Located in Habarana, a hot, dry region of Sri Lanka, near the beauty of the majestic Sigiriya landscape citadel with its boulder and water gardens and on the edge of the bio-diverse Habarana Lake. Set on a 4.6 acre site surrounded by a rangeland forest and edged by a steam, this property is an eight-room boutique hotel with two additional villas, all of which have panoramic views of the paddy and the wilderness. The property has been conceptualized as a space for wellness; for the restoration of the mind, body and soul. The design draws from the quiet beauty of the region’s monastic landscapes.
Tea room | Wellness Retreat in Habarana, Sri Lanka.Twin houses | Wellness Retreat in Habarana, Sri Lanka.
Restaurant | Wellness Retreat in Habarana, Sri Lanka.
Room interior | Wellness Retreat in Habarana, Sri Lanka.
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El Croquis 212 – Palinda Kannangara Photo cover by Jesús Granada
Commissioned by ‘El Croquis’ publishers:
El Croquis N. 212 Palinda Kannangara
Palinda Kannangara (born 1970, Kolonnawa, Sri Lanka) has a background in mathematics and architecture. He majored in mathematics for his BSc (1996), however his primary calling was elsewhere. In 1994, he joined a study course conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects. As a student, he trained under Sri Lankan modernist architect Anura Rathnavibushana, who had worked with Geoffrey Bawa for 16 years. He established an independent practice in 2005, a year after receiving his Charter. His studio is now located in Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka. Palinda Kannangara Architects is an award-winning Sri Lankan architecture firm known for its experiential architecture that hinges on simplicity and connection with the natural environment. The firm’s work has been recognized for its contextual sensitivity, experimental use of materials and a minimalism that reflects the Sri Lankan ethos.
El Croquis N. 210/211 Gion A. Caminada. Identity, Autonomy and Resonance.
Gion Caminada was born in Vrin, Switzerland, in 1957. After working as an apprentice carpenter in Vrin, he attended a school of applied arts in Zurich and an art school in Florence prior to completing his postgraduate studies in architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. He has had his own architectural practice in Vrin since 1986. In 1998 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the ETH Zurich, where he was Associate Professor of Architecture and Design from 2008 to 2020. Since 2020 he has been a Full Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich.
There is, in the context where the project operates, a multiplicity of concurrent times, conducted in the last 160 years by the influx of users of the Florianopolis Public Market, whose history includes demolitions, changes in location, several renovations, and the active participation of different generations of consumers, sales people and administrators. The new roof for the central span appears as yet another element in this narrative, and as such should respect and add to the existing, without becoming irrelevant or being characterized as a mere cover. A new scale is created, protected from the elements, in order to adequately support new and complementary stories: temporary exhibitions, cultural performances, festivals, screenings, parades, etc.
“One should be light like a bird, and not like a feather”
VALÉRY, Paul (1930) apud CALVINO, Ítalo (1990) p. 28
Bearing in mind, that the architectural design consists essentially of a surface that rests above the existing context almost without touching it, the premise of lightness understood as precision and determination (CALVINO, I.), is critical. Lightness, thus perceived, is not linked merely to an absence of weight of the constructive system, but rather to a certain tension between the force of gravity and the suspended v-shaped steel parts that hover steadily, slightly above the level of the existing roofs in order to create a void through which the air can freely circulate.
To carry out this composition, a system was sought that allows for the implementation of large spans with limited components and whose arrangement is the result of a simple idea: the location of the two support points, at a 36-meter distance from each other, should be located over the central axis, aligned with the existing pillars, so as to maintain the configuration of the previous space, and to prevent the new foundations from interfering negatively with the historic building foundations. Over the aforementioned pillars lays a main beam in rectangular profile to which intermediate “ribs” are connected, distanced from each other in spans of 11.4 meters and sloping towards the central gutter.
The uppermost layer consists of a lightweight and high strength membrane which can be retracted through an automated system in which beams slide within rails through the traction of motorized chains, which roll up the fabric around the roller positioned at the extremities. This system allows for the full retraction of the upper protective layer, providing an unobstructed view of the sky and existing building.
It is thus a proposal that seeks to deal respectfully with the multiplicity of the history of the Florianopolis Public Market, with a special attention so as to enhance the space as a democratic place for meeting and public coexistence.
VALÉRY,Paul. Choses tues. Cahier d’impressions et d’idées. Paris, Éditions Lapina, 1930 Apud CALVINO, Ítalo. Seis propostas para o próximo milênio. São Paulo, Companhia das Letras, 1990)
AUTHORS
Gustavo Utrabo, Pedro Lass Duschenes
PROJECT TEAM
Bárbara Zandavali, Maguelonne Gorioux, Felipe Gomes, Agatha Linck, Ana Julia Filipe
COLLABORATOR
Engineer Sandro Norio Oyama
FINAL BUILDING PHOTOS
Felipe Russo
STRUCTURAL PROJECT
Andrade Rezende engenharia de estruturas
STRUCTURAL INSPECTION
Sandro Norio Oyama
MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGENEERING
Prosul engenharia
AUTOMATION PROJECT
Solar system
CONSTRUCTION
Esphera Sul
SITE
Florianópolis, Santa Catarina – Brasil
PROJECT YEAR : 2014
CONSTRUCTION YEAR : 2016 BUILT AREA
1.015,00 m2
MATERIALITY: Textile, Steel.
Awards and honours:
*Finalist on the 4th architectural prize Instituto Tomie Ohtake AkzoNobel
*1st Place in the National Competition for the Vão Central do Mercado Público de Florianópolis
It is the continuous, the vast, and a thin imaginary line in the background that harbor the daily life and experience of Brazilians living in the central region of the country. The architecture proposed there could be no different. It is this amplitude, along with the beauty of its inhabitants, that moves us. However, how should a site where the current culture is blindly modernized in search of a mass-reproduced dream be dealt with? How can architecture make itself relevant in a place marked by rural and indigenous memories, techniques, aesthetics and rhythms? With these inquiries, the project which houses 540 children who study at Canuanã boarding school, aims towards transformation, cultural recovery, encouragement of local constructive techniques, native knowledge and beauty, together with the construction of a notion of self and of belonging, necessary for the children’s development.
Process
To better understand the scale of this place inhabited by children whose point of view changes with every growing inch, and to offer a new understanding of the educational space as a place of residence as well, the A Gente Transforma methodology was applied.
It involved an intense, open collaboration with the local community – teachers, administrators and, most importantly, the children. The process underwent different stages of research, immersion and collaboration with those involved, through workshops and dynamics in which a mutual understanding of the problem and possible solutions, arising from the dialogue between contemporary technique and rich local vernacular knowledge, were sought. It became clear that there was great potential and beauty in the local building techniques that used local soil in the form of adobe brick walls, both as a solid and perforated medium. Hence, this rough organic material, which performed extremely well climatically and represented the connection between the people and place, was chosen as the proposal’s constructive and aesthetic north.
Residence
The process of continuous architectural improvement and exchange with teachers and students led to a solution envisioned as a first step for the broader organization of the site. The new configuration foresees two larger (in space and number of residents) and airier villages, one for boys and one for girls, according to the school’s required and pre-existing gender division. Each one is placed at a strategic point, no longer within the school’s central axis, which is now to be occupied solely by educational programs, but rather closer to the edges to guide the growth of the farm complex organizing the territory and thus enabling for a better spatial and functional reading of the school as a whole. In this new moment, the residences will no longer be conformed by large dormitory spaces, but rather by 45 units for six students each, comprised of bunk beds, more storage space and private washing areas. The units are then set together in groups of five, organized around three large patios filled with local savannah and tropical species.
These courtyards serve as gathering spaces and also as a means of reducing heat and controlling air humidity. A reflecting pool with small fish, located inside the central yard, collects the rain that spills from the roof and, on days with enough rainfall, returns the excess water to the Javae´s River. Adjacent and on top of the dorms are different common areas: TV rooms, reading spaces, balconies, spaces with hammocks, play areas, among others. These complementary spaces were established and developed together with the students in order to improve their overall well-being and increase their bond with the school, but also to serve as complementary educational spaces for the community outside of the school year.
Material
A thin, white metallic roof supported by a lightweight wooden structure following a regular grid of 5,90m by 5,90m covers the villages and common spaces. Beyond protection from sun and rain, the roof and grid set create an intermediary space between exterior and interior, functioning as a large terrace that marks the vast horizon and frames the interior and exterior landscape. The decision to use glued laminated eucalyptus wood in the structural elements came from the advantage of versatile and sustainable characteristics of pre-fabricated elements, in response to the need for accelerating construction speed and minimizing hassle in the school’s functioning. Likewise, compressed earth bricks made of local soil were selected as construction material for their elimination of long-distance transportation and excellent thermal properties. The material was used as an enclosure in the form of exposed brick walls as well as brick latticework to provide ventilation and protection to the washing areas.
The brick worked technically and aesthetically, much in the way the locals have been doing for a long time. Ultimately, the design for the new villages aims to increase the children’s self-esteem, individuality, sense of belonging, environmental responsibility and overall academic performance, through the exchange with local know-how and building potential. Thus, a dialogue is created between vernacular techniques and a positive model for sustainable housing.
*Riba International Prize Winner 2018. *Riba International Emerging Prize 2018.
*Finalist at Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Emerge – IIT College of Architecture Chicago. *Winner of the Archdaily Building of the Year category: Educational Building – 2018. *Winner of the Archdaily Obra do ano – Best Building in Brazil – 2018. *Winner of the Amata Ibramen wood building of the year – 2018. *Winner of the Saint-Gobain Sustainable Prize with Children Village – 2018. *Winner of the APCA 2017 Award (Paulista Association of Art Critics) – Category: Architecture in Brazil. *Winner of Tomie Ohtake AkzoNobel Contemporary Architecture Prize.
Commissioned by ‘El Croquis’ publishers.
El Croquis 207 – Gustavo Utrabo
Based in São Paulo, Gustavo Utrabo was formerly part of Aleph Zero, a practice he founded in 2012 that won the 2018 RIBA International Emerging Architect prize. Now on his own, Utrabo sees his work as a means to connect people and imagine the future through sustainable and inclusive approaches. In his practice, he strives to consolidate his interests with a social impact, often engaging in remote projects for indigenous people in the Amazon. This edition presents fourteen recent works, from private houses, a public market, and a cultural centre, to shading structures and children’s villages in the jungle. Includes an interview with the architect and an essay by Marta Bogéa.
El Croquis N. 210/211 Gion A. Caminada. Identity, Autonomy and Resonance.
Gion Caminada was born in Vrin, Switzerland, in 1957. After working as an apprentice carpenter in Vrin, he attended a school of applied arts in Zurich and an art school in Florence prior to completing his postgraduate studies in architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. He has had his own architectural practice in Vrin since 1986. In 1998 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the ETH Zurich, where he was Associate Professor of Architecture and Design from 2008 to 2020. Since 2020 he has been a Full Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich.
LICENSING AND COPYRIGHT ACQUISITION: Search and view in jesusgranada.eu is free and any different use outside here must be authorized. If you are a publisher, journalist, publicist or manufacturer interested in use photos from this project on your magazine, book, company or marketing campaign, you need to acquire copyrights about needed photos. Fill this form to obtain conditions and fees of copyrights.
Disentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, SwitzerlandDisentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, SwitzerlandDisentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, SwitzerlandDisentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, SwitzerlandDisentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, SwitzerlandDisentis monastery girls’ boarding school , Disentis-Mustér, Switzerland
El Croquis 210/211 – Gion A. Caminada
Commissioned by ‘El Croquis’ publishers:
El Croquis N. 210/211 Gion A. Caminada. Identity, Autonomy and Resonance.
Gion Caminada was born in Vrin, Switzerland, in 1957. After working as an apprentice carpenter in Vrin, he attended a school of applied arts in Zurich and an art school in Florence prior to completing his postgraduate studies in architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. He has had his own architectural practice in Vrin since 1986. In 1998 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the ETH Zurich, where he was Associate Professor of Architecture and Design from 2008 to 2020. Since 2020 he has been a Full Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich.
Walpen House , Blatten bei Naters, Switzerland | Gion Caminada, architect
Walpen House , Blatten bei Naters, Switzerland | Gion Caminada, architect
Walpen House , Blatten bei Naters, Switzerland | Gion Caminada, architect
Walpen House , Blatten bei Naters, Switzerland | Gion Caminada, architectWalpen House , Blatten bei Naters, Switzerland
El Croquis 210/211 – Gion A. Caminada
Commissioned by ‘El Croquis’ publishers:
El Croquis N. 210/211 Gion A. Caminada. Identity, Autonomy and Resonance.
Gion Caminada was born in Vrin, Switzerland, in 1957. After working as an apprentice carpenter in Vrin, he attended a school of applied arts in Zurich and an art school in Florence prior to completing his postgraduate studies in architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. He has had his own architectural practice in Vrin since 1986. In 1998 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the ETH Zurich, where he was Associate Professor of Architecture and Design from 2008 to 2020. Since 2020 he has been a Full Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich.
