We had the pleasure of working with the Sussex Wildlife Trust, to help complete the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre.
Now open to the public, the discovery centre boasts a beautiful observation deck, a lovely little shop, a sweet cafe and a variety of facilities to help appreciate and educate people on the Rye Harbour area.
The whole purpose of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre is to educate visitors on the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve on which it is located. Not only does this beautiful centre make use of the beautiful views but it also welcomes you in to take a seat, enjoy a cup of tea and learn more about the surrounding area.
As you enter the building further, you are greeted by displays that offer a variety of information on the wildlife, environment and work that the volunteers are working on.
Decked out with an education room, they hope to inspire the younger generation to get involved and help protect the nature reserve.
With the nature reserve mostly being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and being home to 279 species of bird, it was vital that this project was completed to help drive people and volunteers to learn of the various habitats that are protected.
The Project
We were excited to be approached for such a community-driven project and were happy to assist wherever we could. Not only would this centre be a beating hub for the nature reserve but would help drive community spirit in maintaining the environment.
The goal was to help assist with the finishing touches of the centre. For this, we were tasked with a number of areas to help finalise the project. Those areas being:
- Installing internal & external barrier
- Design and installation of the reception desk
- Source and install the retail sales shelving
- Fitting out their education room with furniture and shelving
- Source and install furniture and shelving for their back-office
- Installing fire safety equipment across the whole centre
- Fire exit signage
- Artwork wall
We helped to design and install their reception desk, which greets you as you first step into the centre. They wanted something that flowed nicely with the panelling and a natural colour, which matched with the nature reserve. A lovely slate grey was decided upon and having a large surface area for people to check out gifts was vital.
Regarding the gift shop area, we managed to help move and build some shelving to fit the space. We are continuing to work with them to help adjust the shop to the environment and see what best suits the building’s needs.
Heading deeper into the centre, they have a room dedicated to education, where groups of children can learn about the environment in the Rye Harbour area. We were able to help find colourful furniture for children to sit comfortably and learn.
Diving deeper into the back offices of the centre, we fitted the back offices with shelving for files and storage as well as chairs and desks for the main office and meeting room.
Moving round to the cafe area, we helped install a beautiful tapestry as well as some beautiful wall art which features next to the counter. Fitting over 100 silhouettes of birds, this stunning piece of art sits pride of place by the cafe.
And finally, we decked the whole facility out with health and safety signage and fire safety equipment. With such a large centre available to the public, making sure that there is accessible fire safety equipment is crucial for anyone visiting.
Overall we managed to assist in a variety of areas within the centre. It was great working on the reception area, blending this in with the rest of the area, as well as providing furniture for your back offices, retail space and education room.
We look forward to seeing the education room in use and one day seeing how you inspire the next generation.
Tour the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre
We teamed up with our friends at Virtual Spaces to help display our work in a 3D virtual walkthrough.
Through the use of Virtual Spaces capture cameras, they were able to produce a virtual walkthrough of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre.
Explore the centre and see what areas we helped develop and build. Check out the virtual tour and see what we managed to achieve here.
By using a variety of our services, the Sussex Wildlife Trust were able to complete their project with the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. Through the use of partitioning, furniture sourcing service & our design and installation service, we were successfully able to complete the project.
We would like to thank Sussex Wildlife Trust for reaching out to us. This was a brilliant place to work on and we thoroughly enjoyed helping bring the centre to life.
Sussex Facility Management
If you are looking for assistance with a facilities project, then check out our website to see more case studies. We also offer a variety of services to help cater to whatever you need with your building project.
Contact us today on 01444 812 171 to discuss your project and see how we can help bring life to your project.
