Scotland is filled with plenty of beautiful structures — quaint houses, castles, museums, bridges, cultural centers — so it was no surprise when in late December 2025, in the coastal town of Aberdeen, the prestigious Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland announced the winner of the annual architectural competition for Scotland’s Best New Building.

© Jim Stephenson

The surprise, however, came when locals heard the winner of the competition was Aberdeen’s old Union Terrace Gardens, a Victoria garden opened to the public in 1879 and neglected for many years. It was the first time the Best Building Award was presented to a “garden” since the competition started in 2002. The RIAS Award is an annual prize named after Scottish architect Andrew Doolan, who passed away in 2004. It recognizes buildings of all typologies, with the 2025 shortlist praised by RIAS as one of the award’s most diverse winners yet.

In 2010, the Aberdeen City Council voted in favor of a city garden project to transform the historic Union Terrace Gardens into a vibrant, cultural civic space with a revitalized green space.

© Andrew Lee

Glasgow-based Stallan-Brand Architecture and LDA Design were hired to regenerate the entire Union Terrace Gardens (2.5 acres), which would eventually cost about $37 million. The project was chosen as the 2025 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award.

The revitalization of an old park may not sound like a worthy endeavor, but as part of the revitalization, the two design firms improved wheelchair access; created a safer play area for children; restored historic statues; built lift access from Union Terrace into the upper level of the gardens through a new entrance building on Union Terrace at the existing Burns monument; and created new pavilions designed to be a restaurant, wine bar and café.

© Jim Stephenson

The original Union Terrace toilets were built in 1892 (Victorian era) and are referred to as the Victorian toilets. The originals were refurbished as part of the Union Terrace Gardens project and are now being used by Wild Goose at Union Terrace for private events, drinks and brunch events. New toilets replaced former Victorian ones.

Other new features at Union Terrace Gardens are mature trees, including sessile oaks, hop hornbeams, red maples and new horizon elms, completely resistant to Dutch Elm disease.  Landscape work also involved planting 122,000 new plants; 78,000 bulbs; and 2,000 feet of hedges.

© Andrew Lee

The firms transformed Union Terrace Gardens into a safer, people-centered and more accessible public realm for the city of Aberdeen. The two firms also reinvigorated the park by introducing many new amenities.