Building: The Queen’s Gallery, Holyrood, Edinburgh

Architect: Benjamin Tindall Architects

Stone type: Catcastle sandstone, Stainton sandstone, Caithness slab, Kemnay granite, limestone

Construction type: Loadbearing construction

Transformed from a former chapel at Holyrood Palace, the new gallery designed to house temporary displays from the Queen’s art collection has been given a dramatic new public entrance. The architect’s sound understanding of stone has led to five different types being used here – Catcastle sandstone for the walling, Stainton for the finely carved doorway and Kemnay granite for the base with a Caithness slab floor. The lion above was carved from limestone in Pietrosanto, Italy by artist Jill Watson. Quite intentionally, no ‘match’ was made to the materials of the original building and the new internal doorway is formed from three massive Stainton blocks, with 2.5 metre slabs of honed Caithness slab forming the floor.

Several aspects of good practice are evident here – detailing to avoid rainwater staining; granite used as a dpc (a Victorian trick used on bank buildings, the hard impermeable stone preventing moisture rising into the solid walls); excellent jointing with large stones balanced in step and platt manner; and best use made of the large sizes and proportions possible with Caithness slab. Kemnay granite was specified to echo its use on the Scottish Parliament opposite although Peterhead granite was considered in reference to the Duchess of Huntly’s funding of the original building

The assembly of the masonry lettering is analogous to a house of cards. Three stones form the string courses separating the letters, with the end stones counterbalanced to support the third, middle stone via a joggled joint. The letters themselves have no supporting function.