Author: Chathuri

REFURBISHMENT OF CARGILLS BUILDING
KANDY

LOCATION/ Kandy
SCOPE/ Architecture & Interior Design

Sri Lanka is an Island located in the Indian Ocean, often referred as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. Kandy is the last Capital of Sri Lanka, with 2500 years of flourishing Buddhist Heritage. This Great Colonial Emporium was established in the City of Kandy in 1844 as a Department Store by British businessman, Willam Milne as “Milne & Company”. In 1850 Milne joined with David Sime Cargill and the firm bacame known as ‘Milne Cargill & Co.’ and the Building was, thus titled as “Cargills Building”.

The Building is on Dalada V eediya Kandy, the most important road in Kandy , which leads to the “Temple of the Tooth Relic at the End. Currently Ground Floor of the building functions as a Retail Outlet consisting of a Supermarket – This was the first supermarket in the Island and KFC- An International fast food outlet franchised by Cargills (Ceylon) PLC while the First and Second Floors remain unoccupied.

Architect: Shaam, Nimani & Sandeepa
Quantity Surveyor: Mahesh
Draughtsman: Roshan
3D: Osanda
Graphic Designer: Sameera

CARGILLS SQUARE
Dematagoda

The challenge was to create an inviting and inclusive commercial and recreational space for all, uplifting the local culture to connect with the local customer, while also adding value to the location by offering a memorable experience to the visiting customer. The concept was thus generated from the immediate context, using a hexagon pattern articulated throughout the design. The hexagon represents the dense interlocking fabric of the city, with bright colours and graphics woven through to highlight the dynamic culture of the people. The connectivity between the interior and exterior spaces was also especially considered in the common lobby spaces to enhance the relationship with the context. This was achieved via the extensive use of glass integrated with the hexagon façade cladding to capture the image of the city. The overall design invites and maintains the rustic aesthetic of the context throughout carefully planned, attractive and modern architectural spaces.

LOCATION/ Dematagoda
SCOPE/ Architecture & Interior Design

Architect: Shaam & Nimani

Interior Designer: Shobitha

Quantity Surveyor: Rajika Prasanna

Draughtsman: Janaki & Roshan

3D: Yasitha & Chathuni

NESTLE FACTORY EXTENSION
Pannala

LOCATION/ Pannala
SCOPE/ Architecture & Interior Design

THE CONCEPT

Our concept for Nestle’s Third-Party Locker Room Complex was inspired by the company’s deeply ingrained culture that shapes its people, practices and product. As such, the design was developed based on three primary points: Pure, Purposeful and Practical. “Pure” is derived from Nestle’s high priority and care for an ultra-hygienic environment. This concept further reverberates into the purity of architectural form, in order to create purposeful spaces. Therefore, “Purposeful” denotes the meeting of the client’s requirements at an optimal level, through efficiency and convenience in each area for the Locker Room’s users. Finally, “Practical” indicates the ease of accessibility and user-friendliness of the space in order for the design to succeed each and every day, in a real time setting.

Architect: Shaam & Shafna

Interior Designer: Osuri

Quantity Surveyor: M. B. H. Firaz

3D Visualizer: Osanda Umesh

 

PROPOSED ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER
Okachimachi, Tokyo, Japan

BACKGROUND

The history of Islam in Japan dates back to a very short Period. Many isolated records of contacts are said to be known, which occurred before the opening of Japan in 1853. The Project revolves around the idea of bringing about an Islamic Cultural Center. This would serve as a beacon for trade, leisure, knowledge and spirituality, spreading the religion and culture of Islam to locals as well as tourists alike with its ambience and architectural elements which respond to the surrounding environment. The utilization of space is paramount, where the vicinity is densely populated with a myriad of functions within the context of the building. The ambience and appeal of its exterior and interior would be of utmost importance to portray the identity of Islam. The approach to the facilities provided would blend in with the surrounding while the simplicity of the form along with the minimal, elegant and textured materials would highlight the building to create an icon, which emanates a strong magnetic attraction to those who pass by.

CONCEPT “TOWARDS THE LIGHT”

Conceptualized from the Quranic verse Ayatun Nur (Chapter 24 Verse 35), the design invites individuals to an experiential journey “Towards the Light”. The bazaar culture in the land where Islam originated is not forgotten and is carried into the building, to welcome the people from the street outside, to within. The hustle and bustle of the outside environment begins to fade away gradually and it leads to a peaceful, serene environment, as one progresses higher and higher where one’s taste receptors are satisfied and the thirst for knowledge and spirituality is quenched. The epitome of the spatial feel is culminated in the seventh floor and enhances one’s spiritual enthusiasm by the creation of an atmosphere, of a hanging garden with the play of light and shadow.

LOCATION/ Okachimachi, Tokyo, Japan

SCOPE/ Architecture & Interior Design

Interior Designers: Shaam Nizamuddin

Draughtsman: Lakshan

3D Visualizer: Osanda Umesh

Steve Jobs’ seven principles

Principle One: Do what you love.

When we do something, we must do what we like. Otherwise it will be boring. When we do it to our own style, we can put the maximum effort to our design.

Principle Two: Put a dent in the universe.

We should have a vision to do a change in the world. Then we can innovate new designs for the future. If we have a goal, we can move forward until our dream comes true.

Principle Three: Kick start your brain.

Creativity helps to make innovative ideas. New ideas generate with our experience. When we are full of experience we can do and innovate new designs with new experiments by connecting different subjects together.

Principle Four: Sell dreams, not products.

If we do new things, without a purpose it will be rejected by the customer. If we do what we dream about, we can be success our designs.

Principle Five: Say no to 1,000 things.

We must look at our design in many angles and should always try to find the defects and rectify them. If we reject many things, we can get new ideas on our mind. A ‘Yes’ after 1000 ‘No’s is a very strong yes.

Principle Six: Create insanely great experiences.

If we do our design with living on it and feel it in our soul, we can get great experience to our design as well as to our life. We should live in our design and be obsessed in giving an experience rather than a product.

Principle Seven: Master the message.

No matter what the design or produce it is, people who buy and use should get the right message. Our product should give a strong message. If we give the message that what we need to enhance in our design in a creative and if our message feels deep in our customers mind it will be a great design.

The product should be the end result or the reality of our dream and aspiration

Induranga Karunaratne

Product Designer/ Interior Designer

3D Visualization in a Nutshell

The most important thing in Computer Graphics (CG) Art is that it is a beautiful combination of creativity and technology which is updating day by day. 3D visualization is a strong branch of CG art.

3D visualization is a general term used for 3d graphics, modeling texturing & rendering. It helps to visualize any product, area, building etc. more clearly before the creation of the actual thing. At MSN we usually use 3Ds Max, Sketchup, Vray, Lumion as our 3D tools.

Basically we create an image of the relevant building to show how that building will look when its finished before it has been built. At the moment we create 3Ds using 2D plans, simple sketches and also get raw ideas from the designers.

There are many areas that we need to consider in visualization such as color & material studies, lighting effects, special effect on product or building image, Photomontage, Photo-realistic industrial images, walk-throughs, animation & post production work.

End of the day whatever we do the final output product should be a high quality realistic image. We strive in all means to achieve this.

Chathuni Samarasinghe
3D Visualizer

 

Galleria
Havelock Town

LOCATION / Havelock Town
SCOPE /  Interior Design

Interior Designer:       Piyumi Kalyanawansa

Quantity Surveyor:      Chamila Perera

3D:                                Saddamangala

What does a Construction Manager do?

Construction managers work closely with other building specialists, such as architects, engineers, and a variety of trade workers, such as stonemasons, electricians, and carpenters. Projects may require specialists in everything from structural metalworking and painting, to landscaping, building roads, installing carpets, and excavating sites. Depending on the project, construction managers may interact with lawyers  and local government officials. For projects too large to be managed by one person, such as office buildings and industrial complexes, a construction manager would only be in charge of one part of the project. Each construction manager would oversee a specific construction phase and choose subcontractors to complete it.

To maximize efficiency and productivity, construction managers often use specialized cost-estimating and planning software to effectively budget the time and money required to complete specific projects. Many managers also use software to determine the best way to get materials to the building site. Most managers plan a project strategy and must identify and solve unexpected issues and delays. They choose personnel and subcontractors for specific tasks. Often, these decisions must be made quickly to meet deadlines.

Managers must know construction methods and technologies, and be able to interpret contracts and technical drawings. Construction managers must meet deadlines. They ensure that construction phases are completed on time so that the next phase can begin. For instance, constructing a building foundation cannot begin until the land excavation is completed. They must write proposals, plans, and budgets clearly for clients and others involved in the building process.

M.B.H.M. Firaz                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Quantity Surveyor

Exclusive Lines
Beverly Street

LOCATION/Beverly Street

SCOPE/Interior Design

Interior Designers:       Buhumani Kulathunga & Ronithi Singhabahu

Quantity Surveyor:       M. B. H. M. Firaz

3D Visualizer:               Sudath Rajapaksha

Project Managers:       Buhumani Kulathunga & Ronithi Singhabahu

The Super Hero Architect

Architects breed, not only is it rarely defined what architects actually focus on professionally, but it is even rarer to know what architects think about when their minds are at rest and left to wander. What kind of things fascinate architects that might be completely overlooked by anyone in any other profession?

Architects think about facts. There’s a famous saying, “Engineers know a lot about one thing, architects know a little about everything.” They famously excel at striking up a conversation about food, art, birds, colors, bicycle chains – anything! Architects don’t shy away from any topic, even when they know very little about the subject at hand. To an architect, the world is full of unusual and exciting things. Places that others might consider banal containing landmines will be cultural information for architects; in fact, these are exactly the kinds of places from which they get their best ideas or concepts.

Architects constantly think about details. When one steps out of the office, the built environment becomes a perpetual source of entertainment. A simple drive to the grocery might evoke several flash ideas about improving the efficiency of car traffic or alternative materials for paving. Architects are largely known as problem solvers, but sometimes their minds wander to issues that have already long been settled but could still use a little counterintuitive thinking. And most of the Architects like to think about conventions. Many people accept the standards of the world as given, yet architects are constantly fascinated by the arbitrariness of certain human habits.

Architects always think about people and how they represent themselves and their businesses and they are painfully aware of the ability that things in the built environment have to communicate to everyone else in that same territory. Every design says something unique about the idea it represents, and it is very important that architects apply to elements way beyond their craft.

Overall architects play a major role in creating unique, vibrant living conditions for everyone and they design for the present with an awareness of the past for a future which is essentially unknown.

“There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       -Zaha Hadid-

Nimani Amarathunga                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Senior Architect