Between 2015 and 2019 Aberdeen Art Gallery underwent a landmark redevelopment. The major funders were Aberdeen City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The re-imagined Art Gallery has received many awards. Here are some of the highlights:
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2021
Royal Institute of British Architects
The RIBA National Awards are given to buildings across the UK in recognition of their significant contributions to architecture.
Winner - National Award 2021
Aberdeen Society of Architects
The ASA Design Awards are a celebration and promotion of the best architecture throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
Winner - Project of the Year 2020
Winner - Public Building of the Year 2020
Winner - Regeneration Architecture 2020
Judges’ comments: “We believe this is an exceptional architectural project and significantly one of the most important regeneration projects nationally in recent times. It has breathed new life into a well-loved building and taken it on a course well in to the 21st Century.”
Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020
Judges’ citation: Aberdeen Art Gallery is responsible for an outstanding collection of art and heritage, rightly considered as one of the finest in the UK. 2019 marked the culmination of the most ambitious redevelopment project in the museum’s 135-year history, completely re-imagining the gallery so its extraordinary treasures, and the stories they tell, can be celebrated, shared and better understood. The judges were impressed with the scale and ambition of this project which increased the number of works on show from 370 to 1,080, the beautifully executed restoration, and the commitment to involve the people of the city in the future of this rediscovered jewel on their doorstep. They look forward to seeing what the next 100 years would bring.
Glasgow Institute of Architects
Winner - Supreme Award 2020
Winner - Leisure and Arts 2020
“An outstanding project whose sum is greater than the collection of its parts” - John McElgunn, GIA Guest Judge
“The rooftop’s coppered galleries have at last established the building’s proportionate presence on the city skyline” - Thom Brisco, GIA Guest Judge
Civic Trust Awards
Founded in 1959 the Civic Trust Awards is the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe which recognises and champions projects that offer a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to the public and their community.
Winner - National Panel Special Award 2020
Winner - Civic Trust Award 2020
National Judging Panel comments: “An absolute triumph. This is an exemplar project, meticulously carried out and benefits generations to come.”
Future Cities Forum
The judges were asked to consider the competing visions to open out cultural assets to wider communities while modernising and adapting heritage in a sensitive fashion.
Images: Dapple Photography
