New information on the building closures at the Foresterhill and Old Aberdeen campuses
Dear colleague,
I am contacting you with an update following yesterday's temporary precautionary closure of:
- Regent Building - Old Aberdeen
- West Block, Polwarth Building – Foresterhill (please note there are no restrictions on access to the rest of Polwarth or any of our other buildings at Foresterhill)
We have also closed Hillhead Boiler House - which is accessible only by our technical staff and not open to staff or students.
The closures followed inspection of our campus estate and the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) - a lightweight concrete used between the 1950s and mid 90s - in the roof of these buildings. RAAC is present in many buildings across the UK and it is recognised that RAAC panels have material and construction deficiencies making them less robust than traditional concrete.
The precautionary action we have taken is in line with recently published guidance from the Institute of Structural Engineers.
Specialist structural surveys are taking place to determine the condition of the concrete. These will inform our next steps, but in the meantime users of those buildings and their activities are being relocated and the buildings will remain closed until further notice, with access only for further inspections by specialist engineers. Please therefore do not attempt to enter these buildings.
If these buildings are your regular place of work you should by now have been notified of alternative arrangements, either through your School or other relevant contact.
If you have any belongings in either building that you wish to retrieve, then please contact estates@abdn.ac.uk to make the necessary arrangements.
I hope this information is helpful and we will keep you updated on further developments.
Best wishes
Tracey
Tracey Slaven
University Secretary and Chief Operating Officer