This community centre accommodates specific requirements for five key organisations, as well as retail space, a community hall, an auditorium, library and a classroom. A protected internal parking courtyard doubles up as a netball/basketball court and an outdoor amphitheater.
Funds were provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies, a New York based group committed to laying foundations for change by helping human rights organisations. The design was focused on expressing, in built form, the values of the NGOs, namely equality, dignity, respect and safety. The user brief also called for a building with the vibrant character of a newsroom – which translated into an architecture that is ‘young’, hip and edgy. Both dynamic and restrained, the building makes a substantial contribution to the quality of the area and to the lives of the people living there.