Lairg Dam And Power Station, Shin Hydro Electric Scheme, Lairg, Highland

Description

James Shearer (architect for the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board architectural panel), George Wimpey and Co. Ltd (engineers and contractors), 1960. Large mass gravity dam, integrated with power station in modern vernacular to right (NE) of fixed spillway. Spillway with 3 large control gates. Mass concrete to dam. Random rubble to turbine hall and control towers.

DAM: mass concrete dam oriented SW to NE. Fixed spillway to centre flanked by taller parapet walls to either side with vehicular access roadways supported by slender concrete piers to the downstream face. Fixed spillway to left (SW) of centre with lower spillway to right (NE) with control gates. Large concrete buttresses supporting oversailing gantry with gantry for gate winches above. Concrete parapet to upstream face; painted metal railings to downstream face.

POWER STATION: tall 2-storey (with additional storey to dam parapet at rear) roughly L-plan power station with circular-plan stair tower to far right (NE), and small rectangular control room to far left (SW) adjacent to spillway; all integrated with dam wall. Large random rubble with plain concrete surrounds. NE ELEVATION: large vehicular access doorway with decorative coat of arms above and small off-centre rectangular window at attic. Tall pedestrian access doorway with metal roller shutter and decorative carved panel of Celtic symbols above to advanced single bay on parapet. SE ELEVATION: 2-storey, 4-bay advanced centre with taller single recessed bay to right with small advanced block to base and round stair tower adjacent. Lower advanced block to far left (SW) with plain concrete elevation behind. Large transomed and mullioned tri-partite window off-centre to advanced bays of turbine hall with 4 small rectangular windows above to attic. Pedestrian access doorway to advanced lower block at right (NE) with rectangular window to left. Single window to 2nd storey with steep open sandstone pediment. STAIR TOWER: circular-plan stair tower to far right (NE) of power station with regular narrow fenestration and shallow conical copper roof to NW elevation.

Predominantly bi-partite fixed pane metal glazing in painted metal surrounds with some hopper openings. Recessed platform roofs; prominent copper roof with up-stand seams and central ball finial to stair tower. Cast-iron rainwater goods integrated with roof.

INTERIOR: predominantly plain functional interior. Single large space to turbine hall with gantry to sides supporting large overhead travelling crane. Some tiled floors throughout.

Statement of Interest

Lairg Dam is a good example of an integrated dam and power station and of the design synthesis between modernist and vernacular themes as developed by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB) for one of their major post-war hydro electric developments. The power station displays a number of architectural details including carved panels and armorials; a high quality design for the dam and station was important as it is located directly opposite the village of Lairg and makes a significant contribution to the immediate landscape of the village and surrounding area. Combined dam and power stations are relatively unusual in larger schemes, with the most prominent comparable example at Pitlochry (see separate listing).

The Shin scheme is a significant example of one of a large number 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 which could be 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)

External Links

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