A Culture of Care

15200 Sqm Building Area 
12730 Sqm Site Area 

In Collaboration with
Boffa Roberson Group
2023 Inprogress

The redevelopment exercise, while densifying the facility with mid-rise blocks that replaces the single to two story buildings on site, frees up space for generous garden settings for the residents.

The layout opens to the adjacent park, extending the facility to the great open space visually and physically. Where park meets the facility, a central open space is created in the form of a semi outdoor pavilion: a meeting point for the community and a possible gateway to the wider community.

In sync with the heartbeat of the site, firstly the layout connects with the neighbouring parkland and let the park like atmosphere seep through into the ground level, secondly the new development relates to the existing in such a way to retain the scale and warmth of the materiality, details and the character of the site.

House in a House
Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka

231 Sqm  Building Area
379 Sqm  Site Area

2015 Completed  under PUR Architecture
2019 Featured in Habitus Magazine
2019 Nominated for Habitus House of the Year

Photography
Eresh Weerasuriya

House in a House is a light, airy private residence in suburban Colombo. It’s barn-like profile intersecting a house-like void has given the nickname "House in a house."

The interiors are filled with soft light filtering through a series of skylights, & deeply recessed glazing cuts out the glare and heat gain, high ceilings draw hot air up, inducing airflow, and the deep ceiling cavity creates a thermal buffer: creating a passively controlled and conditioned environment inside.

With the sun’s movement, the metal screen changes its pattern, and the light from skylights travels the walls, activating drama. Free-plan, high-volume public spaces are juxtaposition with discreet private areas. The house can extend boundaries through verandas to the gardens or shrink to a minimum depending on the weather or the occasion.

Seeing the site for the first time, with tree canopies hovering over like giant perforated umbrellas filtering morning light through, was our primary inspiration. The programme was vertically organised, occupying a smaller footprint, and leaving ample garden space, with each level experiencing the garden differently.

The ground level and a semi-underground parking area provide an earth-hugging base for the house. The ground floor is self-contained, with a small living area, kitchens and a bedroom accessed through soft green mounds and meandering paths. The top floor is a thick overhanging roof containing introverted sleeping areas privately retreating among treetops.

The main living area is the void between the base and the soaring roof. The liner living space opens to an outdoor area that runs the entire length. Raised above the ground to be on par with the tree canopies, partially covered, partially sunken, and with a casual, breezy disposition, it’s a space waiting to be.

Colombo Municipal Council New Office Building
Colombo 07, Sri Lanka

8334 Sqm Building Area 
3627 Sqm Site Area 

2019 Completed under PUR Architecture  in collaboration with TWA
2019 Featured in A+U  Magazine
2021  Nominated for Geoffrey Bawa Award

Photography
Eresh Weerasuriya

Inspiring new office space for the Colombo Municipal Council.

The unique stepping profile and the breathable façade of our proposal create a climatic and contextual response to the brief while respecting the iconic council building.

The stepping profile chisels out a mass volume, creating a flowing veranda under the shade of the overhanging floors. A smaller ground floor footprint means ample space for landscaping and an ideal waiting area for the crowds that gather in the council. The perforated concrete modular screen, inspired by traditional Sri Lankan art & craft, keeps the interiors shaded and cool, flooding the space with floral shadows and silhouettes. The slender columns of the veranda resonate with the arcade of the existing council building. The boundaries of internal and external, formal & casual, old and new, melt, as the through-site link, the verandas and landscaping become one buzzing public space on the council grounds.  

Sustainable Energy Authority HQ  Battaramulla, Sri Lanka

3005 Sqm Building Area 
1896 Sqm Site Area 

2015 Competition entry

Head office building for Sri Lanka sustainable energy authority features a dynamic modular facade system that steps inwards to create depth, infill variation and a self-shading form. The modules add flexibility to the building's envelope and enrich its internal usability by incorporating storage and furniture solutions. Materially, the facade combines glass and cooling terracotta grillwork to insulate the building. Further, the foliage screens and rooftop gardens alter the micro-climatic conditions.           

The proposal comprises working and breakout areas and space for exhibition and public awareness distributed over three levels planned around a central courtyard. The courtyard is instrumental in keeping the interiors cool while providing a centralised venue for formal and informal workshops, and educational programs as part of the SEA agenda