Online edition of Daily News

A 'people-centred' and personalised approach to housing for the people displaced by the May 2003 floods and landslides:

This terraced housing scheme inclusters a unique design of 175 houses designed by the State Engneering Corporation (SEC) Senior Architect Vasantha de Silva assisted by Architect Samantha Ramadan. This was one among several such designs presented to Minister of Media Mangala Samaraweera at the SLIA auditorium yesterday.

The family is the basic social unit and the house is the basic spatial unit where the act of dwelling takes place. The house denotes one's most delightful personal spatial experience. It is where family ties are strengthened and personal expressions are manifested in the spatial medium.

The house provides for physical and psychological comforts. It fulfils the psychological needs of privacy, identity, territoriality and sense of belongingness. It is thus the symbol of one's self-expression. A person or a family is identified in relation to their place of living, too.

In the formation of social relationships, the house is thus central. A cluster of such houses creates a neighbourhood and a group of such neighbourhoods creates a village or a township. The child identified such notions as 'big' and 'small', 'distance', 'centrality', and so on; keeping its home as the base.

Thus, a house establishes one's relationship with the neighbourhood, with the community and with the rest of the world. It facilitates a meaningful spatial experience that establishes social relationships, placing a person or a family in its respective community.

There is an over-riding sense of unity and a location based identity in the social and built fabric of a particular community or a society based on pertinent macro-contextual factors, such as the socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-political.

For instance, a 'rural Sinhalese community' gives a particular identity and unity in the way their attitudes and value systems are established and the way the built fabric has resulted. It has given rise to a significantly unique architecture out of which a generic model or form could be derived.

Acknowledging these macro-contextual dynamics and aligning the design approach accordingly were identified as being 'people-centred'.

At the same time, we find the uniqueness of each individual and family with distinct socio-spatial needs within any community.

That has in turn given rise to different house forms, making variations in the respective generic model/s. We find that no two houses are identical, in the same way that no two persons are identical, yet while keeping a harmony within such differences.

Acknowledging this individualised nature of house design was recognised as being 'custom-made' or 'personalised', in the provision of solutions.

A holistic approach to house design should essentially be people-centred and custom-made and the architect has to work within these two considerations in designing a house.

Firstly the design has to match the macro-context, which includes the physical, socio-cultural, socio-economic and socio-political realms.

Secondly, it has to address the specific needs of the client, the individual or the family. Hence designing becomes a personalised and people-centred approach, which also acknowledges the respective macro-context.

House-design thus cannot be a 'type-plan' solution, as commonly used by some as a - low-cost', 'tailor-made' solution, which negates the uniqueness of individuality and one's respectful and harmonious placement in the socio-spatial fabric.

Irrespective of the housing situation - 'housing for the poor or the rich' - or the solutions given - 'individual or mass housing' - it is necessary to identify the dynamics of the macro-context and the uniqueness of each person and family and their social relations.

This is particularly so in a situation where people have been displaced by disasters such as landslides and floods, as this is a situation where lives are lost, houses and properties damaged, spatially disoriented and thereby social relationships, social identities are shattered.

The team of architects with diverse academic and professional backgrounds and the postgraduate students of the Department of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa adopted this approach to design houses for the people displaced by the May-2003 floods and landslides.

May 2003 floods were unprecedented in the history of the country. They swept over five districts, namely Galle, Rathnapura, Matara, Hambantota and Kalutara, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless.

Villages and townships were swept away within a matter of a few hours, leaving most of the people with only the clothes they were wearing.

According to the reports, in Rathnapura district, 3594 houses were completely destroyed and 8683 houses were partially damaged.

The comparable figures in Matara district were 2083 and 5200, in Kalutara district, 876 and 2365, and in Galle district 1211 and 4935.

At the same time hundreds of schools, public buildings, shops, roads, and thousands of hectares of paddy fields and other cash-crop cultivations were destroyed or damaged, leaving life at a standstill.

Soon a Cabinet sub-committee was appointed to take actions to restore normal life in these areas and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa and the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects played a leading role in the design of houses for the homeless.

Displacement, whether by natural disasters such as floods, landslides and earthquakes or man-made disasters such as riots and wars is an inevitable phenomenon in the process of human habitation. In such situations there are losses to lives and property. Houses are damaged or completely destroyed.

Families are physically displaced: as the house denotes the centre of their socio-spatial perception, and thereby gives them the due place in their respective social fabric, such a calamity also leads to an even more damaging 'psychological' displacement.

Once the 'centre' is shattered, people are displaced and they find it difficult to relate themselves to their closely-knit socio-spatial fabric. They are traumatised, 'disjointed' and disoriented. Designing housing in such a catastrophic situation should therefore address the physical as well as psychological issues.

Firstly any such solution has to take into account the macro-context and its pertinent socio-spatial aspects and then it should focus on individual family needs to provide them with a people-centred and personalised solution.

More than 3,000 personalised houses were designed during a very short time covering four districts, namely, Galle, Rathnapura, Matara an Kalutara.

Workshops were held in Rathnapura, Elapatha, Palawela, Neluwa, Thavalama, Baddegama, Pitabeddara, Nagoda, Baduraliya, Bulathsinhala and Kalutara with the participation of hundreds of people.

The government provided an amount of Rs. 100,000 as a relief measure for the affected families to build their houses.

In the village house building is always a community act, where people get together and help each other in the construction.

They use the building materials available in the locality. The need to follow the same was stressed and the enthusiasm shown by people in getting the houses designed to suit their specific socio-spatial needs was quite noteworthy.

The process adopted was based on the premise cited above and evolved into the following key steps.

Firstly, the situation specific issue to be addressed was identified as the instant displacement and disorientation from the web of socio-spatial experience. Based on the accumulated research knowledge at the university and the findings of the initial field investigations, a generic form was derived.

This primarily addressed the issues exposed by the catastrophic situation and was termed as the 'Situation Specific Generic Form'.

It was strong, emphatic and was inspired by the traditional "Soldara Gedera" (The attic house), a symbol of status. People whose spirits were at a very low ebb after the loss of lives and property needed to be uplifted with pride and a new sense of identity and hope.

Thus, though small and affordable in reality, it addressed the deeper issues of personal identity and self-esteem. The Situation Specific Generic Form was the basic model, with the ability to generate a variety of other housing options. It was 10 ftx20 ft in size.

It was simple, cost effective and looked complete even at its generic stage. It contained an introverted space, an attic, a veranda and a gabled roof, all of which are commonly found in a typical rural Sri Lankan house and provide for the needs of self-esteem and social relationships.

ii designing of a 'Location Specific Generic Form' based on the Situation Specific Generic Form.

Architecture is essentially location specific. The 'Situation Specific Generic Form' derived on the basis of the catastrophic situation was then developed further based on the architectural ambiences of the locations, some of which are given below:

Based on these common architectural characteristics, 19 such forms were designed.

iii. Generating personalised housing options based on the 'Location Specific Generic Forms'

This was perhaps the most difficult dynamic phase of the whole exercise. Each of these locations was visited by the team, who held a number of workshops with the families, and explained the schemes through presentations, drawings and models.

The action team, comprising of architects and postgraduate students, was sub-divided into a number of smaller groups to work on assigned specific tasks.

The workshops were organised by the District and Divisional Secretaries in different locations and were progressed in the following manner.

a. An explanation was given of the aims of the workshop and the Location Specific Generic Forms, based on the 3-D models and drawings, helping them to choose the most suitable generic form under a given number.

b. Direction of such a person/family to the subgroup who was assigned with the modifications of each Location Specific Generic Form.

Here, each person or family was consulted individually to identify the specific spatial needs and do the necessary modifications to their chosen generic form.

c. Active involvement of the technical officers of the National Housing Development Authority on the construction phase to furnish the families with necessary technical advice.

A one-day workshop was conducted for these officials at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa to provide them with an awareness of the process.

The Egyptian Pharaohs were futuristic, looking as far as the stars on their death-bed entombed in the inner chambers of the pyramid, waiting to be re-born.

The monumental geometric forms of the pyramids had a grand landscape, a platform for a strong statement in Architecture. It has even been suggested that alien influences have been at work here and elsewhere.

There have been many such landmark architectural statements throughout time admired and visited. Ruvanveliseya, the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Petronas Towers, the list is long.

But not every structure and architectural masterpiece was a landmark, many excellent works gave deference to these, standing alongside with another story to tell. Some sharing the limelight. Others in awe, still others wonderful in its own right without competing with greatness by its side. Good Manners.

I. M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre comes to mind as well as his Miho Art Museum, listed as the 'Best Architecture' in Asia by Asiaweek magazine.

The well-balanced and proportioned signal station cabins of the Indian and Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known previously) Railways were excellent works of architecture without fuss and fanfare.

Good Architecture is a resultant of skill, courage and humility among several other attributes.

At a more general level one can see ordinary (as in unimaginative, mundane, drab) buildings painted in shocking pink so as to make a 'statement'.

"I am here" it shouts, "look at me!" The purpose of attracting attention is defeatist. Beyond the paint one can see the ordinariness, perhaps reflecting what lies within. Such buildings may well blend into its context if not highlighted in such a way.

Mind you, not all buildings using strong colours are this, provided the architecture in other respects, context, form, shaping and judicious use of colour among other elements are met. Once again, good manners in recognizing the need and displaying a skill well learned, in a controlled manner.

Indeed, good manners in architectural design stems from responsible conceptualization, to skilled handling of elements (colour, shaping, forms, texture), meeting functional needs and setting it responsibly in its physical and social context.

Acknowledgement of the surroundings and recognition of the architectural values contributed is a good starting point for unselfish architecture.

Respect for the context is as important. It may be easy to condemn a run-down environment, but before judgment is passed, a study as to the factors that brought it to its degraded state should be done before assessment.

Understanding! Having an open mind unclouded by righteous indignation. Good manners! This course of action may well result in designs that would accommodate changes and not result in repetition of an unfavourable situation.

Knowledge of the wide range of materials and techniques available to architects is imperative to good design. An approach where fundamentals are learned allows for more innovative work rather than the imitative.

However, there are always lessons to be learnt from peers as well and emulation, particularly in the repetition of a good solution to a problem is logical in design.

Separation of roof, avoiding messy junctions and valleys, avoiding ugly down-pipes by various means have been - be humble enough to admit when it is borrowed! good manners.

* know your fundamentals thoroughly: excellence in the knowledge of structures, materials, building technology, climatology and climate control, safety and infra-structural requirements, anthropometrics and ergonomic design to name a few aspects.

* Apply these to a problem in a systematic and a logical manner to cater to the needs of the programme (design process).

* Read widely and try to experience other's work: You may find already worked out solutions to common problems. Assess these against your own requirement and acknowledge their use.

For some reasons architects of the new millennium seem to be reluctant to admit that someone else has thought out an idea and applied it successfully. Why? Ego problem? Lack of confidence in oneself? Whatever the reason it does not speak well of ourselves when we do not acknowledge our colleagues and peers. Give praise where due! Good Manners.

* Enjoy your own work and that of others. Architecture should be a celebration of life and good living. Good living can be interpreted in many ways-gourmet French cuisine served on the best English silver in the ambience of a candlelit restaurant in the US of A or enjoying a tasty rice and curry with kos mallun in the shade of a kumbuk tree after a good river bath and then lying on a beautifully designed pan kola mat on the pila of a cool thatched house in SL - both to my mind are excellent examples. Architecture provides a prop, a part of the ambience in both.

* In assessing another's work, one may tend to be critical. (Does the manner of assessing student work by design crits nurture this tendency?). However, one may not know all the factors and parameters and decisions taken by the architect. Do not be critical unfairly. Good Manners should be observed.

* Be a master of your own discipline. Find out about others. Try to achieve your design objectives by harnessing the talent of other disciplines through team work. Respect the knowledge of others. Architects should be experts in Architecture and rely on other expertise where necessary. Good Manners.

* The ideas and work of others if used in one's written work should be acknowledge in writing and by mention in the case of a verbal presentation. To pretend that the work or ideas of another person is one's own is known as plagiarism.

Works, especially aesthetic and written works, are often protected by law and known as intellectual property. Good manners require that where such work is used it be given credit in an acceptable manner.

* An architect who is the author/creator of his/her architecture can take justifiable pride in their successful work, relations with clients and colleagues and responsibility towards society.

The list is long but surprisingly simple! Good Manners in Architecture is an extension of good manners in life - mainly respect with a sound background of architectural principals and a knowledge of the elements, materials and techniques.

While many may complain of bad and boorish behaviour in this day and age, it is heartening to note that the UN Assembly has recently taken note.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed over 1,000 delegates of the diverse religions of the world and their commitment to a better world.

Indeed, Good Manners are embodied in the manifestation varies with their geographic and social origins, similar to the vast and varied architecture produced on this planet. Let us be its proud and responsible creators/ guardians. Sound heavy? A virtual hope? Let's try to make it a reality in the real virtual world!

Introducing this year's theme at SLIA national conference' at it's annual sessions

Architecture undeniably is the art of making buildings and spaces for human habitation and thus impacts on the culture of the people and society, and their ways of thinking, understanding and relating to the world at large.

While pursuing ideas and ideological developments of the pure forms of arts, architecture however plays a significant role in the utilitarian re-composition of space manifested through the forces of site contexts, climate, technology and building practices of a given time.

Art of Architecture thus constitutes complex aesthetics and represents the nature of the architects, their sponsors, users and socio-political contexts within which they operate.

When one cares to look around and examine the way in which architecture has emerged around us during the last couple of decades, one wonders if Sri Lanka's Art of Architecture has either come of age or has gone complete astray. Some Believe that art is an accident while some believe that it has a social purpose.

Increasingly, many seem to also think that art exists for its own sake. Many facets of Arts of architecture have thus acquired their existence amongst us; the so-called artists of space; the architects.

We are certainly not lonely in these complexities but the same seems visible at both regional and global scales as much as in other fields of art.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Architects has felt that the time is ripe to engage in a serious debate on the Art of Architecture, for some of us have forgotten the basics while some have been emboldened to challenge the conventions to create anew.

Whichever way we may go forward, Architects have to, from time to time, rekindle the artists within them, while the general public need to be educated of the architects, Artistic "intellect" as much as the skills.

The SLIA annual sessions this year will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, at the BMICH on February 16.

The four day session which will be on till February 19, will include a national conference where the chief guest will be the Minister of Housing and Construction Mrs. Ferial Ashroff.

The keynote address at the sessions will be delivered by Archt. Mario Botta Principal Architect Studio Architetto of Switzerland. Among the topics to be discussed at the sessions are:

'Politics of Aesthetics, Placelessness and Standardisation of Taste' by Dr. Sassanka Perera, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology, Colombo University.

Director, Sri Lanka Television Institute Tissa Abeysekera is down to discuss the topic 'New Strategies - Intellectual Exchanges'.

Prof. Nimal de Silva is scheduled to discuss the topic 'Art of Architecture - Concepts and Principles of Tradition'.