Teams who have made it to the short-list of an international design competition will showcase their vision for City Garden Project at a two-week exhibition in Aberdeen, beginning on 19th of October at The Academy, Unit 10 on Belmont Street, Aberdeen.
The project proposes a radical transformation of a key part of central Aberdeen to create a focal point which will provide a safe all-year-round garden and civic space by raising the under-used Union Terrace Gardens to cover the Denburn dual carriageway and adjacent railway line.
The competition attracted world-wide interest from some of the most elite names in architecture, urban and landscape design in the world. Each of the collaborative teams is led by industry-acclaimed companies who have an impressive global track record, underpinned by a strong Scottish component from across Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Following their selection in July, the design teams visited Aberdeen and were issued with the design brief which set out the principles for the scheme to ensure it becomes widely acclaimed and revitalises the city centre.
The brief stated that the scheme should include gardens, outdoor and indoor space for a variety of activities and a cultural area that would be a contemporary, attractive focal point, pulling together the various elements of the city centre and blending with the existing architecture and heritage.
The competition attracted world-wide interest from some of the most elite names in architecture, urban and landscape design in the world. Each of the collaborative teams is led by industry-acclaimed companies who have an impressive global track record, underpinned by a strong Scottish component from across Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The finalists represent a mixture of international and home-grown talent which include the designers of the new World Trade Centre, London’s iconic Gherkin skyscraper and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial.
Members of the public attending the exhibition of the short-listed designs, which will run until 2nd of November, will be invited to indicate their preferred design. This, along with recommendations from an expert technical panel will be taken into consideration by the jury who will select a winning design in November
The winning design and the TIF business case will be presented to Aberdeen City Council In December. The council will then decide if the project is to be taken to the planning stage.
The City Garden Project aims to create something unique and very special for Aberdeen with accessible gardens and parks on different levels, using the natural slopes, distinct spaces, above and below, for all sorts of activities for everyone to enjoy.
The budget for the project is £140 million with half to be met by the private sector. £55 million of the private sector funding is already secured.
Aberdeen City Council has not allocated any revenue expenditure to the project over the past year and there is no provision within the City Council's current five year business plan to allocate any funds to this project.
The remaining £70million will come from an innovative funding mechanism called Taxation Increment Finance – known as TIF.
TIF is a way for the public sector to fund infrastructure investment that will drive regeneration and unlock economic growth, by borrowing against the future additional tax revenues which will be generated as a result of the new infrastructure – in essence ‘paying for growth with growth’.
Aberdeen’s TIF is for the regeneration of the city centre, not just the City Garden Project, and includes a major extension to Aberdeen Art Gallery, the redevelopment of the St Nicholas House site, the Upper Denburn Valley and the provision of public realm and street-scaping works to improve linkages in and around the city centre. There is currently no capital budget available for these improvements and the City Garden Project is essentially a catalyst to making the regeneration possible.
Aberdeen City Council is leading Aberdeen’s TIF submission to become one of six pilot schemes across Scotland.
Visit the website: thecitygardenproject.com/