NAME OF THE PROJECT: FAMILY RETREAT AT MALABE, SRI LANKA

PROJECT DESCRIPTION :

This is a renovation project and a second home for a couple.

Located close to paddy fields and fringed by distant woodland this second home on 30 perches (760 sqm) has been conceived of as a retreat for a couple in their fifties who had spent a significant part of their life in a Colombo city house and desired for a tranquil space away from the hectic bustle of the city and that would enable them to live in close proximity to nature. This retreat provides a space for the owners to pursue their individual passions for gardening and writing. The owner is a scholar of Buddhist Philosophy and is working on a book.

The old building was a neglected 1980’s house with limited ventilation, dark interiors and no connections to the paddy landscape that surrounded the house. The site also had marvelous canopy trees. The new building kept the structure of the old, while reorganizing to maximize views, opening out to allow light and to integrate the built with the landscape. The existing levels were retained and made use of. The new house is built on the same footprint as the old. The foreground to the existing structure too was retained along with the marvelous canopy trees (all saved), and a new living and service block was added, interior layout was revised with the requirements of the clients. The lower level which overlooks paddy fields contains the living dining spaces, a pantry, a study and master bedroom separated from the service block through a paved courtyard (which accommodates informal dining). The upper level has a family /tv lounge extending into a verandah that overlooks the large garden, canopy trees, lily pond, bamboo groves and apart from a bedroom replete with a balcony that projects into the trees.

The entire house is passively ventilated, serene courtyards, pond, green roofs and green wall (with native ferns and mosses), and large canopy trees all ensure cool microclimate within this house. And green roof over the utility area planted with native plants attracts biodiversity and captures storm water.

Materials of Construction:

Locally available materials, including a combination of reclaimed and custom designed. A simple material palette has been used comprising of locally found rubble stone, chipped dressing waste from rubble stone, local river rock (borelu), crushed gravel and recycled granite pavers (from demolished sites) were used for outdoor and courtyard paving (retaining permeability and allowing storm water to percolate into the earth), the indoor flooring comprises of polished cut cement for the ground floor with local kabuk timber flooring for the upper level. The upper verandah and balcony have been paved with specially designed pressed cement pavers that have been designed to
25th ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015FAMILY RETREAT AT MALABE, SRI LANKA match the scale of the timber flooring used for the interior floors at the upper level and to create a sense of lightness, and seamless indoor outdoor connection.

The boundary walls are of local rubble stone with the exception of brick green wall that faces the study area. The Concrete retaining walls are exposed in the living room, while the outer walls are clad with local rubble stone. The pitched roof, with Zinc Aluminium sheet with double sided heat and sound insulation is comprised of steel box bars with lunumidella sloping ceiling. Doors and windows (salvaged jack timber) were crafted to create slender sections to avoid disturbing the views to the paddy. A simple but tactile material palette has been adopted and the colors and textures of the architecture blend into the environment of the canopy trees and the paddy fields.

Special Features:

The renovated building made use of the structure and footprint of the old building.

The existing site levels was retained to avoid cut and fill

All existing trees on the site were retained;

The entire house is passively ventilated. High windows and openings create a stack effect in the double height volumes and the upper level rooms. The windows can be open out into the trees canopies.

Creation of transitional areas such as upper verandahs, balconies further keep the inner spaces cooler.

A series of internal courtyards, including in the bathrooms. The courtyards are porous have been paved with local gravel (borelu) and the waste from chipped rubble stone (obtaining while constructing the rubble walls).

The narrow courtyard of the study room has a vegetated brick wall. The brick boundary wall was designed to contain voids (filled with organic compost) and contain over 5000 native plants (including ferns and mosses). The green wall is located in the courtyard of the study room and attracts biodiversity (such as butterflies).

Creation of green roofs over the utility and domestic quarters planted with native plants attracts biodiversity, regulates storm water and cools the spaces.

Pond and the landscape have been integrated with the built 25th ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015