ENVISAGING KOLONNAWA - In the face of water level rise

Project idea

Avoiding the adverse outcomes of flooding to the physical environment and community is introduced with the new urban vision which is to mitigate the impact of flooding as a natural disaster but to harness the maximum out of its potentials. The new facelift of the city ensures a symbiosis in between land and aquatic topographies in terms of its cultural, economic and social aspects where the intervention of architecture is a downright prominence to employ hybrid functionality. Variation of the terrain combined with the hydraulic drainage network feature an exclusive landscape in the precinct enabling a multi-modal interface to transport, infrastructure, building and spatial characters. Proposed urban development program is the inception of generating an amphibious urbanity coexisting with its adjoined precincts, which is to wide- spread all over the island’s flood prone localities and to become a pragmatic precedence of an amphibious society. Proposed development programs associated with specific micro- sites in the precinct are based upon the basic rationales and policies of the urban design master plan. The overall development is a phase-wise achievement which is to progress with the level of impact of the natural cause and the site’s and community’s vulnerability to withstand against.

Project description

Risk analysis
Highly flood hazardous area lard is completely unauthorized building and allowed for absorption and overflow. Safety ensured yet designed responsive for the worst case scenario built density is low. Amphibious city planning and architectural strategies put into motion. Safe zone for building yet followed by regulations to maintain built density unbuilt plots as a provisions for future proposals.

Kolonnawa area is popular as a service area.According to the historical rumors, physical canal system around Kolonnawa UC was based to create the city name as “Kolonnawa”,“Kolongasnawa” turned into “Kolonnawa”According to historical rumors, this area is Highly developed in the 2nd century BC at the kingdom of ‘Maya’ based on the Kelani capital.Subsequently settlements were developed within the area with development of Industrial activities.It developed as the backyard of the Colombo City, accommodating, mainly the warehousing and service-oriented activities.It also accommodated the low-income working population of the city who were mainly engaged in the port related activities as well as retail trade activities of the main markets of Colombo city.Over the years Kolonnawa has accommodated a large volume of non-residential activities such as stores, warehousing , container yards, electricity substations and an oil storage tank complex etc. which are catering to the country’s economy while generating employment opportunities to a large number of people in Kolonnawa area.

Aims
Focusing on reducing the current flooding area of 300 hectares, into 60 hectares, the aim of the project is to construct a new building system that responds to the floods and constructing it from within the existing community. By doing so replacing the current resettling pattern of horizontal moving to a vertical moving system, which will easily adapt and allow for the continuation of the daily routines.

Future Aspects
The reasons for the rise of water levels will be addressed in an ecological and a biological viewpoint and it will be restored by these ecological and biological factors. Hence minimizing damage to nature, humans and the community. Building on the concept of “grey to green” will increase the green spaces within this system.

Technical information

Despite mitigating flood via mega scale strategies, it is attempted in the building scale to produce flood resilient building systems. The specific building system is intended on responding to both flood and non-flood scenario with no functional interference.
Adopted technology and materials which are locally available is a crucial design intention. The building system comprises of avant-garde construction technology fed with the local context and knowledge.