Awareness Center for Horton Plains- NuwaraEliya - LOOK BEYOND WHAT YOU SEE

SLIIT

Project idea

What is an Awareness Center ?
• The main intention of the Awareness Center is to educate the visitors including school and university students as well as citizens and tourists about Horton plains and its biodiversity and also other main details about the Srilankan forests. It is composed of exhibition spaces displaying information in various ways about forests and a Simulating areas allowing the visitors to experience of night camping in forest/Horton plains. Because it is not allowed to witness the nature in the evening because of the leopard attacks.
• Awareness center is described as a place where information of some study areas are available. This might be helpful for visitors to get an idea what they can see in that area.
• There are three basic aspects to be aware of in an Awareness Center. That is to provide information about a particular area, past facts, expertise, an opportunity to ask and get to know about facts they need. When creating an Awareness Center we can basically consider the following .
Justification
– Why we need an awareness center in Horton plains?
When the current situation is considered, a person who enters the Horton plains can buy tickets from the entrance and start their journey after parking their vehicles. The main issue is that no responsible officer is available to advice about Horton plain, the places they can visit or about plan or details or waste disposal ways
The Ordinary procedure of Horton plains is to pay the relevant value to the vehicle that they have come and park the car in the parking spot and enter to the Horton plains.
Some of the billboards displayed along the way, does not attract the attention of some tourists and locals. Only those who love to read, tend to read them
There are four major viewing points in Horton plains.
World’s end , Mini world’s end ,Baker's falls ,Chimney pond / pool
There is also the Kirigalpotta Mountain and the Thotupola Mountain. There are guides in these places and tourists can visit with the help of them. There is a doubt, whether they communicate all the information about Horton plains and about animal species and trees.
Therefore, I think the best solution is to give the traveler the opportunity to read and get to know about the interesting past stories and the expertise of Horton plains before starting the tour. Also, while viewing Horton plains, some flora and fauna in the area are displayed in notice boards, some of them are hidden by massive trees and others are destroyed due to climate changes such as in and sun rays.
Some tourists do not take time to read the notice boards because they are busy with photography. Human ignorance is the main cause of some unfortunate accidents in Horton plains
Such as Fires (course of cigarettes, bonfires, beacons - camping)
Accidents by falling from the cliffs
Hunting animals ,Deforestation, Bathing in unsafe places ,Informal disposal of garbage
I assume that tourists and local visitors should be aware of these stuff for many reasons. By creating an awareness center at the entrance of the Horton plains to launch this awareness program will be helpful for all the visitors. They will be able to watch this program without any effort and gain some knowledge about the place

SITE JUSTIFICATION
One of the most important aspects of creating this space is that our site is located at one of the gateways to Horton plains. Therefore, anyone who enters the premises, will be able to take a short break before starting the journey and will be able to understand the value of Horton plains before it starts by visiting this awareness center. This design is important for visitors as it provides the necessary facilities for the sanitary and snacking. The small pond at the front of the land has a nice setting and the scenery is a beautiful sight. Further, this is development project which enhance the facilities at Horton plains.

Project description

DESIGN ANALYSIS
- PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Horton plains is a lowland with the the abundance of biodiversity in flora and fauna . precious algae and lichens can be observed in the area. But it is unfortunate, that now a days many tourists and local’s unawareness of these values. Therefore, these ecosystems are being destroyed.
I see the lack of knowledge and awareness of places and threats as the primary cause of this problem, as the people responsible for the tourists are inadequate to protect these places.
So what I hope this awareness center will be supportive to distribute the knowledge among humans and convince the value of these nature properties .

INSPIRATION - Look Beyond What You See
The human eye can see and preserve its beauty by looking beyond what is seen. Visitors should be informed that this ecosystem is something, more than just a plain full of trees and deer as a scrubland.
CONCEPT - Kaleidoscope
So this imagery looks like the kaleidoscope we used to play with when we were little.
From this kaleidoscope, when we put something not very nice, to this equipment such as sequin or petal, mirrors within it create a beautiful image in the eye. So I come up with my concept applying this theory to my design. Like if petal is the Horton plains and user is the visitor and the kaleidoscope is my awareness center.

BUILDING FORM
Considering the topographical features of the land, I have decided to consider three parts of maximum extent of plain land. The building spread over that area. When the spaces are interconnected, I come up with the building shape using the concept of the golden ratio.

Technical information

I have chosen the most suitable flat lands for the construction of my design as my site includes many contours .As the Horton Plains is a heritage that should be protected we cannot go for huge concrete used designs. So we have come up with a light weighted design. Most suitable materials for the light weighted design are wood, plywood, gypsum boards. To obtain the optimum beauty of the nature I have decided to add glass for a wall in the restaurant area.
I have made my design sustainable for animals specially by soundproofing the building when functioning. Also I have not used many glass for the design because it can be dangerous for birds. Visitors can experience the beauty silently without any disturbance to the nature using the wood deck which I have inserted in my design. As the building does not function after 6 pm, whole building is under natural light and ventilation. The design has made sustainable for the environment by choosing a land with least trees and the deck has built in the area of trees.