Place Making: Aberlour House

Regional Award Entry for Moray

Place Making

Modifications to the Main entrance at Aberlour House, by Aberlour for Walkers Shortbread Ltd

Regional Award Entry :  Short-listed & Commended

The design challenge at the main entrance to Aberlour House, the Head Office for Walkers Shortbread Ltd comprised of two elements – firstly improving to modern standards the main access road off the A95 trunk road to the east of Aberlour, and secondly just inside the main entrance gates a proposal to provide a new road linking the main Aberlour House drive to the roads around the Walkers bakery complex.

As both aspects had a serious bearing on the setting of the ‘A’ Listed Italianate entrance Lodge together with the mature landscape and trees, close communication and sensitive co-operation between various parties was required. This included the consultant engineers (Fairhursts, Elgin), Bear Scotland, Moray Council Planning officials and consultant landscape architect Veronica Ross. The aim was to achieve the necessary technical requirements while minimising as far as possible the modifications on the original road layout and character of the entrance drive.

The simplicity of the final design solutions belies the myriad of design options considered to ensure the technical operational requirements did not engulf the delicate and historic nature of the original entrance, the ‘A’ Listed Lodge and the drive up to the nationally important historic Aberlour House beyond.

Mon 1st Mar 2010