Vacant Union Street shops have been given a virtual makeover – with new images designed to show off their potential.
For the last year, Aberdeen leaders have been on a nationwide hunt for traders to take on the dozens of empty units lining the Granite Mile.
It was one of campaign group Our Union Street’s main priorities, and the community-led taskforce has been determined to do what it can to entice businesses.
They have been making progress, bringing the number of unused properties from 53 down to 25 in the last 12 months.
And now they have turned to technology in a bid to show off how certain properties could be given a new lease of life…
Why is Our Union Street using AI images to show off Granite Mile?
Group leaders Bob Keiller and Derrick Thomson hope this will help in their mission to fill another 10 or so units by the end of next year.
Bob explained: “We are using technology that probably wasn’t even available a couple of years ago to try and move things forward.
“If someone comes and says they are thinking of doing a bike shop – that’s fine, in the next two hours we’ll show him how a particular space could be a bike shop.
“You want a bakery, or a restaurant – fine, here you go.”
How cutting edge advances could speed up Union Street crusade
The duo say one of their biggest challenges is trying to convince people to see the possibilities in units that are “not in a very nice condition”.
Derrick adds: “Traditionally what you would do is get some sketching, modelling, some photoshop work and end up with a visualisation of the shop.
“But that takes typically one or two days of a professional’s time per image, so it becomes very expensive.”
How did the AI plan come together?
Architecture graduates from Robert Gordon University have now stepped in to help, using the latest kit to conjure impressive AI images of Union Street in a matter of hours.
Dozens have now been created, which will be shared on the Our Union Street website in an effort to capture the imagination of prospective tenants.
The outfit reckons these Union Street AI images have saved them about £60,000.
And once the group achieves success with ground-level units, they will look upwards and focus efforts on Union Street’s upper storeys…
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