Visions gone wild : Kalpitiya Development

Image stolen from here

The Sri Lanka Tourism launched the (over ambitious)Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Resort Development Project, complete with a Domestic Air Port at Uchchamunai, Under Water Amusement Park at Kandakkuliya, Golf Course at Dutch Bay, Race Course at Kalpitiya,and a Cricket Playground at Kalpitiya. The conceptual master plan has been developed by EML consultants who were the same company which was responsible for the Pinnawala Zoo project (and we all know how that turned out)

More details and a pdf file of the master plan can be downloaded through this web site

Refer here for news on developments taking place at kalpitiya

Shigeru Ban Designed House in Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Shigeru Ban Designed House in Mirissa, Sri Lanka for For Mr. Priengiers jnr.

Take a look at some photos of the model in a previous post.

Old News - Dont read if you've moved out of the 2009 mind frame

The British High Commission building, designed by Richard Murphy Associates, UK (Local Architects- Milroy Perera Associates) was shortlisted for the Lubetkin prize 2009, however the birds nest stadium won the award.

Information on the British High Commission building and video in support of their nomination for the Lubetkin prize 2009 can be found here

Lubetkin Prize – shortlist of six, alphabetical:

Bird’s Nest/ National Stadium // Beijing // China // Herzog & De Meuron with Arup

British High Commission // Colombo // Sri Lanka // Richard Murphy Architects

Capital Airport // Beijing // China // Foster + Partners

Museum for the Brandhorst Collection // Munich // Germany // Sauerbruch Hutton

Sean O’Casey Community Centre // East Wall // Dublin // Ireland // O’Donnell and Tuomey

Water Cube/ National Swimming Centre // Beijing // China // PTW with Arup

Sustaining Colombo through sustaining colonial remnants

Professor Munasinghe in a interesting article to the Sunday Times talks about Colombo and how it should evolve giving consideration to its colonial history. He goes on to say that "Colombo, we note, is one of the most fitting examples to test the hypothesis of development through conservation- using cultural and heritage values to design a development framework"

Leaving aside the romantic notions of the colonial grandeur, should we conserve the so called colonial heritage which our colonial masters bestowed upon us? What should we really conserve?

He further mentions "Our proposal is not to import life patterns that have little to do with living society, its day-to-day activities or its particular origin and evolution, but to regenerate the old city fabric to make conservation of Colombo an economic feasibility. In addition to new uses and users, it is necessary to take measures to control rents, land ownership, and land utilization to control undue increase of property values or gentrification but without curtailing the growth of the city. Infusion of so-called cultural activities to make the historic fabric function alone may not be sustainable in Colombo but striking a balance between conservation of historic fabric and adding new may make the city function as one unit."

Are we conserving Colombo for the sake of Sri Lankan's or the foreigners that we expect would to pour down in the coming years?

GPS system available in Sri Lanka

[Source]

Sala Geo Information Systems Pvt Ltd (Sala GIS), a subsidiary of Sala Enterprises, last week announced the launch of ‘Sala ProSat’, a novel GPS Navigation System and available to the general public.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based radio navigation system that provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to civilian users on a continuous worldwide basis. GPS provides accurate location and time information for an unlimited number of people in all weather, day and night, anywhere in the world. A GPS receiver calculates its position by precisely timing the signals sent by the GPS satellites high above the Earth.

Managing Director of Sala GIS Chinthaka Wijewickrama said, “Our main intention is to take advantage of Sri Lanka’s post-war economic boom including the projected massive development in the tourism sector. We are confident that the introduction of this GPS Navigation System will not only be of immense benefit to a very large cross section of users, but will be a national asset and greatly enhance the country’s image in the region.”

Outlining some of the advantages and benefits, Sri Lanka could achieve by using the ‘Sala ProSat’ GPS Navigation System, Wijewickrama said that it helps one find and navigate any address in Sri Lanka. It also provides turn by turn guidance for travelling to any place along a shortest or fastest route. The user will thus save fuel and time to a greater extent and thereby an overall saving of national resources.

It has over 100,000 important landmarks and points of interest such as Fuel Stations, ATMs, Banks, Hospitals, Hotels, Parks, Police Stations etc. It tells you your exact location and easily helps you find places you want to go to, without anyone’s assistance.

“We’re parallelly targeting the massive boom is expected in the tourism sector. Considering the fact that most foreign tourists already use GPS systems around the world, this will be a boon to the thousands of tourists visiting Sri Lanka. It will also give us a distinctive edge when marketing Sri Lanka as a burgeoning tourist destination after a three-decade protracted civil war”, he said.

Sala ProSat’s maps are all prepared according to Sri Lanka’s traffic law and considering the status of roads in this country. In case of any unexpected traffic congestion or obstacles on the way, the GPS System will instantly find and offer the best alternative route and thus improve traffic discipline at all times.

The tool’s ability to calculate the exact time of arrival at the stipulated destination and the distance to it is a great advantage to those who engaged in extensive travelling, such as drivers, tourists etc.

Furthermore when users need to go to multiple places on a single route, the GPS Navigation System will instantly calculate the optimal route, covering all the points to the destination. This system is able to provide useful and comprehensive trip data, such as present speed, the average speed of the overall trip, idling time, movement direction, altitude above the sea level and many more parameters.

“With the launch of this revolutionary satellite-based navigation system, I’m proud to say that Sri Lanka re-defines new boundaries and conquers new frontiers in travel navigation”, Wijewickrama concluded.

General Information about GPS: GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and hobbies such as geo cacheing and way marking. A precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a time synchronization source for cellular network protocols.

GPS has become a mainstay of transportation systems worldwide, providing navigation for aviation, ground, and maritime operations. Disaster relief and emergency services depend upon GPS for location and timing capabilities in their life-saving missions.

Everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations and even the control of power grids, are facilitated by the accurate timing provided by GPS. Farmers, surveyors, geologists and countless others perform their work more efficiently, safely, economically, and accurately using the free and open GPS signals.

Sri Lanka Maps

http://www.ceylonmap.com/ is the nation’s first and only interactive and comprehensive multilingual internet mapping system of its kind accessible FREE to the public. It aims to provide an easier way of locating places and tourist attractions by combining the services of the map, an online directory, and a search portal. ceylonmap.com is a detailed and regularly updated interactive map which may be used in the website subscribers, sponsors, private or government institutions at some cost. This site helps you find and know more of Sri Lanka, its Provinces, Political Regions, Municipalities, Districts, Villages Streets, Residential & Commercial Buildings, Government Agencies, Major Business Establishments and Prominent Landmarks and a lot more.
Sri Lanka, the Pearl of Indian Ocean, tourists’ paradise, will surely be once again the business hub in South Asia in the near future. Both sectors – Business & Tourism are to be benefitted abundantly by launching the Multilingual Sri Lankan map

Source -

To ban or not to ban that is the question: Asbestos

image stolen from here

I’m pretty sure that everyone knows what Asbestos is. Asbestos is commonly used in

•Roofing, guttering and flexible building boards (eg Villaboard, Hardiflex, etc). Similar cement sheeting products are used today, but are 'asbestos free'
•cement sheeting (fibro)
•drainage and flue pipes
•brakes, clutches and gaskets

Most countries have banned the use of asbestos due to the health hazards it imposes (USA, New Zealand, Australia etc.) Three of the major health effects associated with asbestos exposure include:

Asbestosis -- Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term non-cancer disease of the lungs. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar. The scarring makes it hard for oxygen to get into the blood. Symptoms of asbestosis include shortness of breath and a dry, crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis.

Lung Cancer -- Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths related to asbestos exposure. People who work in the mining, milling, manufacturing of asbestos, and those who use asbestos and its products are more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population. The most common symptoms of lung cancer are coughing and a change in breathing. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, persistent chest pains, hoarseness, and anemia.

Mesothelioma -- Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining (membrane) of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart and almost all cases are linked to exposure to asbestos. This disease may not show up until many years after asbestos exposure. This is why great efforts are being made to prevent school children from being exposed.

Asbestos poses health risks only when fibers are present in the air that people breathe. How exposure to asbestos can affect you depends on:

• The concentration of asbestos fibers in the air;
• How long the exposure lasted;
• How often you were exposed;
• The size of the asbestos fibers inhaled; or
• The amount of time since the initial exposure.

Smoking, combined with inhaled asbestos, greatly increases the risk of lung cancer.

Minimizing Your Risk

Construction and maintenance workers should avoid creating asbestos dust from scraping, brushing, rubbing or cutting damaged insulation. Insulation damage should be reported to the appropriate authority, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Manager. If you work in this area, determine whether asbestos is present before beginning work and take appropriate precautionary measures.


Public and commercial building owners should keep an inventory of asbestos-containing materials to inform users, authorities and contractors.


Homeowners should receive expert advice before removing materials that may contain asbestos. If you think your home may contain asbestos, check regularly for signs of wear or damage. However, you can't always tell just by looking at a material. If in doubt, have it analyzed by a qualified professional. When cutting, breaking and drilling asbestos roofing sheets care should be taken as not to inhale any particles.


If you must handle small amounts of damaged asbestos-containing materials, follow these steps:
• Keep other people and pets away, and seal off the work area;
• Wet the material to reduce dust, making sure it is not in contact with electricity;
• If possible, do not cut or damage the materials further and do not break them up;
• Clean the work area afterwards using a damp cloth, not a vacuum cleaner, and seal the asbestos waste and cloth in a plastic bag. Check with your local municipality on how to dispose of asbestos-containing waste;
• Wear appropriate protective clothing, including a single-use respirator approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); and
• Wash or dispose of clothing and shower after finishing the job.

Is there a risk for people living in houses which contain asbestos?


a review conducted by the Unit of Environmental Cancer Epidemiology, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, suggests a substantial increase in risk of pleural mesothelioma following high environmental exposure to asbestos; however, the available data are insufficient to estimate the magnitude of the excess risk at the levels of environmental exposure commonly encountered by the general population in industrial countries. However a study conducted by the Cancer Research Campaign suggests that low-dose exposure to asbestos at home or in the general environment carries a measurable risk of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Sri Lanka started using Asbestos extensively during the 80’s and since the effects of asbestos takes up to 20-30 years to appear, it shouldn’t be long till we see some nasty side effects. Taking into consideration the information that we have at the moment Sri Lanka should make a firm decision about asbestos, if we are going to keep asbestos or ban it, and as a profession which deals with these materials Architects also should make a move and take action regarding this.


Sources of information More information can be found in the links below


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2374531/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10997827?ordinalpos=1&itool=PPMCLayout.PPMCAppController.PPMCArticlePage.PPMCPubmedRA&linkpos=4
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts61.html
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/environmental/asbestos_fs.html
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/help.html
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/asbestos-amiante-eng.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos

Sri Lanka pavilion – Expo Shanghai 2010

The image of the pavillion shown here which looks like a rendering

The image shown here (©Reuters)

well, both look pretty crappy comparative to other pavilions. But hey what to do, we are a developing nation, no?

Pallekele stadium

Ranminitenna tele cinema village : A box office blunder ?

The film set for "good the bad and the smelly"

very Sri Lankan, no?

Eventhough the plywood building facades can be changed according to the need of the director, the whole set up looks well planned : so un-Sri Lankan like.

The VIllage consists of an administration building, accommodation hall with facilities for 96 individuals, a large studio of the size of 130 X 70 feet, 31 sets, three showrooms for costumes, two seminar halls, two libraries, kitchens, the back lots, workshops, common facilities, and the garden decoration.

The Village, situated in close proximity to the natural attractions in the area such as Yala National Park, contains land with magnificent scenery and vistas and a water reservoir of 40 acres.

The special feature of Ranmihitenna Tele-cinema Village is that artists can complete their creations at international standards under one roof but with low production cost.

The Village funded by the state revenue tax collected from the foreign tele-dramas, is a concept of the President Rajapaksa who has acted in several movies and tele dramas. The project architect is Archt. Rukshan Vidyalankara

[Source]

Project website

More info

Admin building, Hamba -More images and reports

More info and images can be found here

Harrods to transform the Cargills building

[credits]

The 120 year-old Cargills building in Fort will soon be transformed into a London-based, Harrods-type of building with the company charting new plans for its future.

All the offices in the building will be moved to a new location and the building vacated for this massive development, its Deputy Chairman Ranjit Page said.

He said the there is a huge opportunity following the end of the war and shopping malls is one area the company plans to expand into.

“The Cargills building in Fort is a grand old building and the story goes that the first Governor of Ceylon resided here.

We have been considering re-building it to its old glory. I think the time has come for us to take this opportunity seriously,” he said adding that the company is looking at its entire land base.

New office space is being provided for the Cargills team located in the old Cargills building. “Can the Cargills building be the Harrods of Sri Lanka, a destination for tourists from passenger liners, maybe tourists walking through enjoying the culture of Sri Lanka, wining and dining while purchasing luxury brands?

My team and I are now looking at this new exciting project. We are serious about this project and I believe we can deliver this,” he said.

Hamba_Convention Center

The Government of Korea has agreed to provide financial assistance in grant aid equivalent of US$ 6 million (Rs. 600 mn) for the construction of an International Convention Centre. Aum & Lee Architects Associates, Keangnam Enterprises, Ltd, Urban Development Authority, Sri Lanka are involved in various capacities in consultancy and construction of this project.

Hamba Administrative Complex

Mattala Airport_Hamba

Walkthrough animation of the Mattala Airport

The Mattala International Airport is an international airport currently under construction in Mattala, in the Hambantota District in the south of Sri Lanka. Upon completion, the Mattala International Airport will be Sri Lanka's second international airport, joining the Bandaranaike International Airport. It will primarily serve the city of Hambantota, along with the southern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

Initial plans to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but these plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns. The site was then moved to Mattala, a small town 15 kilometers north of Hambantota. Construction on the $200 million first phase of the airport began in November 2009, and is expected to be completed by December 2011, with the first flight scheduled to land in January 2012.

2012, Dooms day for Galle face?

image stolen from here

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he will be redrawing the map of Sri Lanka with the massive development projects the government plans to launch in the coming years. These include reclaiming 500 acres of land from the sea off the Colombo coast, along the Galle Face Green

“Two years from now the May Day celebrations will be held at the Galle Face Green, overlooking the reclaimed land,” the President told a United People’s Front Alliance rally at the Colombo Town Hall at the may day rally, 2010.

source

The daily mirror published an article on a possible contruction of a town built on galle face itself.

"The government has decided to construct a commercial town with all facilities by reclaiming about two kilometers from the Galle Face towards the sea. It has planned to construct a town on the land area of about 500 acres from the Southern border of the Colombo harbour close to Bambalapitiya by filling up the sea. The intention of the government is to construct a town with all facilities on the reclaimed land comprising trade complexes, children’s parks and parks for elders too.It has planned to construct the town under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Government sources state the construction work of this town will be assigned to the Japanese company which carries out the construction work of the Colombo South harbour.Accordingly the relevant agreement for the construction of the Commercial town will be signed within the next few months after which the construction work will start. The government expects to complete the construction of the commercial town parallel to the completion of the Colombo South harbour"

source

The Lanka Guardian takes an look at the whole galle face land reclamation issue here.

Although it would be safe to presume that this project would not be realized, land reclamation should be handled with care. The dubai islands have been under the heat from environmentalists from the begining.

sataka island

Lets just hope we dont end up with a artificial "Sataka" island!

Marine drive extension

(Picture by Romesh Dhanushka Silva)

The Road Development Authority has commenced work on the extension of the marine drive that runs from Wellawatte to Bambalapitiya. Under the project the marine drive will be extended up to Kollupitiya Railway Station. The work of the 1.8 km road is expected to be completed in a few days time. Picture shows the expedited work of the marine drive extension.
(Credits - http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/news/10165.html)

More information on the marine road, when it was first implemented can be found here

A old article on road development projects in Sri Lanka can be found here

Construction of National Performing Art Theatre

Description of the Project :-

The main objective of the project is to provide international level infrastructure facilities with sophisticated modern hi tech facilities for professional and armature artists, researchers, foreign troops and general public to perform, train, and engage in research etc. through construction of a building with 14,000 square meters floor area for Performing Art Theater at Nomads Grounds, Colombo 7.

Location :- Normands Grounds, Ananda Kumarasami Mawatha, Colombo -07
Approximate Cost :- Rs. 3080 Million
Fund :- People’s Republic of China
Beneficiaries :- Sri Lankan and foreign artistes
Duration :- From May 2008 to August 2010
Conducting Institute :- Ministry of Cultural Affairs through Central Cultural Fund

original article from here

Tsunami Housing, Ranna

Floor area: It has changed from initial 771 sq.ft. to approx. 550 / 600 sq. ft.
Cost: about Rs. 800,000
Donor / Implemented by: Plan International in collaboration with TUI, UDA and
the Government of Sri Lanka

The resettlement scheme is situated close to Ranna, on the mainTangalle /
Hambantota highway. The site is located near the lagoon, a flat site, accessible
from the main road.

A large housing layout was carried out by Plan International and partners for 200
families, and work at the initial phase was carried out with locally produced
compressed stabilized earth block technology. However the project was
completely abandoned and later, 69 houses had to be demolished due to very
poor quality of the soil block. At present the scheme adopted
conventional building technology.

Two architectural designs were adapted one for earth technology and a smaller,
modified plan for the present construction. The design was done according to
traditional building typology with front and rear verandahs and deep roof
overhangs. Other special features are short interior partition walls and the
colourful elevations. A single house contains two equally sized bedrooms, a hall,
kitchen and toilet at the side with a small roof, accessible from outside. Large
openings are provided for cross ventilation.

Now the technology has reverted to traditional 9” load bearing brick walls with
lintels above doors and windows and fully plastered walls. Good quality
interlocking tiles from Polonnaruwa are used as roof covering on wooden rafters
but untreated wood is used for door and window frames.

Information form GTZ document

Kirinda Tsunami Housing- Shigeru Ban

This relates to the a post by sevenbythree who talks about Shigeru Ban's kirinda project

The project is a village resettlement scheme of 100 houses for fishing families in Kirinda which
was entirely destroyed by the tsunami. The site is very close to the fishing harbour, the main
temple and the central market. Two model houses were built at the initial stage of the project.
Now the housing scheme contains 30 houses which are nearing completion or are already
inhabited.

Colliers International established a partnership with Shigeru Ban, a well-known Japanese
architect who has previously designed shelters for earthquake victims in Japan, Turkey and India.
Shigeru Ban Architects worked through a local architect to realize a sensitive design for the
fisherman families, while a private contractor has carried out the construction work.

For more information and more images go here

Information and image taken from a GTZ document