Richard Tinto

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Bon Accord - Good Harmony - Potentially?

Richard Tinto - MD Tinto Architecture, AGCC Council Member

As City Centres go we don’t get a much better chance of something spectacular than we do with Aberdeen. The basics are there. Union Street, which we should be proud of, is a focal point that few other cities can offer and provides the foundation for some potentially spectacular development.

Marischal College, rightfully the new heart of our beleaguered but potentially-pioneering council. St Nicholas Church, hidden away and murky but potentially the most magnificent of focal points and pedestrian interchanges. The Green, damaged by the late 70s and early 80s misgivings but not irreversibly so. And, alas but not exclusively, Union Terrace Gardens. The underused ‘nice to have but doesn’t do anything at the moment’ park that doesn’t let us enjoy the grandeur of Union Terrace Gardens. Bounded by the Theatre and Union Terrace, it is another potentially truly inspiring space. Whilst these areas form the heart of the Centre of the City and provide the starting point for our vision it must be said that we do have some wonderful public pieces of architecture and culture that can be further enjoyed by taking the heart of the City and instilling some good harmony (Bon Accord) back into it.

Golden Square, Bon Accord Square, The Denburn, Shiprow, Castlegate and Justice Mill Lane, among others, are leading the way with a mix of the old and new. Let’s see what we think about the rest.

BROAD STREET, ST NICHOLAS STREET AND ST NICHOLAS CHURCH (Masterplan Reference A)

With the now impressive facade of Marischal College at last on view, urgent action should be taken to open up a civic amenity on the site of the existing St Nicholas House, exposing and utilising the Provost Skene’s House as the focal point. Combining this with some high quality, sustainable and much-needed City Centre office space opens up the east of the Centre and provides access via a raised level connection over Flour Mill Lane on to the highest point of the St Nicholas Centre. As a side note this in turn provides a great opportunity potentially to enter the Bon Accord Centre at first floor level and leads onto St Nicholas church yard. The church yard greenery should generally be thinned out, to retain an element of greenery without hiding the magnificent church. City Centres across the world have buildings such as this at their core but none are hidden under a green blanket. Unleash its beauty, get people going through the churchyard again and lower the wall into Little Belmont Street with gated openings as highlighted on the master plan. St Nicholas Street will benefit from this as it becomes more accessible and again releases the potential to get to the main transport hubs, harbour, shopping and through our next focal point – The Green aka Merchant Quarter.

At this stage it is worth considering our opinion that the section of Union Street between the Terrace and St Nicholas Street, Market Street junction should be pedestrianised. This in particular should allow free movement to the west of Union Street buildings, such as the music hall, and could have traffic management measures put in place to allow people to enjoy the architecture. (see master plan)

This type of traffic calming could, with the discretion of the council, be employed all over the City, not to stop traffic flow but perhaps reprioritise it as the primary space user. Pedestrianisation of the road serves to assist Union Street in our ideas.

THE GREEN (Masterplan Reference B)

From St Nicholas Street/Market Street junction to Union Terrace, access to our transport hub at Guild Street is limited. Sandwiched between this fantastic Union Square development and the heart of the City, it is potentially the most vibrant, outdoor eating, dining and trading space the City has to offer. Let’s remove the indoor market building, reconfigure the entrance to the Green/Merchant quarter through the BHS building on Union Street and drag the Green into play. Having landscaped the site of the market into a mini civic space, businesses and markets can use the space similar to the open street markets on Belmont Street, Castlegate and the newly-pedestrianised Union Street. Breathing life and light into this area will bring pedestrians from Union Street to the main City transport hub, shopping and environment we can enjoy on an unparalleled level. It would be great to see the Green and a new civic space bustling with outdoor cafes, delicatessens and eateries. The architecture is outstanding and its proximity to both the train and bus stations means its strategic placing is critical to the good harmony that Bon Accord Aberdeen should be offering.

Before moving on to Union Terrace, reference should be made to the master plan and how, from the pedestrianisation of Union Street, we are linking together the areas already discussed and using the success of the Belmont Street area as a template for Union Street and Schoolhill.
Potential. Potential. Potential.

UNION TERRACE AND THE GARDENS (Masterplan Reference C)

On all sides, Union Terrace Gardens is surrounded by success - Schoolhill, with the theatre, the grandeur of Union Terrace and, as suggested, a pedestrianised Union Street. By using all these access points and retaining part of the gardens, again the opportunity to create a spectacle occurs. Interlinking Belmont Street, Union Street, Schoolhill and Union Terrace, via the Gardens, makes sense. Let’s retain the gardens and, from street level on Union Street, Belmont Street and Schoolhill, build over the dual carriageway and railway, leaving easy access from there into the gardens. Combining this with a bridge from Union Terrace as indicated to create a civic

space that enjoys both the greenery of the gardens and the impact of a world leading focal point. A spectacular bridge linking Union Terrace, as indicated, with an iconic presence can really harmonise the area and provide total cohesion to the north, south, east & west.

GOOD HARMONY, BON ACCORD

Aberdeen already has this, but it needs finishing off and some forward thinking. Let’s accept that some mistakes have been made. It’s evolution. Let’s not guarantee mistakes will not be made in future. That’s evolution. Most importantly, let’s embrace the opportunities that are there, be open to new ideas and grow as the world grows around us. That’s revolution!!!

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