Drawn North 鈥� a truly collaborative exhibition
The work of the Master of Architecture students has, for some three years, focused on the complex challenges of re-imagining Aberdeen鈥檚 waterfront including the harbour, beachfront, and links, with a view to enhancing city living through a range of community facilities and public amenities. By contrast, but equally real in its challenges, others explored opportunity within the Orkney islands for economic and social development in the context of an incredibly rich, sensitive, and globally important archaeological and cultural heritage.
Following the autumn re-opening of Aberdeen Art Gallery, extended and transformed, the School submitted an application to hold an exhibition of the students鈥� work this summer. The re-imagined Gallery has reinvigorated discussion about the city鈥檚 architecture and development, and this, along with the under-representation of the discipline within the city鈥檚 cultural programme, provided the conditions for the idea to quickly develop. However, ironically, it is perhaps the lockdown and the closure of the physical gallery that allowed the idea to develop with such immediacy in a virtual form. A strong collaborative partnership was quickly built with the Gallery, and this was soon extended to include Orkney鈥檚 Pier Arts Centre, itself designed by Visiting Professor Neil Gillespie of Reiach and Hall Architects, Edinburgh. It is hoped that this year鈥檚 exhibition, to launch on 17 July, will be the first in a longer-term collaboration.
This highly creative, detailed, and research-informed work has involved input from a range of external agencies and, whilst hypothetical and ambitious in nature, posits ideas that are entirely achievable. As a result they are deserving of a public audience to stimulate thinking and promote constructive debate.
At a time when employment opportunities are currently constrained by the pandemic, it seemed an appropriate gesture to employ a group of graduating students to design and organise the exhibition, working closely with both galleries. This was made possible by the Scott Sutherland Fund.
We would invite you to take the opportunity to explore 鈥楧rawn North鈥� from July 17 by visiting /
