Aden house is a mansion house within the grounds of Aden Country Park. The house is located north of Aberdeen near to the town of Mintlaw. The house was built sometime around 1760 and was later remodelled by the Architect John Smith in 1832. The house was last occupied in 1937 and has since fallen into a state of serious dereliction. The roof, internal walls and original clay balustrades were removed in the 1980’s leaving the building as a shell.
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Doric is the dialect of the north-east of Scotland and despite the influx of other dialects and tongues it remains vibrant and alive in many communities. Doric boasts an extensive body of cultural works comprising poems, ballads, songs and writing and while there have been efforts to preserve some of the culture surrounding Doric, there is not currently a dedicated facility which is focussed on the dialect. The spoken word is fundamental to Doric and (this author believes) to fully appreciate the nuances of the dialect it needs to be heard, there is therefore a need to provide space for performance and media production. Your main project in this semester is to design a Doric culture centre on the site of the former mansion house. Your design should allow for the gathering of important cultural articles but should also provide a space that allows for the production of new media. There should be spaces for performance both in the open air and also in a more traditional theatre setting. Other ancillary spaces (offices, toilets etc) will supplement the programme of spaces. The North-East Scots Language Board will be acting as your client for the duration of the project and you will be provided with a short briefing from a member of the board at the start of the project. There will also be opportunities to discuss your projects during the design process. We will also hope to set up an exhibition of the finished designs at the end of the project. As Architects, the vast majority of the projects you will be concerned with professionally, will involve work to existing buildings in some way, shape or form. Buildings from all ages are extended, refurbished and adapted and as Architects you will have to develop skills to allow you to examine the existing building and develop strategies for their future use. Working within an historic (but derelict) building will require you to develop an architectural response to the existing fabric. You should spend time at the start of the project studying the site, sketching and considering precedents. You will be expected to evidence your attitude to the site through sketches and other preparatory work.
