Clunie Power Station, Loch Faskally

Clunie Power Station, built between 1949 and 1950, is a seven-bay, rectangular, classical modern power station designed by Harold Ogle Tarbolton (architect for the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board architectural panel) and J Guthrie Brown of Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners (consulting engineer). It forms part of the Tummel Garry scheme and incorporates a turbine hall, switch house, transformers, a repair shop, an administration block, and a control room. The building is constructed primarily of pre-cast concrete blocks with a slightly advanced coped eaves course.

The east elevation, the main entrance facade, is roughly three bays wide with a taller, projecting central bay. A moulded doorcase features a relief carving of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board coat of arms above a two-leaf timber panelled door. A segmental headed, voussoired window sits above the doorway. Rectangular windows are present in the flanking bays at ground and first floor levels, with slightly advanced cills.

The south elevation shows a roughly three-bay office block to the east and stepped bays to the west. An advanced three-bay transformer shed, featuring an open roof and metal screens set within concrete surrounds, is also present. Regular fenestration is characteristic of the office block, whilst the stepped bays have an irregular pattern of windows.

The west elevation presents the turbine hall to the north, with various pieces of machinery within a compound enclosed by mesh screens and concrete frames to the south. A full-height, keystoned rectangular window is a focal point of the central bay of the turbine hall.

The north elevation’s turbine hall section is symmetrical, with an oversailing tailrace to the west. The advanced end bays of the turbine hall feature five full-height keystoned windows with dividing pilasters to the centre bays. Smaller windows with broad transom bands are found in the advanced flanking bays. The administration block extends along the far left (east) side, a lower five-bay section including two storeys with raised basement terminal bays and regular fenestration.

The windows are predominantly small-pane glazed metal, with some hopper top openings in the turbine hall. Later PVCu glazing has been incorporated into the administration block. A flat platform roof is recessed behind a parapet, with integrated rainwater goods.

The interior features a large vestibule leading to a top-lit, double-height marble staircase. The upper landing provides access to offices and the former control room, with timber doors and polished parquet flooring. A former doorway to the turbine hall, originally aligned with the main entrance, was blocked in 2009. The turbine hall itself is a predominantly plain and functional space, with a trussed ceiling and a large travelling gantry crane. The floor is finished with terracotta tiles.

A memorial arch, dating from 1951, is constructed of quartzitic schist with flanking ashlar buttresses and flat coping. It commemorates the men who lost their lives during the construction of Clunie Tunnel, with an inscribed dedication.