The University of Aberdeen Science Teaching Hub is among the projects shortlisted for the Best Building in Scotland Award.
Five projects- including two in Aberdeen- have been shortlisted for the award by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), which recognises a range of contemporary Scottish architecture.
The award was established in 2002 with a mission to find and celebrate the best building in Scotland each year. Buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh are also shortlisted for the 2024 award.
The first recognition for the region is the University of Aberdeen Science and Teaching Hub by Reiach and Hall Architects.
The futuristic building opened in 2022 and is home to pioneering research labs. The-state-of-the-art facilities was lauded for the “sense of quiet and controlled scientific optimism that it exudes through its Enlightenment-period style."
Also shortlisted was Ardoch, a hillside farm overlooking the River Dee and restored by Moxon Architects. The revival of the building used a combination of traditional and contemporary methods, and its five buildings have been transformed into a home, studio and orangery for the owners.
The project was praised as an “example of contemporary repair, where the art and craft of existing buildings have been retold in a re-interpretation of their own architectural language”.
The jury for the award consists of the awards chairman and architect director David Kohn, the author and journalist Gabriella Bennett and the RIAS president Karen Anderson.
David Khon said: “Choosing a shortlist for this year’s Doolan Award was both an honour and a challenge: there was a wealth of ambitious projects worthy of further celebration. The unanimously chosen final five demonstrate the breadth of contemporary Scottish architecture, from the finely crafted to the handsomely urbane, from the revitalising of national treasures to state-of-the-art facilities.
“Karen, Gabriella and I are excited to experience the projects first hand and to debate which will be 2024’s best building in Scotland.”
The winner of the award will be announced November 22.
Read the full story in The Times.