Torr Achilty Power Station And Dam, Conon Valley Hydro Electric Scheme, Urray, Highland

Description

James Shearer (architect for North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board architectural panel), dated 1955. Large roughly L-plan power station in modernist vernacular style with tall single storey turbine hall to rear and 2-storey office block; all integrated into concrete mass gravity dam with central Borland fish lift. Set within broad gorge on River Conon.

POWER STATION: snecked random sandstone rubble and sandstone ashlar dressings. Banded base course, banded cill course to turbine hall and overhanging eaves course. SE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: full height canted window to adjacent recessed bay containing main entrance doorway in chamfered ashlar surround with carved panel above depicting North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board coat of arms. Deeply recessed bays to right (NE) with large rectangular small-pane windows to turbine hall. SW ELEVATION: advanced 2-storey block to right (SE) with rectangular windows, those to ground floor in continuous sandstone surround, flanked by single blind bay to far right. Recessed section to left containing large vehicular access doorway in recessed sandstone surround with transomed rectangular fanlight above. Slightly advanced terminal bay (terminated by dam wall) with single of-centre rectangular window.

Predominantly small pane metal glazing in painted metal surrounds with some hopper top openings. Recessed platform roof with integrated rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: large entrance area with open stair leading to former control room, board room and offices on 2nd floor. Further offices to left (SE) at ground floor. Large tall single storey turbine hall to rear of predominantly functional design with large overhead gantry crane and supporting piers to side walls. Twin turbines recessed in deep turbine pits.

DAM: concrete mass gravity dam, integrated with rear of power station to centre. Vehicular access deck oversailing fixed spillway to right (NE) on slender concrete piers. Large buttressed section to centre incorporating Borland fish lift. Plain elevation to left (SW) with battered profile to lower section of downstream face.

Statement of Interest

Torr Achilty is a good example of an integrated dam and power station and acted as the control station for the whole of the Conon Valley Scheme, which was one of the major post-war hydro electric developments by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB). The design for the station is characterised by a 1950s modernist vernacular style and also incorporates some of the Festival style with elements such as the large canted window to the entrance elevation. Torr Achilty power station is a good example of the desire by the designers of the NoSHEB schemes that the buildings integrate with their local environment. This can be clearly seen here with the use of local sandstone facings and the low profile of both dam and power station, carefully sited in a gorge to minimise visual impact.

Conon Valley was one of a large number of schemes developed in Scotland by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB), formed after 1943 as a nationalised body to oversee the development of Scotland's resources for water power. The scheme played a key role in the realisation of the social agenda of NoSHEB by providing power to a remote community. Power generated on schemes in the southern Highlands, such as Tummel (see separate listings) was exported via the grid to the central belt, the profit from which subsidised the provision of power to remote north Highland communities and stimulated economic regeneration. Under the leadership of eminent chairman Sir Tom Johnston the board undertook developments throughout Highland Scotland and his aspirations saw the development of schemes in locations such as Loch Dubh near Ullapool and Storr Lochs on Skye. Johnstone's social aspirations and wider wishes to reinvigorate the economy of the Highlands ensured that schemes in remote areas formed a key part of the NoSHEB development plan.

All of the developments carried out by NoSHEB were subject to parliamentary approval and objections on the grounds of scenic amenity were common. In order to meet these objections the board appointed a panel of architectural advisers which included Reginald Fairlie (1883-1952), James Shearer (1881-1962) and Harold Ogle Tarbolton (1869-1947), appointed in 1943. Initially the role of the panel was to adjudicate on competition entries for designs, but by 1947 it had become one of designers. The panel had little control over the functional form of the buildings, as they left this to engineers, but they did influence the appearance and the style of the designs. The rigid views on the roles of engineers and architects during the design process resulted in the development of a style which can be characterised as vernacular modernism. This style is characteristic of many NoSHEB buildings and is a direct product of the strict role which engineers and architects played in the design process and of the increasing desire to harmonise buildings with the landscape.

Early in the life of the board, following the death of Tarbolton in 1947, and Fairlie's death relatively soon after in 1952, Shearer was able to exert more control on the direction of the architectural style. In line with increasing public concerns over the impact of developments on scenic amenity by the early to mid 1950s the designs for the board began to move away from the confident classical modernism under the control of James Shearer. Shearer spent the early part of his career in the offices of John Burnet and Son in Glasgow before commencing private practice in 1907. He gained a number of high profile commissions, and in partnership with George Annand from 1949 the practice were responsible for some iconic post-war architecture, including David Marshall Lodge in Aberfoyle (see separate listing). Shearer also produced a significant number of designs for NoSHEB schemes, the combination of rugged rubble facings and functional forms with carefully applied architectural features, many derived from vernacular and baronial styles, were a conscious effort to meld the new structures into the landscape and stylistically a number of compositions echo the work of his early mentor Burnet. The designs for NoSHEB also show the influence of Dutch architect, Willem Marinus Dudok, who Shearer visited in 1952 whilst representing the Royal Scottish Academy.

(Listed 2011 as part of Hydroelectric Power Thematic Survey)

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