Located just north of Aberdeen, U.K., The Plaza at Riverside Quarter by Stewart Milne Homes offers a unique collection of contemporary houses and apartments at the edge of the River Don. Created within the historic grounds of Davidson Mill, the development features an historic industrial character alongside modern materials, amenities and transport links.
Specialized in paper and plasterboard, Davidson Mill was a working paper mill from 1797 until 2005. Although now closed and largely demolished, the mill remains a valued landmark to the city of Aberdeen. For project architects Jeff Ewan and Stewart Milne, it was therefore necessary that the contemporary look of this new development stay in keeping with the historic surroundings and make reference to the site’s heritage value.
The mill itself is characterized by its brick construction with large windows. The new apartments tie into this character with the use of a matching brick and the installation of large feature windows with solid glass squares. These modern windows afford not only clear views of the surrounding landscape, but also flood the open plan living spaces with natural light.
As a complimenting material to brick, the architects sought out an exterior cladding solution to wood, with sustainability and durability as key product requirements. Based on a longstanding relationship and collaboration with the ROCKPANEL Group, architect Jeff Ewan knew their products would be a natural choice in meeting these requirements.
From the design stage through to installation and completion, the ROCKPANEL Group provided technical advice and calculations to assist in the specification of ROCKPANEL Woods, a durable board material manufactured from the sustainable rock basalt and featuring a look barely distinguishable from real wood.
Available with a range of distinctive finishes, the design team ultimately selected ROCKPANEL Woods Ebony slate, Ebony granite, Rhinestone and Ceramic Oak. The selected cladding finishes pick-up and highlight colours found in the site’s existing historic brickwork. Further to this, these easy to cut boards were customized by factory cutting them into various horizontal strip widths and lengths in order to create textures, patterns and visual interest.
The architect notes that Aberdeen is known as ‘The Granite City’ because so many of its buildings are completely grey in colour. As a modern, regenerated urban neighbourhood, this project however offers a completely different and inspiring material character to that, alongside a compelling model of urban living.
