
The Bendigo Islamic Community Centre BICC is currently rebuilt on the site of a tiny mosque that once existed in the outback of Australia, initially built in 1800s by the founder of Bendigo. After years of resistance, the Bendigo Mosque is currently being built and expected to open in 2025. It is a modern building designed by Melbourne based architects, GKA Architects.
The building will hold up to 375 people and will comprise a mosque making up 20–30% of the building. The rest of the building will comprise a sports hall, community spaces, library and café.
The design was inspired by Australia’s earliest known mosque, built in Maree in South Australia in the 1860s, using materials from the local landscape such as mud and tree trunks. Sandstone material from the Bendigo area is used in the construction of the centre.
The design paid respect to existing Bendigo architecture and care had been taken to ensure it would fit in with the local landscape. The design also features a nod to the founder of Bendigo, German-born architect William Charles Vahland, who is credited with developing the use of decorative ironwork in buildings. More than 200 buildings and public structures throughout the city and the region bear his sandstone signature, which all played a part in the design of Bendigo’s mosque.
Architect Asher Greenwood has moulded Vahland’s influence into his BICC design, incorporating decorative ironwork, Victorian-era grandeur and practicality, sandstone colours and goldmining icons. Within a bush setting, the BICC uses the classical Australian natural light to bring the environment indoors, and showcase the local landscape – resulting in both cultural and natural transparency. At the request of the local Muslim community, the BICC is non-monumental, but pays homage to the city’s past, reflects its present and celebrates its future.
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