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