Acclaimed for projects such as the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose – entered through a 54-foot-high purple pyramid, Pershing Square in Los Angeles, and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Managua, Architect Ricardo Legorreta has died at the age of 80 subsequent to battling cancer.

The 2011 Praemium Imperiale Laureate has been celebrated across the world for his colourful compositions and consistently creative architectural designs. A quote from the great architect on the Legorreta + Legorreta website reads: “Life is like the waves: to be respected and loved, studied and not fought against. We must turn them to our benefit in order to reach our goals.”

Ricardo Legorreta is the most distinguished Mexican architect of his generation. With its extensive fountain courtyards and large brightly coloured, plastered walls and columns, the Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City (1968) established Legorreta’s reputation as one of the few architects capable of taking the abstract, vernacular manner of Luis Barragan from a domestic to a monumental scale.

There soon followed one megaform structure after another: the Camino Real Hotel, Cancun (1975), the Renault Factory, Durango (1978-84), the Camino Real Hotel, Ixtapa (1981), the Solana IBM Campus, near Dallas (1988), and the Managua Cathedral (1994). With over eighty works to his credit in some thirty-five years of practice, his buildings are not only conceived as landscape forms they also often comprise hedonistic enclaves that seem readily accessible to society at large.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat recently published The Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the Era of the Megatall. Within this decade, the World’s first kilometer-tall building will be constructed, along with many other buildings over 600-meters tall. “The term “supertall” (which refers to a building over 300 meters) is thus no longer adequate to describe these buildings: we are entering the era of the “megatall.”

“Tallest 20 in 2020” is scattered across 15 cities in 7 countries. China leads the way, claiming 10 of the 20 projects in their pursuit of the supertall, followed by Korea (3), Saudi Arabia (2) and the UAE (2). Asia counts for 70% (14) of the buildings and the Middle East counts for 25% (5). China’s Shenzhen’s Ping An Finance Center is scheduled for completion in 2015. The 660-meter tall building will become the tallest in the country. Standing at 632-meters, the mixed-use Shanghai Tower will join a supertall cluster in the city’s Pudong area. The project began construction in 2009 and will be completed in 2014

Source: CTBUH.org

The urban environment is a complex matrix of physical, social and economic generators that are the prime initiators of change. The urban environment acts as any living organism in that it changes over time according to certain uncontrollable changes such as population growth and climate change and certain controllable changes such as economic growth or state intervention. While establishing that each urban problem and solution is unique to each specific urban area it can be said that the objective of such developments are the same. The end objective of all urban regeneration attempts is to ensure an ultimate urban responsiveness. Urban responsiveness would ideally be a situation where the users of the urban environments are provided with a setting which is rich in both opportunity and choice.

The success of urban responsiveness within a particular city is directly dependent on the end users. Whether a city or a town is responsive would be indicated by the ease with which people within that city can access and use its facilities. It can be said that man made built fabric in every aspect controls human behavior in a given environment,     for example a boundary wall will not allow a person to access and will rule out visibility while a fence will allow visibility but limit access. Therefore the manipulation of the major urban built forms will be the determiner of how responsive the environment in question is to become.

The designers involved in an urban design project should therefore work with the promise of progress and deliberation of providing the ultimate responsiveness to the      people of its city. To be responsive the urban design proposals should exercise an adequate degree of permeability which governs the visual and physical access allowed. The more permeable a city is, more available are the alternate avenues both physical and visual throughout the city. The designs should carry variety where the people can be sure of a range of experiences. Richness of the urban environment would ensure the maximum choice of sensory experiences available.Urban designs should also carry a great deal of robustness as the ability to change is a key element necessary for survival. The environment in question should be able to adapt to the uncontrollable and controllable changes and therefore robustness is of utmost necessity when it comes to designing within the dynamic urban fabric. Places that are designed for the people as a whole should carry meaning and must be legible in that the design ideals must be easily appreciated not by the designer but the people. If the design ideals such as pathways, parks are not easily identifiable by its people then that given environment would fail to be legible thereby failing to become responsive.

It is of great importance to understand that appropriate design ideals should be linked to the existing environment with the end objective of responsiveness in mind to achieve success in urban regeneration. The success we see in the post war regeneration in our country can be considered as a starting point from which Sri Lanka can grow to become a global example of successful regeneration.

Peshali Perera

The Golden Award for Global Contribution to Architecture, a lifetime award was presented to Archt. C. Anjalendran recently in New Delhi.

The award was presented by the “The Architecture+Design & Spectrum Foundation” formed ten years ago to applaud creativity and excellence in architecture. The jury for the awards this year – the ninth cycle – comprised 27 eminent architects of India and South-East Asia and these awards stand out for their unbiased approach to recognize intelligent architecture.

The annual architecture awards have been made annually for different typologies in architecture. “The Golden Award for Global Contribution in Architecture” is for creative, sensitive architectural evolvement and contribution for the communication of architecture and design through various mediums. The citation accompanying the award to Archt. Anjalendran recognizes his contribution to architecture thus: “….the immense dedication and a continued pursuance in bringing a close rapport and cohesion between architecture of the different countries is well established. Apart from his rich contribution to Sri Lankan architecture, he being a professional with diverse talents has dealt with a creative and contextualized approach.”

Members of the SLIA have been regularly receiving recognition at the Indian Architect of the Year Awards. The SLIA is proud that a talented member received recognition this year too.

Architect Prasanna Jayalath was conferred the Focus Countries Commendation Award (FCCA) for excellence in architecture for his design, ‘The Bedsitter’ at the recently concluded 20th Architect of the Year Awards (AYA) held with the honourable presence of the Chief Minister Shri Digambar Kamat, in Goa, India.

The Focus Countries Architecture Awards (FCAA) are presented to appreciate noteworthy architectural designs of the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

The 30th Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects will be held at the BMICH from February 22-26, 2012. The public events of the Session are:

The National Conference on Architecture – February 23.

The ARCHITECT Exhibition of Members’ Work and the Trade – February 23–26.

Sri Lanka has a rich cultural heritage which is more than 2500 years old, based on an economic system which developed in perfect harmony with the natural environment.  The sustainable built environment and an agricultural system based on reservoir-fed irrigation system resulted in a satisfied community.   However, 500 years of Colonial rule as well as a three decade old protracted war against terrorism has hurt the Sri Lankan communities and the economy.  With the conclusion of the war it is time to restart National development in a regenerative effort for the current and future betterment of the Nation and its communities.

Housing, Transportation and Tourism sectors are seeing new and greater investments with the Government embarking on several mega projects such as, highways, airports, harbours and housing projects.  However, for this process to be ultimately successful, the Government, as the major player, needs to obtain the assistance of other stakeholders, especially professionals in the development of the above mentioned sectors.  The development and regeneration of the built environment would essentially require the participation of Architects as visionaries, researchers and advisers at various levels of the implementation process.

In light of this requirement, it is vital to share the global and regional experiences for an ultimately successful solution.  What took place in other countries in their march towards development would be very helpful to Sri Lanka and its effort to catch up on the lost time due to internal issues.  While being inspired by the achievement of other countries, we have to clearly work out our own approach in working towards a common goal of sustainable development which would satisfy the next generation as well. The following specific issues would be of importance in dealing with the subject:

1. Invigorating public spaces and cities – the national and international experience

2. Rehabilitating residential environments in the underserved areas.

3. Rejuvenating heritage, cultural and sacred areas.

4. Involving the Architect in enriching the built environment within a national and regional context.

5. Transforming a problem into a solution.

Mizver Makeen Managing Director of Macksons Paints, commented, “proudly Sri Lankan, yet renowned for international quality products, the new Multilac Platinum Range of paints has been formulated in response to customer feedback and as a result of our extensive research and development activity, in a bid to offer customers a world-class selection of paints.”

This premier range of paints adds much greater value through innovative finishes and its properties led by advanced technology, safety and attention to exotic finishes. They include: Multilac Uber Cool, Multilac Shimmer, Multilac Couture, Multilac Platinum Aqua Gloss, Multilac Platinum Omnis Royal Silk and Multilac Platinum Omnis Rich Matt.

Mizver Makeen added, “in a dynamic move, Macksons Paints had launched ‘Water Proofing Sealer’ to the local market, which has now become a generic name in the local market.”

The dealers were given a certain target to reach. The 18 dealers who managed to reach the mark were treated to a four day trip to Bangkok.

The dealers in attendance at the event were unanimous in their praise for the Grohe brand. Many of them touched on the reasons why they chose Grohe: high demand for Grohe due to its blending of aesthetics and world class German engineering, a range of products from the affordable to the premium and a guarantee of quality backed by a 10-year warranty from Charter House being among the most popular.

Ganga is available in all leading  hardware outlets island-wide and is a brand of The Tradesmann SL which deals in wide range of  essential  household building materials and hardware since 1956. Ganga is also the market leader in India under Centurywells.

Project: Civic Building, Community Arts and  Cultural Centre, Chilaw

Student: Gayan Karunarathne I Part two I Year one

Institution: City School of Architecture

The Project

A civic building in Chilaw; a city that consists of diverse communities, ethnicities and cultures, which is in need of a cultural revitalisation. A Community Arts and Cultural Centre would become the finest solution for Chilaw to create a dialogue between the community and sparkle their lifestyles, while reviving the authentic folk arts and crafts of Chilaw.

Site / Location

The site is located in the centre of the Lake Street in Chilaw, in between the old market and the railway station. The boundaries of the site run towards the edges of the railway track to the busy commercial street edge and is bounded by few other colonial building structures. The new civic building is to be located at a very congested urban context surrounded mostly by commercial activities and would act as an urban infill, linking the buildings. The immediate context consists of St Mary’s Church, Balika Girls School, old market, railway station and other supporting activities like retail shops, restaurants etc.

The Lake Street consists of a dual character with one side of the road showing a busy commercial side of the city while the other shows a calm serene atmosphere of the lagoon. The old railway station and underutilised railway apartments add a historic value to the Lake Street.

The Lagoon, promenade and the variety of users make the street come alive naturally (potential for development on recreation based activities).

Street Development

According to Alan Jacobs, “streets moderate the form and structure, comfort of urban communities,” and with this in mind Lake Street should be tied together as one element incorporating the new Community Arts and Cultural Centre with the  idea of: “The street as a Living Space for the Community.”

Client: Ministry of Culture and arts

Client’s Vision:

Being a proud Sri Lankan nation blessed with national heritages, to go forward along with the other countries of the world as one with a unique culture that promotes overall development.

Client’s Mission:

Formulation and implementation of policies and programmes for preservation, promotion, and propogation of culture.

Investor: Urban Development Authority

Project Justification

Chilaw has a flambouyant social and cultural fabric but it misses the most important part that Chilaw needs. Chilaw used to have a deep cultural inheritance but during the last few decades people of Chilaw have prevailed only with life’s basic necessities. It has forgotten recreational and other values with which their society flourished over the past few decades. For a society to develop, a backdrop of social and cultural values is required, which Chilaw has lost at present. I have just shown the immense power of culture that chilaw has. I believe that this is what is missing in Chilaw in the current context. These aspects should be developed holistically with passion. Therefore, my attempt is to fix and fill this slot which is missing and bridg in the gaps, which is the main objective of the project.

Concept: Catalyst

The project is a solution to facilitate, articulate and rejuvenate cultural interactions that are currently available in the city; and to push forward the cohesive idea that cultural activities should be celebrated together among all types of races, ethnicities and religious groups in Chilaw. Thus the project is a “CATALYST”- infill project for the city.

Formation Of The Building:

Form of the building derives from the traditional and unique dance forms of Chilaw.

Sustainability And Material Usage

The materials used for the exterior envelope, and for interior spaces reduce the impact the building has on the natural environment thus creating a sustainable design. The key material used was the  Brick Jalis, it is simpler and less costly to be used as Chilaw already has freely available clay and is famous for its brick and calicut tile production.

The importance of using brick Jali work is that it ventilates the building naturally and lets in natural daylight to interior spaces for a lesser cost than other materials. The Jali work lets users overlook outdoor spaces connecting them with nature as well as creating a sustainable/eco friendly structure absorbing the heat in the environment.