vocational training center at Rathnapura

SLIIT

Project idea

Rathnapura known as the “City of Gems”. It has a deep-rooted heritage and cultural background that revolves around the existence of gems that is one of the main natural resources in Sri Lanka, even earning the affectionate name of “Ratnadeepa” (land of
gems). Currently, the value of a gem traded in the market is rapidly decreasing, often sold at a lower value than the potential it holds. This can strip the identity Sri Lanka had for higher quality gems. Decades ago, gems mined in Ratnapura were hand cut using traditional methods, mechanisms and machines that are a part of the Sri Lankan heritage. This processes that were unique to Sri Lanka were used to cut and polished the gems, and to bring to its maximum potential value. The architectural brief intends to create spaces and activities that will revive and evolve these traditional practices. Traditional hand cutting of gems will be taught and practiced in this centre and be sold to buyers. This will not only generate wealth in the community involved in the industry improving their livelihood, but also improve the quality & the value
of the gems. The architecture is to create a landmark building in the city on an elevated platform whereby it symbolises the identity it holds connected to gems.

Project description

Ancient history and culture of Sri Lanka’s gem mining and faceting still sustain the skills required to maintain a winning industry. Sri Lanka has been well known for high-quality cutting and polishing with competitive pricing and still maintains a reputation as one of the best cutting centers. A skilled cutter can make slight angle adjustments to achieve a fine color with a higher weight yield. The cutting and polishing of the gems still remains in the hands of the Moor craftsmen. They uses age old hand-operated machines and techniques. Even up to the 1970s these traditional methods were still being used. While the other countries of the world follows the extreme gem mining methods using heavy
machinery, gem mining in Sri Lanka is mostly dependent on elbow grease and skill than any other machinery which also reduces environment degradation and permanent damage happens to gem deposits in Sri Lanka. Ratnapura is the traditional gem mining area in Sri Lanka. Apart from that there are other 5 major zones known for Gem mining. A large number of people in the town depends on the gem trade, gem mining. Most large-scale gem businesses of Sri Lanka operate from Ratnapura. There are noticeable numbers of foreign gem traders in the city too. Majority Among the foreign traders are the Thai (Thailand) traders and Chinese Traders. Every day, traders from other towns gather in the town center to sell or buy gemstones, the places called “අඹ ගහ යට’’, ‘’in front of Clock Tower” and “Demuwawatha” are the most popular spots for buying and selling gemstones.
Most rough gemstones are buying and selling mostly In front of the clock tower and amba gaha yata (අඹ ගහ යට). Demuwawatha is a place of gem cutting and finishes stones trading place. With the time, advancement of technology impacts on the gem industry to
mechanize, as a result, it will lead to the loss of the existing trends and
traditions. So it is essential to preserve the old traditional knowledge while providing youth with knowledge to adopt to the new technologies. Hence my main focus is to improve the position of unique traditions of gem culture and transmit the knowledge to the future generations which will help to build a Sri Lankan identity in the industry. This will enable the chances of tourism as well. And it’s a great opportunity for us to introduce our traditions of the gem industry to the world.

Technical information

Circulation areas - Vertical surfaces cladded with a louver panel to allow for naturalventilation

The stack ventilation effect is used to naturally ventilate buildings. Cooler outside air is drawn into the building at a lower level and then rises through the space to vent out at a higher level after being warmed by sources of heat within the building such as people. A positive pressure area is created at the top of a building and negative pressure area at the bottom. This process can take place without mechanical assistance, simply by introducing openings at the bottom and the top of the building. As shown above, air comes in from the second level of the building and goes up from the middle where there is an opening on top. Through this process, stack ventilation is functioning without any disturbanc- es