Public and Plants at The Canopy: Circular Economy in Action

A few weeks ago, we were invited to The Canopy in Leicester by Leicester Startups. We were given an incredible tour of the building, seeing original architectural features carefully preserved rather than stripped away, followed by a visit to Public and Plants for a bite to eat.

It quickly became clear this wasn’t just another café or workspace refurbishment. 

Public and Plants at The Canopy is circular economy thinking brought to life.

Public’s Leicester flagship sits within Canopy, a creative industries hub supported by Leicester City Council. Formerly Pilot House, the site was part of Leicester’s King Street industrial quarter — once home to hosiery factories from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

Today, that industrial heritage has been carefully retained and reimagined.

A renovated glass roof over the former depot entrance now floods the space with natural light. In response, a greenhouse retail zone was installed, extending the Public and Plants ethos and reinforcing the connection between indoors and outdoors. The café acts as a threshold space — calm, sheltered and wrapped in greenery — where planting and diffused light maintain a garden-like atmosphere all year round. It’s heritage-led regeneration done properly.

Beyond the architecture, the furniture and interior specification reflect a strong circular mindset.

Rather than defaulting to new procurement, high-quality chairs from Moroso, Vitra and Ercol were sourced via Facebook Marketplace and professionally reupholstered by Dreamtiques — extending product lifespan while dramatically reducing embodied carbon.

Vintage Tweety Pie candy machine heads sourced from Newark Antiques have been transformed into playful wall planters. Dough shelving was reimagined with a Gingerbread Man update, CNC’d by local carpenters — reinforcing local supply chains and reducing transport impact.

And anchoring it all? A Hartley Botanic greenhouse delivering full Kew Garden energy, bringing planting and wellbeing directly into the heart of the space.

Huge congratulations to the entire Public and Plants team for bringing this flagship space to life.

And particular recognition to Mankit Auyeung for the interior design vision. The balance between industrial heritage, biophilic influence, playful reuse and contemporary retail experience has been handled with clarity and confidence. It feels intentional. It feels layered. And it feels future-facing.

Commercial office refurbishments and hospitality fit-outs contribute significantly to embodied carbon and construction waste in the UK.

Furniture replacement alone can represent a major proportion of a project’s Scope 3 emissions. By prioritising reuse and refurbishment, embodied carbon can be reduced by up to 70–80% compared to full new-product specifications.

Public and Plants demonstrates that sustainable fit-out can:

• Preserve architectural heritage
• Reduce waste and landfill
• Lower embodied carbon
• Support local craftsmanship
• Deliver standout design without compromise
• Circularity does not dilute creativity. It amplifies it.

Projects like Public and Plants are exactly why Circular Office Group exists.

Too often, commercial fit-outs follow a linear pattern — buy new, install quickly, rip out later. It’s expensive, carbon heavy and short sighted.

We work with businesses, landlords and designers to rethink furniture procurement from the start, identifying what can be reused, what can be remanufactured and where new products genuinely add value. We manage the logistics, installation and long-term circulation of those assets so they don’t become waste at lease end.

Circularity only works when it’s practical, commercially viable and properly managed.

Public and Plants at The Canopy shows what happens when heritage is respected, materials are reimagined, and creativity replaces convenience. It’s bold without being wasteful. Playful without being excessive. Sustainable without being preachy.

That’s the future of sustainable office fit-out and commercial interiors, and we’re here to help build more of it.

Congratulations again to the entire team and to Mankit Auyeung for a design that proves circular thinking can be both intelligent and beautiful.

Leicester should be proud. 🌿

Find out more about the project here: https://www.mankit.co.uk/projects/public-and-plants-leicester