Marischal College, Aberdeen

Marischal College
Seen from Broad Street, May 2012
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Civic Building
Architectural style	Gothic Revival architecture
Address	Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1AB
Town or city	Aberdeen
Country	Scotland
Current tenants	Aberdeen City Council University of Aberdeen
Construction started	1837
Renovated	2011
Landlord	University of Aberdeen
Technical details
Floor count	5
Floor area	188,400 sq ft (17,500 m2)
Lifts/elevators	6
Design and construction
Architect	Archibald Simpson (1837–44) Robert Mathieson (1873) W W Robertson (1888–89) Alexander Marshall Mackenzie(1893–1906)
Renovating team
Architect	Holmes Partnership (2009–2011)
Renovating firm	Safe Dem Sir Robert McAlpine Laing Traditional Masonry
Structural engineer	Arup Scotland
Services engineer	Wallace Whittle
Listed Building – Category A
Designated	12 January 1967
Reference no.	20096

Wallace Whittle

Marischal College is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long-term lease from the University of Aberdeen, which still uses parts of the building to house a museum and for ceremonial events. Today, it provides corporate office space and public access to council services, adjacent to the Town House, the city's historic seat of local government. Many Aberdonians consider Marischal College to be an icon of the "Granite City" and to symbolise the zenith of Aberdeen's granite-working industry.

The construction of the modern college building began in 1835, following the demolition of previous buildings on the site, and was completed in its present form in the early 1900s. It is the second largest granite building in the world. Formerly the seat of the Marischal College and University of Aberdeen founded in 1593, the building was retained by the unified University of Aberdeen which was created in 1860 by the merger of Marischal College and King's College. The buildings of Marischal College continued to be used for academic purposes until the mid-20th century and less and less until the early 2000s. During this period they were frequently rebuilt and expanded upon.

In the mid-to-late 20th century, teaching and academic activities at the university began to move to King's College or Foresterhill (for students of medicine) and by the early 21st century a new purpose for Marischal College was required. After a number of unsuccessful proposals, the majority of the building was leased to Aberdeen City Council to be restored and refurbished as office accommodation. The extensive renovation was completed on schedule and significantly under budget and the building opened to the public in June 2011. The university has retained the Mitchell Hall and a number of other significant parts of the building for its own use, in addition to the Marischal Museum.

Marischal College and University of Aberdeen was the formal name of the former university which occupied the present Marischal College site. The College was founded in 1593 by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. The original charter of the university was lost by the early 18th century, but two near-contemporary copies exist – one of which was accepted by the courts in 1756 as being authentic. In this charter, Marischal College is described variously as a gymnasium, collegium (college), academia (academy) and universitas (university).