Base

Name: One Darnley Road
Price range: $

Edinburgh, UK

Services

Sectors

Office and Workplace

People

AHR Office Building Base Architecture West Edinburgh FINAL

AHR Office Building Base Architecture West Edinburgh Atrium

project overview

A sustainable and flexible workplace refurbishment designed with people at the heart

We’re transforming the former Younger Building in West Edinburgh, now known as Base, into a flexible workspace. This thoughtful redevelopment will provide almost 90,000 sq ft of high quality office and collaboration space, designed to support a wide range of businesses while offering a healthier, more inclusive environment for everyone who uses it.

First built in 1999 as the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters, the building has long been a familiar presence in the city’s western business district. Together with Scarborough Group International (SGI), we are repurposing the space to retain the value of what already exists while giving it new life as a vibrant, people-focused workplace.

The location already benefits from excellent tram, train and motorway links, as well as generous on-site parking. By choosing to reuse rather than build from scratch, we are helping to reduce environmental impact while ensuring the building continues to play a positive role in Edinburgh’s business landscape.

Our goal is to create a welcoming, cost-effective alternative to city centre offices, a place that supports talent, encourages sustainable commuting and strengthens the local community.”

Manisa Mistry

Associate Director and Project Lead

design concept

A people-centred interior supporting teamwork and wellbeing

Guided by a meaningful interior design strategy, the reimagined triple-height atrium will act as the hub, filled with light and activity, while generous breakout spaces on every floor provide opportunities for informal meetings.

Wellbeing has been a key priority throughout. The new wellness suite, showers, drying rooms and secure cycle storage will encourage active commuting, while electric vehicle (EV) charging points and intelligent shading systems will support low-impact, sustainable travel and improved comfort inside the building.

By making adaptability central to our design, Base can welcome a wide range of employees, from start-ups and growing SMEs to larger corporations.

This mix of businesses will not only strengthen the sense of community within the building but also contribute to the ongoing vitality of West Edinburgh as a business hub, attracting investment, supporting jobs and helping to retain talent locally.

sustainability

Ensuring environmental excellence through intelligent reuse

Sustainability underpins every decision we have made in this project. A full decarbonisation strategy will see the replacement of traditional heating and cooling with an all-electric system, introduce smart LED lighting and sub-metering and the refurbishment of air handling units to improve air quality and comfort.

For the people using the building, this means lower running costs, better energy efficiency and a healthier indoor environment. For the wider community, it demonstrates how existing buildings can be repurposed to meet today’s net zero ambitions without the carbon cost of a new build.

key information