Places · Scotland · Aberdeen
Façade & building consultants in Aberdeen.
The Granite City has grand terraces and civic buildings in silver-grey stone, post-war tower blocks, oil-era offices and a city centre now being remade. McKay Turner Consulting provides façade condition surveys, defect and water ingress investigations, external wall investigations, design reviews and expert witness work across Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland.
ABERDEEN 57.15° N, 2.09° W
A short history
A granite city built on the sea
Aberdeen grew from two medieval burghs into a granite city of terraces and civic buildings, then boomed again with North Sea oil.
- c. 1179
Royal burgh
William the Lion grants Aberdeen a charter.
- 1495
King's College
Bishop Elphinstone founds King's College in Old Aberdeen.
- 1801
Union Street
Work begins on Union Street, carried over the Denburn on a single granite arch.
- 1906
Marischal College
The granite Gothic front of Marischal College is completed.
- 1960s
Multi-storeys
The city builds many high-rise council blocks.
- 1975
Oil
The first North Sea oil comes ashore, and Aberdeen becomes Europe's oil capital.
- 2025
Torry RAAC
The council approves the phased demolition and rebuilding of more than 500 homes with RAAC roof panels.
- 2026
City centre
Work starts on the Castlegate as the city centre masterplan moves ahead.
Architecture
What makes Aberdeen's buildings distinctive
Almost every older building in Aberdeen is granite, hard-wearing but prone to cracked joints, failed pointing and water getting in around windows. Later buildings add concrete, harling and cladding.
Key styles
Medieval
King's College Chapel and St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen.
Georgian & Victorian granite
Terraces, villas and Union Street, by architects such as Archibald Simpson and John Smith.
Granite Gothic
Marischal College's spiky granite front.
Interwar & post-war
Granite and harled council housing, then concrete multi-storey blocks.
Oil era
Offices and headquarters for the oil and gas industry.
Contemporary
Marischal Square, the harbour buildings and the new market.
Aberdeen's material palette
Did you know?
Marischal College is often called the second-largest granite building in the world.
Rubislaw Quarry, which supplied much of the city's granite, is around 140m deep.
More than 500 homes in Balnagask, Torry, are to be demolished and rebuilt because of RAAC roof panels.
Typical building types
What Aberdeen is built of today
Aberdeen's granite core is surrounded by post-war estates and multi-storey blocks, oil-era offices and industrial estates.
Granite tenements & terraces
Listed and conservation-area homes and flats.
Where: West End, Rosemount, Ferryhill
Multi-storey blocks
Post-war council towers.
Where: Seaton, Tillydrone, city centre
Oil & gas offices
Office headquarters and business parks.
Where: Westhill, Dyce, Altens
Post-war housing
Council estates, some with RAAC.
Where: Torry, Northfield, Kincorth
Student accommodation
Blocks for two universities.
Where: Old Aberdeen, city centre
Port & industrial
Harbour and industrial buildings.
Where: Aberdeen Harbour, Altens
Civic & public
Civic, health and school buildings.
Where: Marischal Square, Foresterhill
Heritage
Granite civic and medieval buildings.
Where: Union Street, Old Aberdeen
Current construction trends
Where Aberdeen is building now
The City Centre and Beach Masterplan, new housing and Scotland's cladding programme are shaping the city's construction work.
City Centre and Beach Masterplan
Works on Union Street, the Castlegate and the beachfront are reshaping the city centre.
New market building
A new market with a food hall and shops, due to open in autumn 2027.
Beach events park
A 2.5-hectare events park and new play park on the beachfront.
Torry RAAC homes
Phased demolition and rebuilding of homes with RAAC roof panels in Balnagask.
Cladding remediation
Scotland's Cladding Remediation Programme uses a Single Building Assessment for residential buildings of 11m and over, built or refurbished between 1992 and 2022.
Granite repairs
Many granite buildings need repointing, stone repairs and new windows to keep water out.
How we help in Aberdeen
Every era of building has its own risks
We match our inspections and advice to the age and construction of your building.
Granite terraces and tenementsto c.1914
Failed pointing, cracked stone, rusting iron fixings and water getting in.
Interwar and post-war housingc.1920–1980
Spalling concrete, failed harling and RAAC panels.
Multi-storey blocksc.1960–1980
Failed panel joints, old windows and later over-cladding.
Oil-era offices and apartmentsc.1975–today
Failing curtain-wall seals, ageing cladding and combustible materials.
New buildtoday
Design gaps and exposure to North Sea wind and rain.
Loft Lines Block 9, Belfast: a PAS 9980 appraisal and EWS1 form at handover, combining construction records with targeted opening-up.
Read the Loft Lines Block 9 case study →FAQs
Façade services in Aberdeen
Do you work in Aberdeen?
Yes. We work across the UK, including in Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland. A Director-level consultant leads every instruction from the first conversation to the final report.
Can you investigate the external walls of residential buildings in Aberdeen?
Yes. Our intrusive investigations confirm how the cladding, insulation and cavity barriers are actually built, giving owners and assessors the evidence they need.
Can you survey granite buildings?
Yes. We inspect granite façades close up, find failed pointing, cracked stone and corroded fixings, and set out repairs that suit listed and conservation-area buildings.
Which other services do you offer in Aberdeen?
Façade condition surveys, defect and leak investigations, thermographic surveys, technical due diligence, façade design reviews and expert witness work in façade disputes.
Work with us
Own or manage a building in Aberdeen?
We provide façade condition surveys, defect and water ingress investigations, external wall investigations, design reviews and expert witness work in Aberdeen and across the North East of Scotland.
Photographs: Julie Adams and Aleksi Partanen on Unsplash.