CEME Conference Centre is strategically located on the East London/ Essex border and attracts conference, meetings and events business from within London and the South East. Since 2012 the conference centre business has enjoyed significant growth as a business and in its occupancy levels year on year.
As such, briefing requirements to enhance and expand the current on-site facilities have been drawn up to incorporate additional office work spaces, expanding the current capacity of the Innovation Centre; an expansion of the existing Conference Facilities with the creation of a new 500 seat ’theatre-style’ purpose built auditorium; and the introduction of a 150 bed hotel development facility to further advance the opportunities for the Conference Centre by being able to offer over-night accommodation for residential courses and conferences.
The proposals developed are based on a new linking two storey office building; forming the final side of what is currently an open courtyard, with 12,000 square feet of office space arranged over two storeys along a central circulation spine that connects both the existing Innovation Centre and the main pedestrian street of the Main Building.
Using a ‘transfer structure’ over the new office link building, a new hotel block is proposed, based on two wings of double-sided bedrooms along a central spine, with accommodation for 150 rooms plus their support facilities.
At the end of the existing main building, and at the confluence of the existing and new ‘circulation streets’ is to be housed the expansion facilities for the Conference Centre, in the form of a new 500 seat multi-purpose auditorium space on a newly created first floor mezzanine area, with additional meeting rooms and conference support facilities wrapped around and beneath the auditorium. Rapid access to these facilities is to be afforded by the introduction of new escalator facilities as part of proposals for the principal entrance for the expanded facilities.
As CEME is a charitable organisation private investor funding is currently being sought for the development.
