For 45 years, Shell’s Aberdeen office at Tullos has been a recognisable feature of the Aberdeen skyline. But now it has gone and the site is ready for regeneration.
Tullos embodied a golden age of opportunity in the Northeast of Scotland. The site’s redevelopment marks the end of an era, and the new future of global energy transition.
In 2024, following a detailed planning phase, demolition of Tullos began. We were asked to film the entire ‘deconstruction phase’, from the staff vacating the site, the initial ‘soft strip’ of the interior fittings, through the removal of the major structures, to the removal and recycling of the materials. But this filming needed to cover the human story as well.
Signal’s Managing Director Jamie Baikie said, “Tullos has been a part of my life for decades and it means different things to different people. For Shell and the people that worked at the site, there is an emotional attachment to Tullos, married with an acceptance that it is time to move on. We have tried to capture that in our filming.”
To capture all this activity, we installed four solar-powered timelapse cameras around the site, and filmed progress on the ground, and with drones to get aerial shots from around the complex.
We also filmed interviews with members of the project team, and the processing of materials to be recycled. In fact, the team achieved ‘zero landfill’ status by diverting 6,282 tonnes of materials from landfill through reuse and recycling. Metal, wood, slates and other materials have been recycled, and concrete and other aggregate materials have been used as hardcore for new building projects.
The demolition work has now finished, and the recycling work is almost complete.
This clears the way for the next stages in the vision for the site, which see part of it set to be redeveloped as a recharging station for electric vehicles, and other future development options being considered with potential partners, including the city council and the Energy Transition Zone Limited.
We are privileged to be a part of this project and help tell the story.
Watch a Timelapse film of the twelve-month ‘deconstruction phase here.
Signal is Aberdeen’s leading video production company; based in Scotland with the ability to film onshore and offshore, anywhere in the world. Get in touch today to discuss your filming needs.