Churches of Christ in Queensland is a church and community organisation comprising affiliated mainstream Christian churches, and a range of care and community services and faith-related groups. They provide missional and community care services to families, the elderly and people in need through church communities and care services groups operated through Churches of Christ Care and Churches of Christ Housing Services.

Having been active in the community for almost 135 years, the organisation has a significant presence in Queensland, Victoria and Vanuatu, with over 300 services in more than 100 communities where the efforts of over 3,300 staff and 1,500 volunteers positively impact tens of thousands of lives each year.

The heart of this caring organisation lies in their home at the Churches of Christ Campus in the south-west Brisbane suburb of Kenmore – a heart that has been beating more excitedly since Sunshine Coast-based Dimond Architects was commissioned to design two striking new structures in a comprehensive redevelopment of the campus.

With Stage One having delivered a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable and innovative Head Office building, which provides a modern working environment for over 300 staff, the focus turned to Stage Two and the construction of a $5.5 million community facility consisting of a 350-seat auditorium, meeting room and café.

With the community facility located at the front of the campus, surrounded by landscaped gardens, the design asserts the organisation’s community focus and was delivered featuring LYSAGHT ENSEAM™ cladding in the new COLORBOND® steel Matt finish in the colour Monument®.

LYSAGHT ENSEAM™ cladding is one of five European-inspired profiles in Lysaght’s new ZENITH™ range of premium architectural profiles. Produced in the COLORBOND® steel Matt finish, it brought a fresh new design element which Dimond Architects was keen to incorporate in their work.

“Both the Dimond team and the client wanted a design which was visually impacting as the community facility is the gateway to the campus, so the architectural expression and materials are bolder than those used elsewhere on the site,” said Ian Dimond, Dimond Architects’ Managing Director.

“We’d been exploring products, looking at the new COLORBOND® steel Matt finish in the sun and liked the way the material exhibited variation from different angles, without producing glare.

“Both the LYSAGHT ENSEAM™ profile and the COLORBOND® steel Matt finish are new to the market, so we’re very pleased to be at the front edge in making that choice and seeing this exciting new material on a building,” Ian Dimond continued.

“The building was intended to have a modern industrial and commercial aesthetic: the cladding is the COLORBOND® steel Matt finish and there is a lot of concrete and glass, with a good balance between the three materials. It’s not your average church building.”

As well as being easy on the eye with its broad flat pans, substantial rib and striking matt surface, the LYSAGHT ENSEAM™ cladding was also very easy to install, according to Ian Knights, Project Manager for cladding contractors Dowbury Pty Ltd.

“It’s a good product to work with and the guys love putting it on because it’s so easy. We’ve used it before on a Brisbane high rise project in the 265mm pan width – this time it was the 465mm pan width – and our team likes the LYSAGHT ENSEAM™ cladding, they like putting it on and it goes on well,” Ian Knights said.

“We worked with Andrew Mandla, the Account Manager at Lysaght’s Archerfield branch and it was a good experience all round; the cladding was easy to work with and so are Lysaght.”

As for Andrew Mandla, he was pleased to be of assistance in seeing a Lysaght ZENITH™ range profile in the new COLORBOND® steel Matt finish being used to such great effect on the community facility.

“Lysaght worked with BlueScope during roll forming trials in developing the COLORBOND® steel Matt finish, so we do bring in-depth experience to delivering our cladding in this very popular new material,” Andrew said. “To see one of our new ZENITH™ profiles in the COLORBOND® steel Matt finish come to life on a project, and see the amazing result, was really very exciting.”