2024 DCC Award Winner

Tzu Chi Jing Si Center, Bomanite of Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

First Place: Vertical & Facades, Over 5,000 SF

The Tzu Chi Foundation is a global NGO that focuses on giving material and medical aid and inspiring love and humanity in both givers and receivers. Malaysia is fortunate to enjoy the Foundation’s charity and kindness. The pebbles are skillfully plastered on all surfaces and washed to expose the pebbles. One can hardly see any cement in between the pebbles, which are almost three dimensionally protruding out from the surface. Every cemented groove line is aligned equidistant and horizontally level, showing precision and care in the work executed. About 11,000 bags (220 tons) of pebbles and 750 bags (37.50 tons) of cement were manually moved, mixed, and applied to the surfaces of the entire project. Pebbles were mixed with portable mixers, wheelbarrowed to location and hoisted, bucket by bucket, up or down different levels, to roof ridges, curved fascia beams, etc. The other challenges were: The general contractor built the concrete structure, columns, and brick walls. We were commissioned to check the dimensions of all structures that required pebble wash. Many areas were hacked, saw cut, trimmed, and re-screeded to the correct dimensions, and the walls were hacked and re-screeded flat to receive 12-15mm thick pebbles. All windows and doors, wall copings, every nook and corner were also checked and many realigned to be horizontally level, and all walls and columns also realigned vertically. The mustache-like curved fascia rc beams at the front and back of the 3 building were meticulously measured, marked, hacked and re-screeded by our team before applying the 12-15mm thick pebble wash. No templates were used, and all 6 sets of curved fasciae rc beams were manually hand crafted to attain almost perfect symmetry.