April 2024
Palinda Kannangara
Oculus, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 2014-15. Photo by Mahesh Mendis
Shristi Sainani speaks with Architect Palinda Kannangara, delving into the philosophical underpinnings of his work and exploring several pivotal projects.
Architect Palinda Kannangara trained under Sri Lankan Modernist Architect Anura Rantavibhushan and established his independent practice in 2005. Palinda Kannangara Architects is known for experiential architecture that hinges on simplicity and connection with the natural environment. The firm’s work has been recognized for contextual sensitivity, crafted material use, and minimalism, which reflects the Sri Lankan ethos. Their portfolio spans the breadth of Sri Lanka, from the dry zone to the wetlands to the coast, on a diverse palette of projects. The firm has received several prestigious national and international awards in its 18 years of practice. Their Studio at Rajagiriya is one of the winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence in Architecture 2018. They have most recently won the RIBA International Award for Excellence 2021 for their project Artist Retreat at Pittugala and the 5th Triennial Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture 2020/2021 for their project the Frame Holiday Structure at Imaduwa. The firm’s work has been featured in the recent El Croquis monograph 212.
What were your first memories around architecture; was there a moment of epiphany where you thought you had found your calling?
My earliest memory of architecture is of my childhood home in Kolonawwa, especially our small garden; as a child, I would create small temporary earthen embankments to pond water where I would release small fish that I would observe for hours. We now live by a marsh, yet these runnels and ponds make an appearance in the rooftop garden of my current home studio dwelling and several of my projects. Also, the pilgrimages I made as a child with my mother to several wonderful Buddhist sites across Sri Lanka are ingrained in my memory. I have been interested in the arts since childhood, painting & creating lanterns for our annual Vesak Buddhist festival (this continues to be a part of our office tradition; every year, we make lanterns that are on display at our studio).
In my school, Ananda College, I was given opportunities to create large-scale vesak backdrops and set designs. During our 100-year annual school celebrations, I was selected and commissioned to create a large-scale backdrop that narrated the school’s history. These scenographic exercises no doubt influenced my quest for space-making. I was also very interested in mathematics and obtained admission to the University of Colombo to study mathematics, but on realizing that art and mathematics could come together in the profession of architecture, during my second year of university (as a mathematics student), I enrolled in and simultaneously started attending a part-time program in Architecture and in the process realized that architecture is truly my calling.
Studio Dwelling, Rajagiriya, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photo by Mahesh Mendis
Artists’ Retreat in Pittugala, Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka, 2017. Photo by Sebastian Posingis
Have there been recurring references throughout your practice? Are there drawings, textures, scapes, or materials that you revisit from time to time?
My country’s geography and architecture (vernacular & contemporary) inspire me. The works of our modernist architects, Geoffrey Bawa & Valentine Gunasekara, have influenced generations of Sri Lankan architects, including me—their brave experiments in creating an architecture that was very much about time and place. Regional modernist Geoffrey Bawa continued to reinvent throughout his lifetime & career, including in his final years of practice with the brilliant Kandalama hotel and, finally, a simple pavilion among his final projects and, which were perhaps a distillation of things learned throughout his long career. His attempt at connecting to the environment very effectively in all his projects has been influential in my practice. I continue to revisit Bawa’s projects and continue to learn something new each time I do.
Frame Holiday Structure, Imaduwa. Photo by Luka Alagiyawanna
Please tell us a little more about the philosophy behind the design of your project, Frame Holiday Structure. What led to its vision and inception? What does it tend towards, programmatically?
Frame is a holiday structure built for the family of Sri Lankan jazz drummer & ethno-musician. It is perched lightly on the client’s ancestral agricultural lands that had been abandoned for several decades due to flooding. The client had a small budget ( USD $40,000). Cost & idea of lightness of occupying the land, with notions of addressing the temporality of the landscape in flux, led to the exoskeleton being built with scaffolding. The structure is merely three platforms perched over the flood plains, oriented towards views. Lifted over the maximum flood levels, the lift enables the daily life of the land to continue with local villagers grazing their cattle. Built out of reused and salvage materials, it creates a simple structure in a fluvial landscape that could be dismantled and shifted if required.
“The ethics of minimalism and environmentalism, which are part of the Sri Lankan ethos, are vital to our works. This philosophy and our quest for resilient architecture enable us to continue practicing with enthusiasm despite the serious economic crisis our country is facing.”
Oculus, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 2014-15. Photo by Mahesh Mendis
How did the Oculus Staff Quarters project come into being? What are a few aspects you had in mind considering the construction of a refuge catering to impermanence, considering guests and staff? What were the biggest challenges you faced, and what would you deem as its biggest feat?
It is primarily a residence for staff and visitors at the Jaffna wind power farm; Oculus sits at the starting point of the axis, which extends across the landscape of a wind farm that hosts 16 wind power turbines and the main monitoring station building (also designed by our office) where the wind farm is controlled from. It’s located close to the tidal mudflats and Jaffna lagoon & in the hot, dry zone. The building responds to color and materiality, to the earthy hues of the seasonal grasses and the tidal mudflat. The entire ground floor living and dining space is a pavilion that opens to a temporal landscape that changes with the seasons. The footprint has been deliberately kept small, and the lower level has a lifted ceiling at 16 feet, lifted to enable views to the proximal lagoon from the upper-level rooms. This additionally creates a volume that adds to the spatial experience of a wild open landscape integrated into the building. A wide spiral staircase enables people to transition to the upper level at 16 feet without feeling a strain. At the center is an oculus, open to the sky; a shaft of light falls over a shallow pond at the eye of the oculus. The shallow pond at the core of the building has varying water depths.
Creating a structure that creates comfortable conditions in the extremely harsh dry climate was important to the design; most spaces are passively ventilated, retaining views and connections to the tidal mudflats and associated low grasslands. The biggest challenge was finding skilled people to build, as it’s located in a more remote area. Therefore, the building details were modulated to match the people’s skills, kept simple and replicable, and the finishes and materials were kept simple and fairly raw.
Leisure Pavilion, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka, 2010. Photo by Waruna Gomis
Please tell us a little about your project, Leisure Pavilion. What drove the design? What does it aim to achieve?
This is a very early project from my portfolio, built in 2010, for a friend, a pioneer in the hydropower sector in Sri Lanka, who lived in a small home in the center of the city but desired a separate space for leisure and entertainment in urban Colombo. The family wanted to maintain the privacy of their own home and, since their lifestyle involved frequent entertaining, requested an additional building on a site away from their residence, in a central city location of Colombo 3. Additionally, they wanted to pursue their love for cooking & music in this space. I chose to design a simple garden pavilion instead of a closed building that allows for a great degree of openness and enables indoor/outdoor living and entertaining, retaining and building around and incorporating the large existing Ficus Tree. The use of available materials and technology familiar to the client was an important part of the project; therefore, the choice of exposed concrete (fair-faced) was a predominant material in the project. The client also had a collection of salvaged timber, which was reused in the design. The pavilion is a double-height roofed space open to the gardens on both sides. It contains an enclosed timber box that contains the necessary services (pantry, caretaker’s room, and toilet), the only lockable space. The timber box contains a lounge area at the upper level with a tranquil lily pool. The pavilion accommodates frequent large events and gatherings, which is very much a part of their lifestyle, but it is also simply a place of leisure for the family to use during weekends and holidays.
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Photo by Sebastian Posingis
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Photo by Sebastian Posingis
Please tell us a little more about your recent project, River Pavilion, in Kithulgala. What is the intention of the programming of the project? What do you expect the project to achieve after 10 years of its inauguration?
It’s a retreat across the river Kelani with dramatic views of the rainforest that we complete this month. Located close to the tropical rainforest preserves of Kithulgala, in Sri Lanka’s rainforest zone, which is a rich repository of endemic flora and fauna, this is a retreat space for a young Colombo-based couple to get away from their busy city lives to spend time amidst nature besides the scenic Kelani river. The project comprises of four bedrooms and a living cum dining pavilion that overlooks the rainforest & the beauty of the riverine landscape. Attached to this space is a supporting service quarters. The couple intends to rent this space out for short-term stays for nature enthusiasts when they are not using the space. Primordial to the design was to respect the sensitive natural environment and to simply create a verandah with a view. It is located by the river bank, on a very steep terrain, and in a remote location. It was difficult to obtain contractors or sophisticated methods of construction. These challenges determined the tectonics and the architectural language of the project & method of construction. It was difficult to do in-situ construction, so the idea of salvaging materials and there for the use of 4 salvaged shipping containers. This idea of simplicity & reuse and connection with the environment was at the core of this project. The building is a pavilion with a lean-to roof, spanned over two salvaged shipping containers. The remaining two containers form the service space. The architecture is created to function merely as a shaded pavilion to the many magical moments that can be witnessed through the property, the rich bird & arboreal life of the rainforest, and the sound and fluid landscape of the river.
Studio Dwelling, Rajagiriya, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photo by Sebastian Posingis
Which of your projects do you see as a turning point to draw course for your practice?
Our first project, the Ginigaththena bungalow, created as a staff housing for visiting engineers by a hydropower project, won a commendation in the first cycle of the Geoffrey Bawa Awards for Excellence in Architecture; this gave me the confidence to undertake other challenging projects. Thereafter, building our own studio (Studio Dwelling) in 2015 by a marsh in Rajagiriya, a small project that negotiates the marsh and the city, led to receiving international recognition for our small island practice, including the opportunity of a monograph published by the El Croquis publication. These have been milestones.
What architects who practiced in history would you consider to be key figures in shaping your design philosophy? What did you learn from them?
Innovation and adaptability led to resilience, as seen in the works of architect Geoffrey Bawa. Even during the external climate of civil war and import restrictions, he chose to continue to create marvelous buildings by encouraging local craft and available materials. Given our current economic turmoil and restrictions, these lessons in resilience are key for me.
Artists’ Retreat in Pittugala, Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka, 2017. Photo by Sebastian Posingis
What are you looking towards next? Are there specific projects you are looking forward to realizing in the near future?
We believe in an architecture that is about the process of reduction, of using available resources wisely and consciously, of ‘de-cluttering’ both visually and physically, creating comfortable conditions for living while preserving and connecting to the natural environment. In the future, we also hope to address projects through this lens irrespective of scale, constraints in budget/resources, and sensitive sites, and we hope the resulting architecture is an experience that is both visceral and pragmatic but also one that is about economy and sensitivity. We are currently working on small but interesting projects in India: a courtyard home that reflects the culture & climate of Bengaluru—a renovation and extension of a historic family home in the culturally rich temple city of Tanjore.
Portrait of Architect Palinda Kannangara
Do you have a few last words you’d like to leave for our readers before we close the interview?
The ethics of minimalism and environmentalism, which are part of the Sri Lankan ethos, are vital to our works. This philosophy and our quest for resilient architecture enable us to continue practicing with enthusiasm despite the serious economic crisis our country is facing.
Palinda Kannangara @palindakannangaraarchitects
Shristi Sainani
@shristi_sainani
Shristi Sainani is a curator, designer, researcher, and writer currently based in New Delhi, India, where she functions independently. Her interest lies in dismantling and assessing core concepts of exhibition making, specifically focusing on Contemporary Art churned through the diaspora of the Global South.
She also writes poetry, having published three books in the genre, and has contributed to several art and architectural forums. Her independent research focuses on collections and architecture of private art museums. Shristi’s paper on inclusivity in museum spaces won the INSC Researchers Award in 2021.
Shristi is a formally trained architect. She completed her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Sydney and her Master’s degree in Curatorial Studies from the University of Melbourne.