University of Aberdeen

Fraser Noble Building with its distinctive concrete crown designed to resemble the one adorning King's College. Other buildings were constructed of stone in the 1950s (e.g. the Taylor Building and Meston Building). A number of other buildings are designed in the brutalist style, such as the Arts Lecture Theatre and adjoining William Guild Building, opened in 1969 to house the School of Psychology. Also on the site is the Cruickshank Botanic Garden which was presented to the university in 1899 and is open to the public.
The Powis Gateway forms the east gate and archway from College Bounds, Old Aberdeen. These oriental style towers with minarets have provoked much interest over the years. At one time there was a portrait of John Leslie dressed in Turkish costume, on the walls of Powis House, but there is no obvious connection between the estate and the Middle East. The gateway is also adorned with panels bearing the coats of arms of the Lairds of Powis. The Estate of Powis was owned by the Frasers—their crest is shown on the towers—until the marriage of an heiress to a Leslie. Powis House was built by Hugh Leslie. The house was the home of John Leslie, Professor of Greek at Kings College. It was subsequently owned by the Burnett family. In 1936, J.G. Burnett sold most of the estate to Aberdeen Town Council who built a housing estate in the area comprising over 300 residences.
The Sir Duncan Rice Library was designed by Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen and completed in 2011. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in September 2012 and named after Duncan Rice, a previous Principal of the university. This seven-storey tower, clad in zebra-like jagged stripes of white and clear glass, replaced the smaller Queen Mother Library as the university's main library and can be seen prominently from the entire campus and much of the city. It is open to the public and outstanding views of the city and coastline are available from the upper floors. In addition to expanded facilities it also houses public exhibition …