A collage of communities
Darebin Intercultural Centre
Overview
The Darebin Intercultural Centre is a rich new community facility established within the City of Darebin’s Civic Centre. The space aspires to foster meaningful and constructive inter-racial, inter-cultural, and inter-faith relations between the people who live, work and play in the City of Darebin.
Working in a collaborative manner with a range of bodies, this project was heavily steered by community consultation groups, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung elders and a strong and compassionate team of consultants.
Sited within a heritage building originally built in 1895, the floorplan is an overlapping tapestry of flexible gathering spaces, key joinery elements and social infrastructure, including meeting spaces, lecture areas and performance zones. Two central tables upon entry act not only a focal point, but encourage people to come together. Curved pockets of space break down the barrier of ‘the box’, and foster a sense of an unwalled community. Privacy, instead, is offered through series of curtains and operable walls, which provide ever-changing flexibility and encourage user agency.
The vibrant material palette is deliberately diverse, representing a collage of communities fitting in harmoniously together while retaining bold identities on their own. Mirrors are used throughout the space to constantly reflect the community back onto itself and remind people of their importance in inhabiting the spaces. Demolition was a process of peeling back the layers, where original heritage tiling and vaulted brick ceilings were uncovered. Pivoting to incorporate these unexpected elements allowed the project to further celebrate its heritage bones and form the rich material fabric of the completed facility.
Darebin’s new Intercultural Centre presents a space designed to embrace the people of Darebin. Through its adaptive reuse of the existing building, diverse material palette, and thoughtfully curated internal spaces, the centre remains a dynamic, sustainable and safe space for the future generations of the Darebin community.
The floorplan is an overlapping tapestry of flexible gathering spaces, key joinery elements and social infrastructure, including meeting spaces, lecture areas and performance zones.
Two central tables upon entry act not only a focal point, but encourage people to come together.
The vibrant material palette is deliberately diverse, representing a collage of communities fitting in harmoniously together while retaining bold identities on their own.
Demolition was a process of peeling back the layers, where original heritage tiling and vaulted brick ceilings were uncovered.
Pivoting to incorporate these unexpected elements allowed the project to further celebrate its heritage bones and form the rich material fabric of the completed facility.
Darebin’s new Intercultural Centre presents a space designed to embrace the people of Darebin. Through its adaptive reuse of the existing building, diverse material palette, and thoughtfully curated internal spaces, the centre remains a dynamic, sustainable and safe space for the future generations of the Darebin community.
The floorplan is an overlapping tapestry of flexible gathering spaces, key joinery elements and social infrastructure, including meeting spaces, lecture areas and performance zones.
Two central tables upon entry act not only a focal point, but encourage people to come together.
The vibrant material palette is deliberately diverse, representing a collage of communities fitting in harmoniously together while retaining bold identities on their own.
Demolition was a process of peeling back the layers, where original heritage tiling and vaulted brick ceilings were uncovered.
Darebin’s new Intercultural Centre presents a space designed to embrace the people of Darebin. Through its adaptive reuse of the existing building, diverse material palette, and thoughtfully curated internal spaces, the centre remains a dynamic, sustainable and safe space for the future generations of the Darebin community.
