FOLLOWING a refresh of Edinburgh Zoo’s Penguin Café last year, design and build specialist Space Solutions has worked with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) to transform two further hospitality spaces: the Grasslands Café and Mansion Bar.
The café and bar form part of the historic Mansion House, originally built in 1793, which sits at the heart of Edinburgh Zoo and functions as a year-round event venue as well as a destination for visitors to relax.
Led by senior interior designer Isobel Jones-Watt, the cafe and bar now have flexible furniture options and updated interiors allowing the spaces to transform as needed to accommodate different events.
In the café, dark ceilings, large wall graphics and a colour palette inspired by the dry grasslands are described as giving the space a ‘bolder’ look, while the mansion bar’s softer palette is accented by feature wallpaper and colour blocking to complement the historic architecture.
Further upgrades included improving noise distribution with suspended acoustic baffles from the high ceilings as well as updating the toilet facilities.
Isobel said, “Our initial reaction to the Grasslands Café was to break up the space by introducing angles in both flooring transitions, furniture layout and suspended ceiling features. This mimicked more movement to represent the grassland’s natural environment, in a space which previously resembled a linear canteen.
“Much like the Penguin Café, we developed an identity for the Grasslands with graphic designer Heather Cumming, which complimented our bold colour palette alongside featured full bleed black and white imagery which in turn provided a warm, playful yet functional space for dining.”
Beccy Angus, head of discovery and learning at RZSS, added, “We are delighted to have continued our collaboration with SPACE on two of our wildlife conservation charity’s most popular hospitality spaces. RZSS’s mission is to create a world where nature is protected, valued and loved, and the refresh of Grasslands and Mansion Bar offer improved spaces where we can encourage people to relax and reflect during their time at the zoo.”
