WATCH as Aberdeen’s iconic Shell building faces the wrecking ball

Diggers have begun tearing down the huge Shell building, once the energy giant’s “nerve centre” in Aberdeen.

Work to flatten the prominent Altens landmark started in February.

Shell bosses announced £10 million plans to demolish their former headquarters last summer, promising to make a “positive impact” with the land left behind.

The golden-windowed structure has been a distinctive part of the city skyline for decades.

Work has left generations of Shell employees reminiscing about time spent there.

This picture shows the destruction of the top levels of the building. Image: Shell UK/Supplied.

The once filled with hubbub of thousands of workers offices have lain empty,

Flooring, ceilings and furniture have already been stripped away.

Video shared with The Press and Journal shows diggers have now moved on to taking down the main building of the site at Aberdeen’s East Tullos Industrial Estate.

Where is all that material going?

The demolition is expected to take about a year amid long-term plans to put the land to good use.

Once they are done with the main structure, they will move on to bringing down the other associated buildings on site.

Shell’s decision to bulldoze the landmark faced criticism from climate activists last year, who claimed bringing it down would cause serious harm to the environment.

Shell bosses say deconstruction should have minimal impact on neighbouring sites. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

But Aberdeen City Council later shot down such concerns, as experts said a range of measures will be taken to “avoid, remedy and mitigate” any impact.

Shell bosses say they have done their best to lessen the impact on the environment, diverting 980 tonnes of material from landfill.

More than 20,000 items such as desks, chairs, carpets and other office equipment have been donated to north-east schools and charities.

Workers stripped off the building from all furniture and office equipment in March-April. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Other eco steps taken include:

Roof slates have been carefully removed for reuse by roofing contractors.
Concrete and rubble have been crushed for reuse. This material will be used to fill voids on the site or for various other uses such as road sub-bases.
Timber will be chipped and re-purposed for chipboard flooring, worktops, and used by the renewable energy sector.

Where is all that material going?

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