David McClean

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Aberdeen - A 21st Century Future

Dr David McClean - Head of Scott Sutherland Scholl of Architecture & Built Environment, Robert Gordon University

For any vision to be truly meaningful, it requires recognition of where things stand at present. So, a few cards need to be laid on the table. Firstly, Aberdeen has been complacent. Its relative wealth has denied any urgency for regeneration. Happily, it has experienced very little deprivation, but conversely if one looks at cities that have re-invented themselves, the most successful have been those where regeneration is borne out of necessity, such as Sheffield, Manchester or Newcastle. Secondly, as the City has expanded through continual growth, attention has arguably been diverted from the City Centre. Union Street is a pale reflection of its former self, the Castle Gate remains blighted and, in the case of some key developments, insufficient consideration has been given to the Centre as a whole. Consider arriving by rail, and the experience of accessing Union Street. What initial impression does this give?

Our vision must ensure that our good fortune does not become our misfortune.

What exactly constitutes a successful, vibrant and dynamic City?

In architectural terms, it requires the recognition of the qualities of the existing fabric; the historic buildings, street patterns and scale that define the City at present. To enhance the identity of place, any new vision must respect and integrate those qualities into it. In the most successful cities, a sophisticated balance exists between the commercial and the cultural, history and modernity, publiCity and privacy, and so on. Consider Copenhagen or Amsterdam. Aberdeen’s Victorian City Centre remains substantially intact, although we have seen how the insertion of new shopping Centres have altered scale, patterns of street use, and shifted the Centre of commercial gravity away from its historic heart, Union Street. Our cities and buildings are a direct physical representation of our collective vision, aspirations, values, and means. Whilst a vision speaks of the future and the choices we make about how we work with the existing urban fabric, it equally communicates what of our architectural legacy we value, whether scale, density, proportion, material, space, or connection.

We must firstly recognise that the canvas we start with is anything but blank. In his ‘Invisible Cities’, the Italian novelist Italo Calvino wrote of a series of imaginary cities, each in reality a highly evocative interpretation of a single place, Venice. It described many cities in one. Understanding this multi-dimensional nature is key to appreciating the place that we have inherited and which we seek to develop, and to comprehending the multitude of personal and emotional relationships that people have with our City.

The success of any design strategy is contingent on understanding the varied relationships and perspectives of our citizens, and developing a process of engagement rather than imposition. The post-war era whereby wholesale redesign of large urban areas was viewed frequently as both a social and economic panacea is thankfully consigned to history. Mercifully, Aberdeen escaped the dogmatism of these often simplistic and diagrammatic interpretations of what cities should be, but we don’t have to look too far to see their impact. The motorway slashing through the heart of Glasgow, irreparably splitting the City in two, or the bleak plazas that failed to live up to the misplaced optimism of the artist’s impression. We can learn from this, indeed we must. Rather than seeking to negate or dominate, successful design works with, not in spite of, the diversity of opinion, and the inherited Cityscape. That is not to say that vision should not be bold – it definitely should – but it must be responsive to multiple perspectives.

So what might be a vision for Aberdeen, that speaks to the wider world of an enlightened, prosperous, cultured community?

Few would contest the branding of the City as an international energy hub, but today such a move raises clear expectations of a progressive, energy efficient, connected, increasingly low carbon community. The implications of this extend to our buildings, homes, transport systems, and lifestyles, and must be embraced to give the brand real credibility and depth of meaning. The notion of a hub implies centrality, and an immediacy of connection with the areas of the globe with which our industries work, be they Houston, Baku, Brazil, or China. If the City is to truly assert its position as a hub, then connectivity through expansion of our airport to facilitate this is essential. At a civic level, the energy capital brand suggests visionary decisions on public transport provision that controls vehicular use and liberates public space for the pedestrian. It suggests the setting of design standards that demand the highest levels of performance from our buildings and urban infrastructure. Whether through collective economic interest or individual environmental responsibility, energy unites us all, and as such provides a unique theme around which to build a strategy for Aberdeen as a model City for the 21st century, incorporating diverse employment sectors and public needs.

Of course, employment is critical to the future, providing the economic fuel that drives and sustains development socially, culturally, and commercially. For Aberdeen, it is imperative that opportunity and incentive are available to attract new investment and talent, and retain the skills of those educated in its schools and universities.

Historically, Aberdeen has been blessed by the natural resources on its doorstep, whether granite, fish, or oil. The developing renewables sector looks to secure continuity of this, and we must ensure that it does.  Yet there is an inherent vulnerability in a City that develops a heavy dependency on one industry or sector. Investment must therefore seek diversification and growth into new areas.

However, in an increasingly wealthy society, the ability to attract people to the City extends well beyond access to work or financial reward. Issues of environmental quality, social amenity, educational provision, cultural vibrancy and lifestyle serve as ever more powerful influencers of choice. A common perception of Aberdeen is of a City that is expensive to move to and live in. This quite reasonably carries with it a number of expectations – of facilities, amenities, cultural infrastructure, choice, and so on. Yet we struggle to sustain an art-house cinema, and the primary City Centre venues for performance are those that our Victorian forefathers had the foresight to provide. The cultural vibrancy of a City is for many the litmus test of its appeal and of its wealth in the broadest sense.

For years Aberdeen has punched below its weight despite the sustained commitment of key organisations and institutions. There would be little more compelling to investors and individuals than a City that exudes a civic pride as an energy capital through the way that it supports the diverse needs and lives of its inhabitants and visitors. The way that one walks or moves through the City, the quality of its civic and public buildings, spaces, and thoroughfares, an identifiable and flourishing heart, the celebration of the arts, support for expression and innovation, and the way that one connects with our hinterland and the world beyond. Moreover, little can be more compelling than a community that can be seen to actively seek the best for its future, and in which the individual understands how they may contribute as a citizen.

We must also remember the tourist or transient visitor, whose engagement with the City, although fleeting, seeks to be memorable and enduring. Whilst Aberdeen serves as a gateway to an extraordinarily rich hinterland that supports leisure, sporting pastimes, and cultural tourism, it should also be a destination of choice in its own right. We need to create facilities and urban experiences of such impact that they stimulate the visitor’s desire to return.

Finally, as a crucial enabler, Aberdeen requires strategic investment that integrates the physical development of the City with the diverse interests of our community. This calls for a new level of long-term collaboration and partnership between public and private interests. The City needs clear processes led by those that speak for the breadth of its interests.

Aberdeen has opportunities that are the envy of many cities. It also has an architectural heritage that is internationally recognised. The ultimate test of our civitas is our ability to capitalise on opportunity whilst enhancing the City as a place to be.

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