Besides the complexity of the building is the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Between
the Parliament building and the palace is the wide and beautiful Holyrood Park.
The steep slopes of the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat is located just south of
the parliamentary complex. Before the commencement of the construction of the
building, the west side of the area was developed into a commercial centre.
These areas comprise the Holyrood and Dumbiedykes areas. These areas give
space for retail, office and hotel spaces. (Bain, 2004)

In September 1999, the final project design for the Scottish Parliament Building
was made public.

During the time when the Kingdom of Scotland still has its own legislative body,
they house their parliament at the Parliament House located in the Royal Mile in
Edinburgh. The Kingdom of Scotland was still a sovereign independent state
back then.

In 1707, the passing of the Act of Union between the Kingdoms of England and
Scotland combined the parliament of Scotland and England into a single
legislative body. They call that unified political union the Parliament of Great
Britain. The Parliament of Great Britain held its meetings at the Palace of
Westminster in London. In effect, therefore, the 292 years of English political
governance over Scotland left Scotland with no legislature of its own. Thus, there
was no need for having its own Parliament building.