Project Overview
A highly bespoke three-storey conference and community facility designed to support local businesses, community groups and people with learning disabilities and autism.
Funded through the Trust’s long-term fundraising efforts, matched by the Local Enterprise Partnership, the building provided a 100-person conference centre, a new entrance and reception area, a retail space, WCs and changing facilities, a café for visitors and staff offices.
Amiri secured the project through competitive tender, but an existing working relationship with the professional team supported a collaborative approach from the outset.
The scheme was significantly over budget at tender stage, requiring extensive value engineering while protecting a vision the client had developed over more than a decade. The project demanded innovative construction methods, careful management of non-standard design elements and a high level of communication with multiple stakeholders, including end-users and potential donors.
Key Challenges & Solutions
Extensive Value Engineering Without Compromising the Vision: The scheme was £1m over budget, highly bespoke and included numerous provisional sums. After 10 years of planning and fundraising, the client had clear expectations and limited willingness to compromise.
- Undertook a full design & build–style review to identify opportunities and manage unknowns.
- Produced a comprehensive VE schedule, ultimately delivering £400k of agreed savings.
- Optimised materials and logistics, including retaining site muck to form landscape bunds, reducing cost and environmental impact.
- Adopted industrial cladding with a 40,000-tile façade overlay to meet both aesthetic and financial requirements.
Complex Logistics, Non-Standard Elements & Site Constraints: A narrow dead-end access road, high visitor numbers, and several non-standard building elements – including three 12-metre prefabricated bridges – made site operations particularly complex.
- Implemented a site-specific traffic and delivery management plan, including timed deliveries, additional marshals and temporary barriers.
- Used a larger crane located on the public road to safely position the prefabricated bridges over the building.
- Maintained open-mesh fencing and time-lapse visibility to support stakeholder and donor engagement.
Managing Continuous Change Driven by Ongoing Fundraising: Fundraising continued throughout construction, creating regular design development, scope changes and frequent donor/end-user site visits.
- Created a clear site engagement plan for accommodating large groups and short-notice visitors.
- Worked collaboratively with the client to manage changes efficiently and transparently.
- Agreed a hybrid procurement strategy whereby the Trust procured selected subcontract packages directly, reducing overheads while still benefiting from Amiri’s oversight.
- Supported community fundraising, including participating in – and winning – the Trust’s Dragon Boat Race.
Your ability to respond to our timescales and operate on a working site, whilst also meeting important stakeholders who helped fund the building really helped us to a achieve our targets. The Amiri team were flexible and professional and should be proud of the quality of the Quarry Building. We really feel Amiri were looking out for us and were as committed to the project as we have been.
Sue Livett
Managing Director, Aldingbourne Trust.
Project Outcomes
The Aldingbourne Trust conference centre was delivered as a high-quality, bespoke facility that stayed true to the charity’s vision while providing long-term value for money. The extensive value engineering exercise achieved significant savings, ensuring financial viability without altering the core purpose or design aspirations.
The project’s environmental performance was enhanced through efficient material management, renewable energy systems and rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing. Complex installations such as the prefabricated bridges were completed safely and successfully despite severe site constraints.
The high visibility of the build, coupled with a welcoming engagement strategy, allowed donors and end-users to feel fully involved throughout delivery. The success of the collaboration was recognised through Amiri being awarded corporate membership of The Friends of the Aldingbourne Trust, marking the strong partnership developed over the course of the project.
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