Space Solutions - Retail Development - Edinburgh, Stockbridge

Date: 18 Feb 2008

Eco-friendly design is at the heart of a new Superfoods café and store in Edinburgh's contemporary Stockbridge area.

Red Sugar asked architecture and space planning firm Space Solutions to use their expertise in sustainable design to come up with a striking layout for the former health food shop in Raeburn Place which reflected the company's green credentials.

As well as creating a contemporary environmentally-conscious design, it was also vital that the layout, and lighting were sympathetic to the history of the category B listed building. Space Solutions, working closely with Red Sugar, used a variety of materials from organic paints and varnishes to naturally sustainable products, such as bamboo, in the £70,000 project.

All the furniture in the new business has also been sourced from organic and sustainable sources.

The Stockbridge café is the first of its kind to launch in Scotland. Red Sugar's co-founder Steve Montgomery said: "It was very important for us to run as carbon neutral as possible with Red Sugar and also return the character of the building.

"I don't agree with wastage on any business level and believe it is about time that other businesses look towards making simple changes. We already knew what we wanted to achieve with Red Sugar and had gone into a great deal of research to build a picture of what was available."

Space Solutions director Derek Binnie said: "Eco-friendly design has been popular for some time and now organisations in the UK are becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the earth's resources and the benefits of ethical architecture and design which utilise products from sustainable sources.

"We worked with Red Sugar to create the ideal solution to their specific needs without compromising on the environmentally-friendly values which are such an important part of their business."

Space Solutions has grown to become one of the leading and most innovative providers of its kind in Scotland, delivering an all-encompassing property solution service. It operates UK-wide to design, build and relocate modern and productive business environments.

The company staged a management buy out in July 2007 following one of the most successful years in its 10 year history in which turnover rocketed to more than £10million.