Designed by Scottish architects Reiach and Hall, the space will be available for residents to enjoy all year-round and in time will be used to host a series of community events.

The highlight and main feature of the square is Davidston Pavilion, an open geometric building which is contemporary in design and references both Northern and classical Greek architecture. The pavilion is surrounded by landscaped space including open lawn, long grass and a variety of trees, and is intended to be used by residents throughout the year both as an outdoor seating area and meeting point, and as a community events space.

Davidston Pavilion houses a cairn mounted with a millstone which was used centuries ago to grind corn on the land where the Grandhome community now resides, connecting the area to the land’s farming heritage. It is also home to a distinctive pin oak tree which was planted in memory of David Paton (1935-2019) who founded the Grandhome community and whose vision was to create a truly exemplary community in terms of both building and living standards.

On behalf of the Paton family, William Paton said: “We are delighted with Davidston Square and the work of the team at Reiach & Hall. People are recognising the benefits of connecting to nature and being outdoors now more than ever, and we hope that current and new Grandhome residents, as well as the wider Bridge of Don community, will enjoy using this attractive space both on a day-to-day basis, as well as for community events in future.”

Neil Gillespie of Reiach and Hall Architects said: “The construction of Grandhome to the north of the River Don sees a new community gradually begin to settle upon land that has been cultivated for many generations. Davidson Square is a generous new public space that serves these new residential clusters with a simple space of open lawn and trees, bounded by field stone dykes and to its southern boundary, a pavilion structure. The square and pavilion will offer new residents and visitor alike the opportunity to gather and converse or simply a place to pause and reflect.”

Property buyers and homeowners in Aberdeen now consider green space and private gardens to be a more important consideration than ever before, as a result of lockdown. Grandhome has been designed following the principles of new urbanism and will accommodate more than double the amount of green space required by Aberdeen planning standards. It will be connected by a network of accessible public green spaces including parks, play spaces and playing fields, as well as natural ‘wild’ areas.

Once complete, the first neighbourhood in Grandhome will have approximately 600 homes and will be situated close to parks and community spaces. The long-term aim is to build 7,000 new homes which will be within walking distance of a range of amenities. All day-to-day needs will be met within a 5-7-minute walk and the connected street pattern means pedestrians and cyclists will be able to freely move without taking circuitous routes.