Orchard Brae House

Just a short walk from Edinburgh city centre, the 1970s office building Orchard Brae House offered prime commercial space. Form Design Consultants were appointed to relaunch the building opening up 102,000 sq ft of office space, including some Grade A accommodation, to the market.

Form’s scope of work included redesigning the reception and café bar area, an amenities floor and refurbishing the vacant floors. Working closely with the managing agents to create the desired aesthetic, Form brought to life a reception space that provided a place for relaxing alongside casual working. Housing the café bar the design utilises soft seating clusters to help create inviting spaces with some privacy in the open layout.

While the open layout gave the building a sense of modernity, it meant that the reception portion of the space had to stand out and draw visitor’s attention. Form specified a U-shaped configuration of the Mono reception desk, contrasting the organic curves with the linear profile of the mounted timber slats.

The symmetrical configuration features a central DDA scoop with a flowing upstand concealing computer equipment whilst providing a practical surface for signing into the building.