The diggers have rolled in as work to demolish Aberdeen Market gathers pace.
The once-thriving market is being turned into a new office, retail and leisure space.
Preparatory works are now under way, with huge piles of rubble seen outside.
It is understood it will be a few weeks before the iconic circular market building – which features a large mural from the inaugural Nuart – is knocked down.
The piece, by German duo Herakut, features a large mural of a girl holding a lighthouse and is widely regarded as one of the most popular pieces from the street art festival.
Already, other Nuart pieces – including SNIK’s mural from 2021 – have begun to come down as part of the revamp.
A new £50million marketplace on the site of the former British Homes Stores and indoor market sites, linking Union Street with the Green, was approved in November.
Halliday Fraser Munro, hired by the council to develop the project, describe it as a flexible market and leisure space with a “destination food and drink offering”.
Artisan craft studios, shops, galleries and exhibition space, as well as sheltered indoor and outdoor market or events space could all find a home.
There would also be links from Union Street to the Merchant Quarter and bus and train stations, which have been designed as a “welcoming space”.
