Exploring the flowing legacy- Eco-cultural camp in Gangewadiya – Puttalam

Project idea

Amalgamating the community and ecosystem together, thus enhancing tourism is the best way to address the social, cultural, economic and ecological complexities of the site. Hence it was selected the ecological footprint as a tool measuring the human demand of nature. So as to achieve every objective with a new, imperishable beginning, “eco-cultural camp” is introduced as a landscape architectural intervention. Under the masterplan proposal level, Gangewadiya is proposed as the new tourism hotspot of Puttalam which connects with the other tourism needs. Conceptually it is delivered a new approach, a fresh and unharmed footprint which opens up the doors for an imperishable landscape.

Project description

Gangewadiya is located facing Puttalam lagoon at the Kala oya estuary. The name “Gangewadiya” has originated with respect to the lagoon where Wadiya is a reference made to a fishing hut. After the war, the precinct turned into a small-scale fishing village. Despite the rich eco-system feeding the spirit of the locality, people destroy the mangrove cover and the patch is fragmenting causing a huge threat to this site. Villagers undergo numerous difficulties economically and hardly fulfill even their basic needs. Scarcity of public infrastructure, uneducation, extreme poverty, harass the local community holding them back in the fast-evolving world. Vibrant diversities of culture, seasonal activities, ecology and landscape are untapped potentials within Gangewadiya which can be used for development.

Design formation
Design formation is done considering the ecological, cultural, and social and livelihood hotspots of the site while connecting them, with a trail designed with respect to the geoformation and meandering formations of river flow which is ultimately termed, “exploring the flowing legacy”.

Technical information

Harbor is the entry environment where one can start the journey from Kalpitiya by a boat. At the entry point a small harbor is designed, visiting jetty space and wooded decks to wait until the turn. One can observe the vistas of the lagoon estuary at the decking areas and proposed entry.

In “birds’ magnet” the native vegetation cover is enhanced via flora such as Madhuka Longifoliyao and Kirala etc. These trees actively engage in the production of food. The trail continues as a wooden deck, through the voids, under the birds’ magnet. Then there is a deck jut out to the water with a tower which is used for bird watching. The main observatory of the lagoon turns the visitor in to the site by giving a light tree corridor crossing the pocket bay. Then the trail continues through the mangrove rehabilitated area with enclosed and exposed pockets. The trail is proposed without disturbing or fragmenting the mangrove ecosystem.
The space gives the complete experience of mangroves and self-knowledge gaining activities. Inland salinity ponds, rocky barriers, mangrove tunnel, fishing spot and many other recreational and experiential spaces progresses the visitors’ interest as a chain of a unified landscape.