Insight In-site

University of Moratuwa (UoM), Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Moratuwa

Project idea

After Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, there were many attempts to interpret Sri Lankan vernacular architecture in order to give it a Sri Lankan feel. Despite these ongoing efforts to infuse them with a local flavor, there were buildings with little to no connection to Sri Lankan identity because the examples they produced were very expensive structures. All those examples were extremely labor-intensive and expensive.

The main issue was that, as a third-world developing country, Sri Lanka's local economic reality did not align well with those examples. Opportunities for worker training and local material production vanished in the late 1970s due to a swift transition to an open economy. Following that, there was aggressive, intensified urban development. People started building extremely basic structures with a strict financial framework to support this intensity. They eventually decided to wrap a building in order to improve its appearance. With very poor economic policies, the concept of national identity was lost.

When people seek a high level of efficiency and quantity, architecture will be reduced to a mass-produced commodity lacking local features such as culture, aesthetics, the environment, and customary habits. When people begin to pay attention to architectural characteristics and differentiation, Sri Lanka becomes a large testing ground for various architectural styles, primarily western styles.

Because of this, the facades in urban corridors look extremely cheap. Buildings are now built without regard for their surroundings, resulting in symbolic modern structures.

While comparing some concepts for regional construction output, one intriguing point is that a few people attempt to use tectonics in their structures. Beyond the theory of critical regionalism, the design critically considers the concepts of critical regionalism as they apply to a country in the third world like Sri Lanka. Therefore, the design revolves around these three factors: the principle of tectonics vs. scenography, the regional economic climate, and the pattern of human activity in the area. The design is either an attempt to create a tectonic structure or an effort to create a critically important regional building language for Sri Lanka.

Project description

In the design process, the process begins with researching and determining how the Sri Lankan local city of Rathnapura relates to the project at hand. The selected site is in a Rathnapura urban context with a rich cultural aspect around the gem industry.

A Gem Industry Promoting Center is proposed on the site where it connects with the surrounding Gem market activity. The design is an infill, which is part of the landscape and part of the city. The journey faces the Colombo-Batticaloa highway and continues until the gem market on Riverside Road, with huge public courtyards, food courts, service areas, and seating spaces for people to meet, exchange, and relax in between them. Design is planned considering the construction knowledge, materials, and labor capacity in the context. When it comes to the project's ability to remain financially viable, the majority of the budget was spent on the quality of the building.

Technical information

Designed with a series of simple construction details that use rammed earth as the primary building material. In the urban setting, in order to speed up the construction process, the upper floor walls were finished with prefabricated rammed earth panels as cladding, an insulation layer was laid in between two panels, and cement was used to stabilize the rammed earth to increase the strength and durability of the soil. Concrete details are located on the ground floor to protect the walls from ground moisture. Additionally, the roof's concrete details prevent water from flowing towards the walls. The structure itself gives the courtyards shading that they can use all year long. The building's open ground floor encourages the wind in the public areas, and wind scoops provide ventilation for the upper floors.