We have been working on this project for perhaps 7 or 8 years, firstly with Hawkins Brown and latterly with HNW, and have seen it through many iterations. It is very exciting to see it finally completed and open.

The building provides a conference centre, cafe, shop and offices for the Aldingbourne Trust, which supports people with learning disabilities and / or autism across Sussex to live independent lives. The site already includes a number of interesting facilities including an open farm which make it a great day out. The new building enhances the existing offer and provides new facilities including a shop.

The building is heated using a biomass boiler, using redundant pallets and other scrap wood which is collected as part of the Trust's wood recycling scheme. As with most of our schemes, extensive use is made of exposed thermal mass and natural ventilation.

The lighting design gave us the opportunity for some fun, including curved lighting tracks radiating out from the internal slide dropping from first to ground floor - a feature particularly requested by the Client!