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How Granite Made a City |
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In more recent times, granite has become a far less favoured building block for architects and construction companies. Some moderate use of granite still occurs, usually to ensure that a new building fits in with the surroundings, such as the relatively new blocks of flats in Crown Street and some excellent office facilities along Queen's Road.
However, the stone is occasionally brought into play purely to restore a sense of civic pride, with the Bon Accord shopping centre a fine example. Much of the granite for this building was actually sourced from China, but local legend has it that some stone was found - presumably at greater expense - from an unknown local area.
© SCRAN
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Most builders would tell you that this difficulty in sourcing the North East's favourite stone is the primary reason for preferring simpler brick or breezeblock constructions - but science has uncovered a harsher and more sinister reason for precluding the use of granite.
Like limestone, granite contains uranium and radium, which in certain circumstances can give rise to radon gas. Radon is officially the second-largest cause of lung cancer in the UK, and while Aberdeenshire is not the worst affected part of the country (that honour belongs to parts of Torbay and South-West England), the Scottish Executive has pinpointed a high prevalence of radon in the Granite City.
With more and more houses built to provide less ventilation, with double glazing and insulation the order of the day, radon gets less and less chance to escape its surroundings - so builders are being advised to build in radon barriers and better ventilation, which adds to the cost. The visual benefits of granite are less important these days than the financial and health implications.
However with little chance of Aberdeen giving up on granite by replacing its superb public buildings - or much of its housing stock - the town will continue to give off the famous 'shimmer', produced by the summer sun imposing its rays on the city centre. For the benefit of visitors and residents alike, long may that continue.
Words: Dave Low
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