014, "Don't" was made available to customers, who pre-ordered "×", as the second "instant grat" promotional single, following "One", and an official audio stream was released on Sheeran's YouTube page. An extended play accompanied the release of the single, featuring a remix by Rick Ross, a live cover of Nina Simone's "Be My Husband", and a non-album song, "Everything You Are". Notably, Sheeran's lyrics aren't censored on the Rick Ross remix, but are on the album version. "Don't" officially impacted US contemporary hit radio on 15 July 2014.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" wrote: "[...] 'Don't' shows that Sheeran is not afraid to be dangerous, or even explicit, on his sophomore set."


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: In the UK, the song reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart on its ninth week on the chart. As of September 2017, the song sold 399,000 copies in actual sales, and it also has 67 million streams, giving a total of 1,073,000 combined units in the UK.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: In the US, "Don't" reached No. 9 on the all-encompassing "Billboard" Hot 100 chart; it marked Sheeran's first single to reach the top 10 on that chart. As of January 2015, the single sold 1,464,000 digital copies in the US.


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: An accompanying music video was released on YouTube on 4 August 2014. The video was directed by Emil Nava and follows a dancer (Phillip Chbeeb from I.aM.mE) going from poverty to wealth. Sheeran makes a brief drive-by cameo appearance. 4Music called it a "compelling watch".


title: Don't (Ed Sheeran song)

text: On 12 April 2014, Sheeran performed "Don't" on "Saturday Night Live". On 17 September 2014, Sheeran sang it during the season 9 finale of "America's Got Talent". On 6 February 2015, Sheeran performed the song on "The Late Late Show"; he was accompanied by John Mayer on the guitar.


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Ti-6Al-4V (UNS designation R56400), also sometimes called TC4, Ti64, or ASTM Grade 5, is an alpha-beta titanium alloy with a high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. It is one of the most commonly used titanium alloys and is applied in a wide range of applications where low density and excellent corrosion resistance are necessary such as e.g. aerospace industry and biomechanical applications (implants and prostheses).


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Studies of titanium alloys used in armors began in the 1950s at the Watertown Arsenal, which later became a part of the Army Research Laboratory.


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Increased use of titanium alloys as biomaterials is occurring due to their lower modulus, superior biocompatibility and enhanced corrosion resistance when compared to more conventional stainless steels and cobalt-based alloys. These attractive properties were a driving force for the early introduction of a (cpTi) and a#b (Ti—6Al—4V) alloys as well as for the more recent development of new Ti-alloy compositions and orthopaedic metastable b titanium alloys. The latter possess enhanced biocompatibility, reduced elastic modulus, and superior strain-controlled and notch fatigue resistance. However, the poor shear strength and wear resistance of titanium alloys have nevertheless limited their biomedical use. Although the wear resistance of b-Ti alloys has shown some improvement when compared to a#b alloys, the ultimate utility of orthopaedic titanium alloys as wear components will require a more complete fundamental understanding of the wear mechanisms involved.


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy commonly exists in alpha, with hcp crystal structure, (SG : P63/mmc) and beta, with bcc crystal structure, (SG : Im-3m) phases. While mechanical properties are a function of the heat treatment condition of the alloy and can vary based upon properties, typical property ranges for well-processed Ti-6Al-4V are shown below. Aluminum stabilizes the alpha phase, while vanadium stabilizes the beta phase.


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Ti-6Al-4V has a very low thermal conductivity at room temperature, 6.7 - 7.5 W/m·K, which contributes to its relatively poor machinability.


title: Ti-6Al-4V

text: Ti-6Al-4V is heat treated to vary the amounts of and microstructure of formula_1 and formula_2 phases in the alloy. The microstructure will vary significantly depending on the exact heat treatment and method of processing. Three common heat treatment processes are mill annealing, duplex annealing, and solution treating and aging.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Iran and Saudi Arabia have had no diplomatic relations following the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia cleric. Bilateral relations between the countries have been strained over several geopolitical issues such as the interpretations of Islam, aspirations for leadership of the Islamic world, oil export policy and relations with the United States and other Western countries.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Saudi Arabia is a conservative Sunni absolute monarchy established in 1932, with a tradition of close ties to the United States and the United Kingdom. Modern Iran was previously a Twelver Shia constitutional monarchy founded in 1925 but became a revolutionary Islamic republic in 1979, with a political system that includes elements of a presidential democracy vetted and supervised by a theocracy governed by a "Supreme Leader". Both states were aligned with the Western Bloc in the Cold War preventing Soviet influence in these countries.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Both countries are major oil and gas exporters and have clashed over energy policy. Saudi Arabia, with its large oil reserves and smaller population, has a greater interest in taking a long-term view of the global oil market and incentive to moderate prices. In contrast, Iran is compelled to focus on high prices in the short term due to its low standard of living given recent sanctions after its decade-old war with Saddam's Iraq and its larger population.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: In the Syrian Civil War, Iran has supported the Syrian government militarily and with billions of dollars of aid, while Saudi Arabia was a major supplier of aid to rebel groups. Both countries have accused each other of support for terrorism. Iran and Saudi Arabia are both mixed up in the strive for dominance of their region.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: After the Iranian Revolution, relations deteriorated considerably after Iran accused Saudi Arabia of being an agent of the US in the Persian Gulf region, representing US interests rather than Islam.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Saudi Arabia is concerned by Iran's consistent desire to export its revolution across the board to expand its influence within the Persian Gulf region—notably in post-Saddam Iraq, the Levant and within further south in addition to Iran's controversial, much debated nuclear program.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Tensions between the two countries have waxed and waned. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured particularly after the Iranian Revolution, the nuclear program, the 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot and more recently the execution of Nimr al-Nimr. There have also been numerous attempts to improve the relationship. After the 1991 Gulf war there was a noticeable thaw in relations. In March 2007 President Ahmadinejad of Iran visited Riyadh and was greeted at the airport by King Abdullah, and the two countries were referred to in the press as "brotherly nations".


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: After March 2011, Iran's financial and military support for Syria during the Syrian Civil War, has been a severe blow to the improvement of relations.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: On 3 January 2016. Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, Iran was ransacked following the execution of Saudi-born Shia Islam cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The execution prompted widespread condemnation within the Arab World as well as other countries, the European Union and the United Nations, with protests being carried out in cities in Iran, Iraq, India, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey. Following the attack on its embassy in Iran, Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic relations with Iran and the Saudi foreign minister said that all Iranian diplomats were to leave the country within 48 hours. For a long time now, Iran has wanted to be part of the regular region, as well as sharing benefits and responsibilities.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The difference of political ideologies and governance has also divided both countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran is based on the principle of , which holds that a faqīh (Islamic jurist) should have custodianship over all Muslim followers, including their governance and regardless of nationality. Iran's Supreme Leader is a Shia faqīh. The founder of the Iranian revolution in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, was ideologically opposed to monarchy, which he believed to be un-Islamic. Saudi Arabia's monarchy, on the other hand, remains consistently conservative, not revolutionary, and politically married to age-old religious leaders of the tribes who support the monarchy and the king (namely the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques) is given absolute obedience as long as he does not violate Islamic sharia law. Saudi Arabia has, however, a Shia minority which has recently made bitter complaints of institutional discrimination against it, specifically after the 2007 change in Iraqi governance and particularly after the 2011 events that spanned the region. At some stages it has gone as far as to call for overthrowing the king and the entire system. According to the New York Times, the rift between both countries looks wide and unbridgeable for now. Right now, the continuing disagreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia are the U.S sanctions on Iran which have destroyed Iran's oil industry, according to the CNBC.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Saudi Arabia and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1929 following the signing of a Saudi-Iranian Friendship Treaty. Relations continued until 1943 when an Iranian pilgrim, Abu Taleb Yazdi, was executed by the Saudi government who allegedly threw his vomit on the Kaba. In 1946 Ibn Saud sent a letter to the Shah to resume the relations which restarted the connections.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: However, relations were not active until the 1960s mostly due to differences in religious practices and Iran's recognition of Israel. In 1966 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia visited Iran with the aim of further strengthening relationships between both neighboring countries. The Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi reciprocated by paying an official visit to Saudi Arabia which eventually led to a peaceful resolution of the islands. The Shah supported King Faisal's efforts regarding Islamic solidarity and actively contributed to the establishment of multinational Islamic institutions, including the Organization of the Islamic World Congress, the Muslim World League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: In 1968, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a demarcation agreement. When the United Kingdom announced it would withdraw and vacate the Persian Gulf in the late 1960s, Iran and Saudi Arabia took the primary responsibility for peace and security in the region. In the late 1960s, the Shah sent a series of letters to King Faisal, urging him to modernize Saudi Arabia, saying, "Please, my brother, modernize. Open up your country. Make the schools mixed women and men. Let women wear miniskirts. Have discos. Be modern. Otherwise I cannot guarantee you will stay on your throne." In response, King Faisal wrote, "Your majesty, I appreciate your advice. May I remind you, you are not the Shah of France. You are not in the Élysée. You are in Iran. Your population is 90 percent Muslim. Please don't forget that."


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: During the 1970s, Saudi Arabia's main concerns over Iran were firstly, Iran's modernisation of its military and its military dominance all over the region; secondly, Iran's repossession of the islands of Big Tunb, Little Tunb and Abu Moussa in 1971 which challenged the United Arab Emirates claim over the islands. The dispute remains till today. But the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia was never as friendly as between the years 1968 and 1979.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The relationship between the two countries was not without its tensions in the mid-to-late 1970s. As the Shah attempted to build an Iranian security architecture in the region, the Saudis resisted these efforts. Instead, King Khalid attempted to build bilaterial security relationships with the smaller neighboring Persian Gulf states which has lasted till today. The Saudis also argued for more modest OPEC price increases in 1976 and 1977 than Iran wanted.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Following the theocratic Iranian Revolution led by Khomeini in 1979, Iran started to openly attack and criticise the character and religious legitimacy of the Saudi regime. However King Khalid, the then ruler of Saudi Arabia, sent Khomeini a congratulatory message, stating that "Islamic solidarity" could be the basis for closer relations of the two countries. He also argued that with the foundation of the Islamic Republic in Iran there were no obstacles that inhibited the cooperation between two countries.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: After the 1987 Mecca incident, in a public address in 1987 Khomeini declared that "these vile and ungodly Wahhabis, are like daggers which have always pierced the heart of the Muslims from the back", and announced that Mecca was in the hands of "a band of heretics.” Upon this statement diplomatic relations between the two countries ended until 1991.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The Shia–Sunni conflict between the two countries also played a pivotal role in the Iran–Iraq War when Saudi authorities pledged US$25 billion of aid to the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi invasion of Iran increased Saudi concerns over stability in the region, hence their financial support to Iraq regardless of the "not-so-warm" relations between Baathist Iraq and conservative Saudi Arabia. In doing so, Saudi Arabia recognised its worries that revolutionary Iran was a far greater threat to its survival and the stability of the region. Saudi Arabia encouraged other Sunni Monarchs of Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to do the same by giving financial support to Iraq. To cover the costs of the war Saudi Arabia dramatically increased its oil production. This increase in oil production by Saudi Arabia was aimed to weaken Iran's ability to fund its campaigns. However, this measure by Saudi Arabia also cost the Saudi government billions in revenue as oil prices plunged from over $30 a barrel to less than $15 by the mid-1980s.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: During the Iran–Iraq War, Iran flew their aircraft in Saudi airspace and also threatened Saudi Arabia and Kuwait with severe consequences if they would not stop supporting Iraq. Unlike America, Saudi Arabia, due to its very traditional Arab-Bedouin culture, did not break diplomatic relations with Iran even during the worst periods of tension following the revolution and during the Iran–Iraq War.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: On 7 May 1984 Iranian warplanes targeted an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. This action resulted in Saudi Arabia undertaking air defensive measurements in the region to intercept Iranian warplanes. On 5 June 1984 two Iranian F-4 warplanes penetrated Saudi airspace to bomb oil facilities. Saudi F-15 eagles intercepted the Iranian warplanes, and shot down both F-4s.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Until 1987, no satisfactory resolution was made to decrease the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The already strained relationship between the two countries further deteriorated when clashes occurred between Iranian-led demonstrators and Saudi security forces on 31 July 1987. The clash claimed the lives of around 400 pilgrims, out of which two-thirds had Iranian nationality . This incident angered the Saudis and in retaliation, the Saudi administration instituted a ban on all Hajj (Pilgrimage) rituals and activities . Angry protesters in Tehran responded by ransacking the Saudi embassy and also detained and physically attacked a number of residing Saudi diplomats. As a result, one of the Saudi officials died from the injuries. In response, Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic relations with Iran on 27 April 1988. It ensured that no Iranian could obtain a Saudi travel visa for performing the Hajj (pilgrimage). The diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia were not restored for three years after this incident.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran gradually started to improve after the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988. Iran had accepted ceasefire with Iraq in July 1988 and soon afterwards, Saudi Arabia started improving relations with Iran.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: In October 1988, the late King Fahd halted all media campaigns against Iran and asked Saudi administration to pressure Iraq into implementing the UNSCR 598. In 1989, Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that Iran and Saudi Arabia were holding indirect talks to improve their relations.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The issuance of a fatwa by Khomeini against the Indian author Salman Rushdie again soured the relations between the two countries. Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran at that time, declared a death sentence for Salman Rushdie for certain anti-Islamic remarks in his book "The Satanic Verses" published in 1988. The Saudi government, which took this religious decree against Rushdie as an act aimed at gaining Muslim sympathy across the world, came up with its own verdict of making Rushdie appear before an Islamic tribunal before he could be delivered a death sentence.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Iran criticised and condemned the invasion. This stance from Iran, in favor of the Kuwaitis, and the anti-Iraqi coalition of the Persian Gulf states helped to improve relations between Iran and the GCC, namely Saudi Arabia. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia rejected the use of force as a solution to regional problems and opposed the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. Iran went further, by backing UN sanctions against Iraq. Iran viewed the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait as a serious threat, considering it the first step towards its expansionist mindset. During the war, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia thawed considerably and the official ties were restored in 1991.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: This short resumption of political ties was followed by quick high level visits, notably, in April 1991, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati visited Saudi Arabia to propose an Iranian-Gulf Cooperation Council alliance with a mandate for the security of the Persian Gulf, during a meeting with the late King Fahd. He claimed the Gulf Cooperation Council was too weak and hence failed to prevent the invasion of Kuwait, and stressed the need of the inclusion of Iran to strengthen such a regional agency to ensure stability.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The Hajj (Pilgrimage) issue was also resolved. In 1991, the Saudi authorities allowed 115,000 Iranian pilgrims, which was more in number compared to the 1988 quota of 45,000, that had led to Iran's abrupt boycott. The Saudis also agreed to an Iranian request of allowing 5,000 relatives and friends of the 412 "martyrs" of the 1987 incident to attend the Hajj Pilgrimage that year. In later years, Iran adopted a careful approach and undertook measures for preventing a repeat of that incident. Iranian authorities tried to discourage large demonstrations by its pilgrims and attempted to have them held within the confines of the Iranian encampment, due to the fact that certain Iranian Shi'ite rituals are not accepted by other sects of Islam, and could have endangered the lives of Iranian Pilgrims if conducted openly.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: On 23 June 1996, a massive truck bomb exploded near U.S. military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing nineteen U.S. servicemen and wounding hundreds. The US government held Iran responsible for the attack. The charges against Iran, however, remained unconfirmed, and therefore did not substantively affect the Iranian–Saudi relations.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: The 1997 meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Iran heralded a shift in the attitude of the Arab States towards Iran. Several Arab countries confirmed their commitment to the conference. Saudi Arabia, which was previously criticized by Iran because of its control over the main Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina and also because of its perceived reliance on the United States for security, also participated in the meeting. In the OIC summit meeting, Saudi Arabia was represented by Crown Prince Abdullah (later King) and its Minister of Foreign affairs Saud Al Faisal. Saudi participation proved helpful in the process of further reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a result, Saudi ministerial delegations visited Iran and later on, the official visit of President Mohammad Khattami to Saudi Arabia took place in February 1998.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: This was the first visit by an Iranian President to Saudi Arabia after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The aim was to address pressing economic issues of the time. Iran was looking for a reallocation of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) producing quotas to which it required strong support from Saudi Arabia. It was also reported that Iran was trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to consider exporting the Iranian Infrastructure to Central Asia. Iran also expected that the issue of the regional security alliance would be raised in which the alliance for the security of the region could be made to ensure stability on both borders of the Persian Gulf.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: A Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and Iran in May 1998, in which both countries agreed to cooperate in the field of economics, culture and sports. The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran was further improved when Khatami, the then President of Iran, on his tour to neighboring Arab countries, visited Saudi Arabia in May 1999. President Khatami stayed for five days in Saudi Arabia in which various discussions were held between the heads of both countries. Discussions included Persian Gulf security, efforts to increase global oil prices, the situation in Iraq and the development of a common geo-strategic approach to regional issues. The partial détente between Iran and the USA encouraged Saudi Arabia to apply more cooperation with President Khatami. In addition to this, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed an agreement known as the Saudi-Iranian security agreement in April 2001.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: In July 1999, the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia urged other Persian Gulf countries to improve their relations with Iran. King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, speaking at the opening session of the Shura Council said that it was in the interest of all the countries of the Persian Gulf to improve relations with Iran. He further said that all the other countries should follow Saudi Arabia's lead. This improved relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran also brought criticism from the United Arab Emirates, which criticised Saudi Arabia of abandoning UAE in its territorial disputes with Iran over three strategic Islands.


title: Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

text: Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, who are a politically infused religious rebel group based in the Yemen, crossed into Saudi Arabia, whereby they killed two border guards and seized Saudi territory, including the strategically important Mount al-Doud.