17-21 Union Street, Aberdeen

11-15 (Odd) Union Street in Aberdeen is a four-storey and attic building designed by Archibald Simpson between 1819 and 1822. It features an impressive classical former reading room and tenement building with shops, characterized by round-arched openings at the ground level. The building was altered after a fire in 1973 and is prominently located at a crossroads. The former reading room is distinguished by its Ionic columns that rise through the first and second floors of the five-bay section, all constructed from smooth granite ashlar. There is a base course, a band course, and a cill course to the third storey, along with a blocking course. The northwest corner is rounded and features bowed glazing.

To the east, the elevation is symmetrical with a slightly advanced central three-bay section that includes a central timber door flanked by four tall Ionic columns, with an attic above separating three large windows. There is a decorated wallhead panel above this section. To the north, there is a slightly advanced central five-bay section with a swagged wallhead panel.

The ground floor has multi-pane round-arched timber windows with a fanlight glazing pattern, while the upper floors predominantly feature 12-pane timber sash and case windows, with some plate glass in the shop fronts. Number 17, which was formerly a tobacconist, has round-arched timber mouldings. The building is topped with a grey slate mansard roof. The interior was comprehensively altered in 2006.