Queen Margaret Union Cafe

The Queen Margaret Union Cafe approached us at the beginning of 2022 to refurbish their student cafe. Previously the space was too open, so they asked us to design and build a partition wall. This would be to allow the kitchen/service area to be safely locked, and the dining/seating area to remain open for longer use.

From reclaimed scaffold boards we assembled bespoke cladding, kitchen unit fascias and a recycling point. Then from Scottish spruce, we designed and built a set of made-to-order tables and benches.

See below for the full transformation.

Bespoke tables and benches made from Scottish spruce seconds.

Based on our Buddy bench and some previously designed bespoke tables, the QMU team were looking for something robust and sturdy to stand up to frequent use. Having not received the thicker scaffold boards for a long time, we knew our Scottish spruce would come in use here.

For the cladding, kitchen fascias and sliding partition wall, we knew we had to utilise our iconic scaffold boards.

Scaffold boards feature all kinds of knots, stains and paint marks from their previous life. As a result, it brings a huge amount of character to create a completely unique feature wall.

It was the smallest details which helped to bring all the elements of the Queen Margaret Union cafe refit together.

The QMU Cafe had a small, unutilised nook on an inside elevation next to the door. So we built them a simple bespoke recycling point alongside wide and standard scaffold board shelving to make the most of the space.