Edinburgh has made another huge stride to improve its sustainability credentials with the new £20 million redevelopment of Edinburgh Park.
43,000 square feet and three floors of new office buildings have just been completed at 4-5 Lochside Avenue in Edinburgh Park, making it the city's first all electric newly developed project.
Knight Property Group spearheaded the development, setting the standard for sustainable office redevelopment, offering open-plan Grade A office accommodation, ranging from 14,000 to 43,000 square feet, configured over three floors.
The decision was made to restore and remodel the building instead of knocking it down, thus supporting the 'RetroFirst' approach to provide fossil fuel free, zero direct emissions office space, aligned to Net Zero targets and Scottish Government 'New Build Heat Standards'.
What this all means is, compared to other buildings, this one does not use any fossil fuels and uses 100% renewables. It future proofs the building for any further legislation or agreement that may arise from COP26 and moves away from using gas.
The building has also achieved UK Green Building Council 2025-2030 interim targets for operational energy use.
Other sustainable features that have been included in the remodel include all electric air-conditioning delivered via air source head pump technology and 100% ventilated fresh air delivered to the working environment.
The air conditioning improvements mean that only fresh air will enter the building, benefitting the health and wellbeing of employees, whilst obviously being Covid-safe. Knight made this decision during the pandemic to alter the air conditioning, heating and cooling the rooms without the need for radiators.
There are also solar PV panels mounted on the roof, electric car charging points and LED lighting on all floors.
James Barrack, Founder and Chairman of Knight Property Group said: "Our original vision was to redevelop the building to an extremely high standard, offering occupiers a contemporary and modern working environment, but crucially all set within a highly sustainable and net carbon neutral office.
"We are totally committed to take action on climate change and sustainability and this is embedded in the core culture of our business and at the heart of all our developments.
"4-5 Lochside Avenue is one of the strongest buildings in Edinburgh Park and achieving completion and delivering it during the pandemic is a significant milestone and we are very proud of the sustainable standards it has achieved."
All the alterations were brought forward as a 'Covid-friendly', green and sustainable plan, also offering 60 bike spaces and maintenance facilities, prompting staff to ditch their cars and cycle to and from work.
Cameron Stott, Director of JLL, who act as a letting agent for Knight Property Group, added: "Sustainability and wellness are quite rightly now pre-requisite requirements for occupiers and Knight really grasped and embraced this agenda throughout the development of 4-5 Lochside Avenue.
"It is now one of the strongest and most sustainable properties in Edinburgh Park and we anticipate strong occupier demand for the space."
