The Road is Ready- Sothern express Highway

.......Just after construction of Dodangoda transit center near Nagoda

Horana Church- Architect Valentine Gunasekara

Recently I visited the church and it was under construction. The building is dying by itself in side of the Horana jungle. I don't c the modernity in the location to fit architect Valentine gunasekaras' Modernity.....

Sustainable architecture is not stepping back

Most people talk about the subject “sustainable architecture”. The ideas are spreading like a thunder in the society and everybody questioning what is sustainable architecture. Whole world has opened their eye open the climatic issues like global warming and global cooling. People use to write and make discussion to overcome the environmental issues to make the world better.

But the solution should not be going backward to the prehistoric scenario where the people lived inside of the caves and ate their own food. The upgrade of the building fabric is there to help the civilization to go forward and make it more convenient to the user.

But yet, most of the sustainable architecture oriented researches are carried on the fields to improve the thermal comfort or reducing the mechanical energy consumption of the building. Those research solutions are always going backward and introduced another system which had been used in vernacular architecture where the design decisions came from nowhere.

So the theme idea is to go back and set back to the vernacular scenario and gain the sustainable architecture. However the situation is completely worse when an architect applies the vernacular architecture tot the modern requirement of a house. As well the sustainable architects are providing solutions go make the building more sustainable but not functional for the modern cay requirements.

Although these solutions are far more practical for the sustainable architecture they are so far beyond from the general requirement of a house. People came to see whet the outcome of the sustainable architecture. But the real outcome of the sustainable architecture is stepping back to the vernacular architecture and stay with mosquitoes.

I tried to be a woman

Designing is not that easy task. It needs the imagination logical and rational analysis and the irrational thinking to create creative solutions out of the way it had been. And also the most important thing is the sense of designing. Good designers are very sensitive toward the design or whatever they are doing. Therefore most of the good designers are being parted from the society and live an incredible life.

The idea came to mind is why most of the good designers are Gay or bisexual. Not only in architecture fashion graphics and even in many bold professions gay people are bold up over straight people. And the biggest question is, what is the quality they have over the straight people?  We can not justify saying that due to their gayness they are much stronger. In that situation sexless people or single people are stronger than everybody else in the earth. People can be different in any stage we give different answers to one question people can provide different different justification to their own successor whatever they so called life. However this is what I think why the gay architects gay fashion designer and gay people are bold………..          ….  Teek.

Most of the gay people are not afraid to be bold in the society. Because the moment you identify that you are different from the society all the members of the society act toward you in a opposition way like white blood cells attack on a germ. In this scenario the Stanger has to adopt to make resistance toward the people those who resist you. However this modification makes you great opportunity be bold and smart in the society. So if you are gay you have the same situation like this the gay people have to be bold and smart in the society. This evaluated smartness gives you the enough strangeness and power to become a good designer in the society.

And the confidence, Gay people are very much confidence of what they are currently doing, not only in their private life they act same manner in their design life too. Because those people have to be stronger in their strangeness anyway they have to be good with what they do, but the straight people have no choise they have to be straight, did whatever the old people had done and have been doing in the past everything on books and stories you don’t have introduce anything.  But if you are gay or defend character you have to introduce what you are going to do exactly.

How come?

The other point is to make good designs you should have man and women qualities both together. It is same as in Asia and European countries. What do you now about the god Shiva try to fid about the his version of make and female character called half lady Shiva (ardhanareeshwara). And also Sri Lanka ancient script says that the male and femaleness in arts and artifact. And also how the both characters to be combined well. But in Sri Lankan context the gayness was a hidden story and most of those stories are hidden behind the religion. Whatever the idea, and symbols of the Sri Lankan sculptures render s to prove the gayness in Sri Lankan Context. For me that’s ok, but still Sri Lankan believe that the gay is dirty and it is not in fact unnatural. Even for a small time they were controlled by gay people they don’t like to believe that gayness is a reality.

However, good designer should have the male and female characters together.  Good design has the both characters together; in another point of view good design has the strength and the flexibility.  You may not understand why the architects who do designs which are very much neatly, only the women are knee on the neatness. But most of them talks about the construction process. So when architects came very sensitive on the neatness they consider became female people in their personality. The personality is change from one stage to another due to the daily practice which they are processed everyday.

This is not a uncommon story,,,  I remember in my first year we  had lots of male guys who were knee on representing their maleness other than gayness but after the first year second semester most of those guys became flexible and neatly shaped people. And the beat fact is that those people started growing their hair like women. They have no idea why they are growing hair and what the exact reason for them to grow hair is.  May be that’s how they are became good designers in the society. No that is not the only reason when most of them were in a designers where the male and female characters are essential automatically they became women or somebody in-between men and women.  There are lots of architecture students who are growing their hair and tried to be a woman. They may have succeeded really well but I think for them the best idol should be real gay character not just an ardhanareeshwara.

What is this?????

Ancient vernacular alien building landed near devenuwara devalaya recently

Architectural review on tooth relic temple

Tooth Relic temple is the most sacred building in sri Lanka. Most people celebrate their past and the future in there. And also it is like the symbol of the power and most of the politicians attend for the extra power gaining to become more powerful in the society. In most cases Buddhist people are going there to make their devotees to the lord Buddha and ask for the help from the gods. Any whatever is the function in the building the tooth relic temple is one of the sacred building in Sri Lanka.

The tooth relic temple is a organic building which built without a plan and ended with adding many buildings together. Therefore in the form of the building and the composition of the building layout lacking the sense of modern planning and composition sensitivity of the society. The shape of the roof and sizes of the from elevated building are not nice in the sense they are like many man y boxes stacked for none reason. For me looking at the from elevation make me mess my mind and uncomfortable. For me the form of the building is like a flash painting which I don’t like. The main entrance is good the narrow path and wide garden shows the freedom which you can chive but the distance between the from entrance and the tooth relic temple entrance is not enough make feeling fin the minds of the devotes whoever enter to thee building. Thick walls in the outer premise of the building is very cool they w]express the solid idea of the protection in the building and the security which the architect is the planner wanted to achieved in the building. But between the first wall the second wall there is a wide water ramp which is complete mess the idea of having a water ramp there to make protection for the building but comparative to the other sri Lankan building the architect lacks the sense of water. Its true that most of the sri Lankan architect celebrate water in their building but in Dalada Maligawa the architect who failed to celebrate the water. Then we have to think it as a defensive barrier to protect the building.

After you enter to the building you see two paths fro two different direction one goes to the tooth relic chamber the other one leads to the outside of the building well I think this is due to the messy architecture which had been used in most of Sri Lankan buildings. But the main entrance to the chamber is great the tunnel entrance fir the chamber and hiding the climax after the oath is great I like it in the sense it gives the feeling of which we have found something in the building. The rhythm of the chamber and the sky views of the courtyard link the connection between the building and out environment. In the early morning the climax is greater due to the light lines which are cut by the wood frames and enter to the courtyard floor.

But as same as everywhere in sri Lankan the chamber entrance is not the main entrance then again you have climb a bigger stair case like it says that the path is not yet finished you have to move forward to clear the path. That’s is great like copper door plated with gold and express the idea of the sacredness, but after you enter the stair case it is so messy there are  paintings murals and stories about the tooth relic. Well the story is good but the messy environment is not good in the sense it  should be a clear path and clear connection between  the chamber entrance and the upstairs where you can worship the tooth relic. And also the material is wood, for me wood is not a good material or that kind of stair case. For the main entrance or the path to the building can be wood but I think the connecting stair case between two floors should be more solid to celebrate the victory of coming to sacred place. And also the view from the stair case is another set of wooden windows they are open to nowhere, and also they don’t express the architectural qualities in sri Lankan architecture they are just only windows.

After you achieve the entrance to the tooth relic chamber building you can see the devotees little bit far away form the entrance, it is good I like if it is much longer. However it is ok without giving  view for the front direction. After few foots you see the real chamber door and if you are lucky enough you can see the tooth relic. However when we are considering the architecture the pace is not enough for make feelings toward the tooth relic and lord Buddha the space doesn’t represent the idea of lord ness toward the lord Buddha. For me It is like the story ends you hardly enter to the building and that’s its go home if you don’t preach the lord Buddha. Well I think it is good if the space can be gentler for the user where people can stay in front of the tooth relic. Then you finish the meal and young can start the dessert the dessert is in the downstairs. Down floor connect the environment to the building. 

After you getting down the first landing is for two devala, those devals and small temple area is good in the sense it has the space for the observation. The landing becoame space for making devotion and it is good in the sense all the two temp[les are beyond the level of the landing level of the building. The cir collar path between the stair case is not good and the view of the landing toward the tooth relic chamber is worse. What I suggest is there should be space or a view for the observer  to have along sight from the down level of the building. By passing the landing you go to same level of the first entrance( first climax ) of the building and if you want to light lamps you can go to the north or else you can go out from south or the ,museum is in the east.

Whatever the architecture says abut the building the builder had made a great a effort toward the construction of the building. All the details re very important and they a problem to the sri Lankan context. All the columns and beams are decorated with sri Lankan stayle.The floor and decks represenst the hardness and hardship of the builder. And also whatever we talk about the building we should worship the tooth relic and highness of the lord Buddha even the architecture failed to create the atmosphere for the devote all the rumors and gossips made the stability of the highness of lord Buddha before you enter the building. Therefore even with out the architecture you can feel the sacredness of the lord Buddha. So in the end what ,my suggestion what If the architecture also can support the deviation of the s=observer then feeling s toward the lord Buddha can be better what it is now thank you.

Chameera Udawatthe