Cameron and I were sitting in Grounded, a cafe that had just opened a few doors down from the Denburn Banks.
Throughout last summer, we had spent every other Sunday morning down there, covered in dirt and hauling bin bags around.
What I had planned on being a quiet cafe interview felt more like an opening to an episode of Motherland, as I clearly misjudged how busy Rosemount would be. With so many independent businesses opening in recent years, the place had become a hot spot for community gathering.
When we think about “fixing” a city, we think of the council. Rather, we think about what the council isn’t doing. They are, unfortunately, not always the best at delegating resources.
Nor do many have enough resources to go around in the first place. Spending is focused on necessities, such as education, rather than other aspects of public life.
Take the Denburn, for example. The health centre closed, there’s RAAC and asbestos on site, and, frankly, it’s a creature from a different era. Like much of Aberdeen, it’s slowly deteriorated over the years.
Photos courtesy of the Upper Denburn Garden’s Group
With so many renovations in Aberdeen underway, the Denburn’s neglect became unmistakable. It’s a stark contrast between the recent granite balustrade of Union Terrance Gardens, and the testament to 1970’s council concrete brutalism.
Three of RGU’s architecture students, Cameron Brown, Aimee Florence Jackson, and Joe Inman, decided that they would begin the Upper Denburn Garden Project, to repair the pedestrian no-man’s land.
The UDG Vision. Photos from The Upper Denburn Garden’s Group
They came together as Makmono, and began the project around two years ago.
But the project is particularly important to Cameron, who lives up one of those concrete towers with his partner.
“Our third-year project was on the Denburn Multistory Carpark. We were tasked to design an urban sports centre.” he says, as he cuts up a lemon-curd cruffin. “Since then, we’ve all been fascinated with the place.”
He tells me about how he’d see the place every day on the way home from work and pass new city renovations.
“The Upper Deck of the Denburn has the potential to do the same sort of thing on a grassroots level. “
The Denburn Banks from above
They began their clean up sessions; volunteers would tidy the space. I can say from experience, the complimentary soup offered at a Denburn event is undoubtably delicious, and always wonderful to share.
Since the UDGs started, a lot has been cleared up.
“The place was covered in thick weeds and grass. Filled like nearly over 500 individual black binbags, and I’m giving a conservative estimate. Each clean up returns maybe 60 bags, easy.”
But while filming at the Denburn, it was clear to me that a bit of a refresh might be in order. Cameron is already on it.
“We’re thinking monthly litter picks. Unfortunately, there are no bins on the site, and it still gets a lot of young visitors who tend to, rather than hold onto their glass bottles, smash them and litter the place.”
Photos from The Upper Denburn Garden’s Group
“I’m not here to judge. I’m not here to stop them from doing whatever it is they need to do because there are very limited things for young people to do these days.”
Antisocial behaviour is a big issue in Aberdeen presently. Being priced out of third places is one of many reasons for this, as cinema prices surge and even fast food becoming a pricy option.
“They’re the forgotten middle, which is a middle ground between adults who have money, and children who have parents for money. They are teenagers who are supposed to be self-sufficient, but they are not being supported in activities.”
While the Denburn may have a reputation for being dodgy, it also holds its head high in other regards.
Aberdeen was up there with Paris.
At least for skateboarding.
Known to the skateboarding community as the Denburn Banks, the place has been a cornerstone for Aberdeen’s urban sporting scene for decades. With its unique curves and ridges, the upper deck functions like a forgotten skatepark.
Photos courtesy of the Upper Denburn Garden’s Group
Across from Cameron and I’s coffee spot, sits Seed Skateshop, another independent business on Rosemount.
My skateboarding endevours ended years ago, after my cousin let me have a go to close to my aunt’s flower pots.
Calum Cook, Seed’s owner and founder, spoke to me about what skating in the Denburn, and in Aberdeen, means to people.
Unsurprisingly, Seed is an incredibly cool shop. Boards line the walls, with old DVDs playing on TV. The videos, like H’Min Bam (2004), feature the Denburn Banks, all the way back in 2004.
I left the shop reminded of why I had gotten so involved with the UDG in the first place. These guys want to make a welcoming and useful third space, that be a place for people to enjoy once again.
Creating a space for people is the core of the UDG project.
For many of us, myself included, we live in small flats with zero garden space ourselves. Despite being almost all concrete, it feels a bit like an allotment.
We all have a desire to be a part of a community with others. And the Denburn offers that.
Tenants from the block come down to our clean ups, with packs of juice and biscuits. There’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, even if the weeds seem to sprout back up.
The Upper Denburn Garden Project Area
As we eat our way through the halved cruffin, I touch back to the deterioration and behaviour at the decks.
“Yeah, there’s definitely a bad rap. Because graffiti happens in the same space as vandalism and stuff like that, they tend to associate one with the other, which it isn’t. It’s the same with skateboarding.”
“What we want to do is to give [people] activities such as urban sports or street art events.”
“With the revival of Belmont Cinema, we want to collaborate, maybe with an outdoor screening. Last year we had a folk and trad event with the UoA Folk Society. Maybe we could have cabarets, or drag events with local drag queens, and local DJs from club nights like Sabotage.”
“We’re excited to get more social events on the go where people aren’t forced to do manual labour to enjoy the space.”
Young people aren’t the only priority for the UDG. Cameron’s neighbours are equally concerned. This is a space which is to be enjoyed for everyone.
Photos courtesy of the Upper Denburn Garden’s Group
“It does affect a lot of people in the building.” He tells me, as I sip my coffee. “Many of the residents are sixty-plus, above retirement age, and some of them have lived there since it was built in the seventies.”
They remember when it was brand new, everything was painted white, and planters were maintained within an inch of their lives.
“It very much affects the people on the lower floors whose windows directly face onto the Denburn themselves. They see the horrible state that the decks have got themselves into.”
“Many of them have their blinds closed for much of the day for privacy reasons, but also because the view is just so awful with crumbling building, litter, and antisocial activity. So, it does affect morale in a lot of sense.”
“But with our activities we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from lots of residents seeing young people giving back to the community. A lot of them are very funny and give us heckles from their windows; the lovely, friendly kind.”
As we begin to see warmer weather, the UDG will get the shovels and bin bags out once more, to make the space a lovely place to be.
