The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment is one of the three oldest of its kind in the UK, with a heritage that extends back to the 19th Century.
Whilst we are proud of our history we have continually evolved our offering to the needs of our professional areas today, combining innovative thinking with new technologies and contemporary practice across all aspects of the design and construction of buildings, public spaces and cities.
The school is part of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and provides a range of courses covering the key concerns within the built environment. We offer accredited courses in Architecture, Quantity Surveying and Architectural Technology.
Our student society, 57-10 hosts a number of vibrant events throughout the academic year. The society is the oldest within the University having been established in 1988. Each year the team of students responsible for the society invite Architects and Designers from notable practices to come and speak.
2015
The school moves into its new home; a state of the art facility within the new Sir Ian Wood building
1988
5710, the student lecture society for Architecture named after the latitude of the city is founded
1956
Local Architect and Entrepreneur Thomas Scott Sutherland gifts Garthdee House and its grounds on the banks of the River Dee as a new home for the school of Architecture
1930s
Architecture is taught in the School of Art within Robert Gordon’s Technical College.
1918
Accredited courses in Surveying are offered by Robert Gordon’s Technical College.
1910
Robert Gordon’s Technical College is formed to cater for adult education in the city.
1885
Gray’s School of Science and Art is founded in Aberdeen by John Gray, a former director of the Aberdeen Mechanics Institution. Architecture as a branch of the arts is taught within the school.
1881
The Aberdeen Mechanics Institution and Technical School merges with Robert Gordon’s Hospital to form Robert Gordon’s College
1857
The Aberdeen Mechanics Institution operates two schools in the city; a School of Science and Art and a Technical School. Architecture and Building sciences are amongst the topics taught.
1824
The Aberdeen Mechanics Institution opens providing evening classes in physics, maths and art to address the need for greater technical education in the city.
1750
First admission of students to the ‘Robert Gordon’s Hospital’ a school for boys between the ages of 8 and 16 whose parents are ‘poor and indigent‘