Tzu Chi Community Centre

Rohrig recently completed the construction of an all-new facility for Brisbane’s long-standing Tzu Chi Community Centre.

The new five-level community centre, built on a brownfield site, offers a state-of-the-art renewal design that aims to minimise water and energy consumption.

The project has a renewable design goal at the centre of the inviting, multi-purpose facility to enable the volunteer organisation to foster the growth of the next generation. Neylan Architecture designed the community building, with unique features like double-height ceilings, extensive timber features throughout, and an open-air rooftop play area.

 Design elements included timber floors, plywood wall linings, multi-coloured brickwork, and zinc cladding and roofs. A large Buddha statue welcomes visitors to the high-roof meeting hall, featuring stunning timber curtain structures. The facade offers three different colours of brickwork, with Raico north-facing glass facade and large contemporary awning.

The building will serve as a valuable community centre offering childcare services, parent-child activities, disaster relief, offices and shared spaces, a lecture hall, coffee shop and bookstore. Within a completely residential area, we were considerate of neighbouring houses and worked conscientiously to ensure the centre’s strong community relationship was maintained.

We built a sub-level basement, to house service rooms, a basement car park and entry foyer, and three above ground levels. The second level of the building houses a childcare centre with modern play rooms, education rooms, and above that is an impressive rooftop playground.

The Rohrig Difference came in the form of our extensive value engineering process, which added significant client value through the use of alternative materials while still meeting the design intent. We completed the project across two stages, due to powerlines that needed to be relocated underground. This resulted in a more visually appealing end result as prior to this project, the lines were overhead.

This was the first project Rohrig has completed for the client, however it was an immensely rewarding build and the end result speaks for itself.