Project Description
CLIENT: Aldingbourne Trust
PROJECT: Conference Centre
SMD has been proud to work with the Aldingbourne Trust for many years.
The Trust empowers adults with learning disabilities by providing real skills, care, and employment opportunities in a truly modern way. They believe in the power of strong partnerships between social enterprise and charitable fundraising, and how these collaborations create genuine choices and greater independence for their clients.
We were delighted to provide project management and quantity surveying services for their new £4.5 million Conference Centre. Spread across three levels, the building includes a 110-seat conference hall, café, shop, offices and, not to be missed, an indoor slide! The Trust’s brief was to create an iconic, environmentally sustainable building. It was to serve as a gateway to the entire site while offering state-of-the-art conference facilities to support their expanding business. The building also needed to include new office spaces, a public café that could double as a training space for clients, and a sense of fun throughout.
Working closely with a talented design team, contractor, and sub-contractors, we delivered an award-winning building, recognised with a Sussex Heritage Trust Award in 2020. The project posed a unique challenge: to create a high-quality visitor centre within a tight budget. Through a thorough value engineering process, we achieved not just a striking design but a highly economical and sustainable result.