August 29 2024

A new urban park in Aberdeen has been given its first airing after securing funding from the city council.

Part of the Generation Aberdeen regeneration project the works will see land at Queen Street transformed into a new public space as a catalyst for wider change including redevelopment of the former police HQ.

Outlining the landscape masterplan Generation Aberdeen wrote: "Queen Street has been re-imagined as a green garden space, with planting carved out of hard materials. The shapes and structures in the gardens are organic in form, contrasting with the building, taking influence from the raw geology of granite, contrasting with the surrounding architecture and softening the surrounding hardscape.

"Whilst the landscape can be understood as an urban park, it is unified by a single coherent design language. This is apparent in the form and choice of materials. Queen Street’s fractured landscape is influenced by Aberdeen’s wider geographies. It will subtly introduce a wilder character to the urban city centre environment."

Detailed designs are still to be finalised before a planning application next month. Still, they will include informal performance areas, a sensory garden and terraced garden to support local culture, heritage and nature. 

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Don Diamante on 30 Aug 2024 at 15:05 PM

Who are these people, that are expected to use this area? Where have they walked from and where are they headed?
Are we expected to believe that people will willingly head here as a standalone destination, what is effectively a central reservation between roads that will still exist (albeit not clearly shown), buying their coffees and ice-creams from a development 250 yards away with it's own indoor and outdoor seating?
Of course, all this is pie in the sky and it's popularity will depend entirely on what gets built on the site of the old police station, which should ideally be high density, low impact mixed use resi/commercial, ie similar to what was demolished back in the 50s & 60s to make way for the town house extension and the police block.
Better still close off the Queen St part of the Poultry Market Lane loop to pedestrianise more space.

#2 Posted by Gideon on 2 Sep 2024 at 09:32 AM

@#1 yeh, who needs green space really. lets just tarmac the lot and make it another car park

#3 Posted by Don Diamante on 6 Sep 2024 at 10:23 AM

#2 you are missing the point, this 'scheme' either doesn't go far enough, or is a waste of time planning it until they know what's going in on the police hq site. It's a postage stamp site the size of a typical roundabout, and would be a complete white elephant if developed this way. The whole area needs an overarching scheme incorporating green space, the development site/s, and more importantly a reason for the public to head there.

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