As part of its annual team day, Annie Kenyon and Laura Sutherland of Annie Kenyon Architects were recently invited to address the full Aberdeenshire Council Planning and Infrastructure Team at Woodhill House.
Annie’s talk focused on The Importance of Good Design and our Heritage - a subject at the very heart of ak|a’s ethos and one that she is deeply passionate about.
During the session, Annie highlighted the significance of Aberdeenshire’s rich built heritage and how the existing building stock is so important in shaping the region’s cultural and architectural identity. She spoke about our responsibility as custodians of this heritage – protecting it not just for today but for future generations. “The wee cottages and bothies are just as important as the castles.”
Sadly, too many applications are being approved for the demolition of beautiful old houses and steadings. Too often, she noted, beautiful and characterful buildings are lost and replaced often by something architecturally mediocre and lacking the depth, history and quality of what stood before.
Over their 20 years in practice, ak|a, led by Annie have cultivated a great relationship with Aberdeenshire Council and beyond. By sharing this message with the Planning Team and the wider community, ak|a hopes to help influence change and go some way to protecting our vernacular architecture and the rich heritage of our region. To encourage a culture that values considered ways to reuse and reimagine existing structures in a beautiful and creative way – keeping the story going rather than flattening them.
Annie will be sharing more on her design approach in one of Aberdeen City Heritage Trust’s lectures for 2026. This year’s series of six lectures are scheduled for Tuesdays at 7pm via Zoom and are bookable on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/aberdeen-heritage-lectures-2026-4809403 Lectures start on Tuesday 17th February.
Visit: www.akenyonarchitects.com for more information on working with ak|a or email info@akenyonarchitects.com