July 25 2023

Oil major Shell is seeking to demolish its office complex in Aberdeen's Tullos industrial estate, with the submission of a screening report by Aecom.

The sprawling campus includes a variety of buildings built between 1973 and 1992, all declared to be ill-suited to sustainable reuse because of their age, construction and floor plates.

Lying vacant following Shell's relocation to the city centre the estate comprises four interlinked office buildings, a laboratory and ancillary structures, all of which are set to be cleared.

In their application statement, Aecom wrote: "The applicant is proposing to demolish the buildings as their age, construction and floor plates do not lend themselves to efficient or sustainable future use. The buildings are predominantly vacant and have been stripped of furnishings with limited welfare facilities remaining.

"Following demolition, there would remain a brownfield opportunity site suitable for redevelopment which is in keeping with the surrounding commercial/industrial environment. The applicant is exploring alternative future uses of the site however at this stage there are no future proposals to consider post-demolition."

Buildings are to be cleared by a mechanical excavator from the top down, with crushed material used to backfill basements and voids to ground level.

Shell calculates that over 90% of on-site materials can be reused and recycled. 

10 Comments

#1 Posted by Hilloch on 25 Jul 2023 at 12:03 PM

UR should be fact checking the environmental impact of demolitions in such coverage, instead of just repeating Shell's press release assertion over the re-use of materials which while laudible is a) likely an over estimate, and b) a tiny fraction of the overall impact to demolition of a building which we all know could be re-purposed if the will was there.

Then again, this is *Shell* we're talking about here! Like they give a monkeys

#2 Posted by UR on 25 Jul 2023 at 15:25 PM

Hi Hilloch - the info is drawn from Aecom's environmental impact assessment, not a press release. The tendency for such reports to support the client's wishes notwithstanding we do declare it as Shell's assertion, not a statement of fact.

#3 Posted by Al on 25 Jul 2023 at 21:32 PM

It's a massive deep plan 70s-80s-90s office complex on a miserable industrial estate with good views over an incinerator, industrial estate, dual carriageway and car dealerships. In a city that has plenty of other empty offices and shopping centres to be repurposed it would be a struggle to find a viable attractive use for these buildings. More modern empty offices have even been knocked-down and replaced with drive-thrus. Let these buildings die and let's move on.

#4 Posted by Why Not on 26 Jul 2023 at 10:20 AM

What on earth would this building be repurposed for? The Aberdeen office market has demonstrated its lack of demand for office space (especially out with the city centre) prior to rates relief a few years ago - the solution: pull down buildings to avoid paying rates. Buildings are built for a purpose and sometimes become obsolete. I am all for repurposing where possible, but simply reverting to this as a sustainable solution is simplistic and ignores the commercial underpinnings of commercial property. Take the M&S store in London as another example, an outdated retail format which needs the commercial space to catch up with today's bricks and mortar retail requirements.

#5 Posted by Hilloch on 26 Jul 2023 at 15:47 PM

Thanks UR for the clarification. Perhaps calling it a 'press release' was a bit of embellishment on my part.

#4 You have more than a hint of condescension! I get that it's not simple, I was not aware of the rates issue, but I do know the area.
I am objecting to the proposed demolition of a relatively recent complex that as far as I can tell is not condemned nor is it in a poorly state that it can't be reused. This part seems simple to me. To be clear I'm not enamoured with the building, I could take it or leave it, but my point is that Shell made this building now they want to demolish it. This build em up knock em down strategy has to stop.

#6 Posted by Al on 26 Jul 2023 at 19:10 PM

Demolish it otherwise I’m the buildings will sit therre festering away. We’re overrun with empty office buildings and it’s not an attractive place for change to residential. After that not much demand. Let’s be pragmatic rather than every old building having to be shoe-horned into a use they were never designed for.

#7 Posted by Why Not on 27 Jul 2023 at 15:08 PM

#5 I take your point and agree build em up knock em down strategy does have to change, but bearing in mind this was a bespoke facility built in the 70's and adapted since; (same with the M&S example but much older) buildings do need to adapt, and if they cant then we should start again. Student resi is a newer example, what these buildings will be other than high density residential once the students flock somewhere else is not clear.

#8 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 27 Jul 2023 at 18:04 PM

The concrete and bronze glass ziggurat is certainly of its time - very 'Knox Oil & Gas'. Institutions just can't design 'look at us, we're rich & powerful' buildings like they did in the 70s/80s.

Unless it's to be preserved as a museum to Scotland's oil industry, knock it down.

#9 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 18 Aug 2023 at 09:44 AM

There is now a campaign to save this building, mainly on the basis of the carbon footprint.

www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/12/shell-accused-of-eco-destruction-in-push-to-demolish-old-hq

#10 Posted by Adrian Betham on 28 Aug 2023 at 11:33 AM

The Environmental Impact Assessment is missing the existing building plans necessary to assess the opportunities for reuse avoiding the impact of demoltoition and rebuild.

Post your comments