Architect Milinda Pathiraja explains that the greatest benefit of winning the Global LafargeHolcim Award was the international exposure it gave Robust Architecture Workshop as a young architectural practice from Sri Lanka. “We were less than three years into the practice when we won the Awards – the regional and the global one – and the library project was only the third building we had completed”, he explains.
Since then, Robus Architecture Workshop has been invited to speak at many architecture forums, their work has been published widely and recognised by other award schemes, and in 2016 they were invited to present their work at the main section of the Venice Architecture Biennale!
Milinda Pathiraja believes that the LafargeHolcim Foundation’s initiative to hold the Global Award ceremony in Sri Lanka also contributed significantly to building up Robust Architecture Workshop’s reputation locally. “But more than anything else, winning these awards boosted our confidence as a young practice and convinced us about the appropriateness of the professional and intellectual path we have defined for ourselves,” he says.
The project developed by architect Milinda Pathiraja and his team from Robust Architecture Workshop in the rural town of Ambepussa, near Colombo, was aimed at enabling the reinsertion of former soldiers into civilian life. This subtle way of dealing with the post-civil war period in Sri Lanka led the jury of the LafargeHolcim Awards, which had honoured him in 2014 with a Bronze Award for the Asia Pacific region, to reward him once again in 2015 with a Global Award Silver.
He shares his experience in the special edition of international design magazine L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui (AA) dedicated to architecture competitions. Read the full interview and jury member comments by Matthias Schuler, Professor of Environmental Technology, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA and Yolanda Kakabadse, former president of WWF-International.
From weapons to books: Interview with Milinda Pathiraja (English flip book)
Des armes aux livres: Entretien with Milinda Pathiraja (French flip book)
De las armas a los libros: Entrevista con Milinda Pathiraja (Spanish flip book)
Jury comments
“There is significant value in the basic message of the project’s scheme and its translation into a tangible physical structure – the construction of a library and public facility for building the physical and social fabric of a community.” – Matthias Schuler, Professor of Environmental Technology, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA and Member of the Global LafargeHolcim Awards jury in 2015.
“This project contributes to strengthening society: it deals with conflict management, healing the wounds of a past war and acknowledging that a traumatic event can be turned into an opportunity to look towards the future.” – Yolanda Kakabadse, former president of WWF-International, Member of the Global LafargeHolcim Awards jury in 2012 and 2015, and Member of the Board of the LafargeHolcim Foundation from 2004 until 2013.
See more
Milinda Pathiraja is passionate about the enormous potential for architecture to make a difference in rebuilding Sri Lanka in the aftermath of civil war. His work including the Global LafargeHolcim Awards winning Community Library in rural Ambepussa illustrates his focus on a form of architecture that not only produces spaces and constructed artifacts – but that also builds capacities and human capital. At TEDx Colombo, Milinda Pathiraja explained how his work creates a design format that embeds the training of unskilled labor into the construction of their projects, well before the first shovel of earth is moved.
More than 80% of the construction workforce in Sri Lanka is untrained – and there is a strong connection between low levels of worker skill and poor quality structures. Workers don’t have the opportunity to be trained and budgets can’t be stretched to up-skill workers before the project begins. The solution is to design a structure so that training can be part of the construction process, and the design itself has plenty of tolerance (margin for error) that accommodates the skills and equipment of the labor force.
Training by doing: building social capital through on-site learning
Former soldiers of the Sri Lankan army built a Community Library in Ambepussa designed by Robust Architecture Workshop (RAW) and won principals Ganga Ratnayake and Milinda Pathiraja a Global LafargeHolcim Awards prize. The project re-trained a labor force geared for combat with building skills that would equip them in the transition to post-military life. Since no funds were available for training before building started, the construction process itself needed to allow workers to learn basic skills, which then developed complexity over the course of the project. Building systems such as joints, components, and fabrication processes were designed with latitude for variances. For example, the roof cladding is not aligned flush to the ceiling or to the roof trusses – enabling small differences in measurements, building elements or angles to be accommodated.
In addition to the focus on labor skills, the sustainable design for a tropical location also incorporates common sense. A narrow building footprint allows cross-ventilation, existing trees were accommodated so that the building is shaded from the heat of the sun, the thermal mass of rammed earth is used to reduce temperatures inside the building, and the entire structure is elevated to ensure the natural drainage paths on a steep slope are not obstructed.
The project proved that the onsite training methodology works – and that architecture can contribute to the creation of social capital through the processes it uses, not only the structure that is created. The workers went on to construct a series of war widow houses using the skills they had developed during the Community library project.
Awards prize money invested into next project
RAW used the proven strategy of on-site training combined with a robust design for the new Boralukanda Primary School Library in the remote farming village of Dewahuwa in central Sri Lanka. The project was entirely funded by prize money received from the studio’s success in the LafargeHolcim Awards competition. The simple structure includes rammed earth walls and a ferro-cement vaulted roof – with plenty of tolerance built into the design. This ensured construction was within the capacity of the volunteer workforce drawn from the parents of the school children during their non-farming days, and the slow process of construction. The library was completed in late 2018.
The design process for RAW incorporates an assessment of the labor force’s level of training and experience. For the construction of a brick house in Kottawa, masons with many years experience had to be trained in techniques for exposed brickwork since they had only built walls that were finished with render. The design progressed to more complex techniques on the façade as the building progressed and skills were enhanced. Temporary accommodation for tourists on a tea planation was designed with prefabricated components so that the structure could be carried to the site by hand and completed dismantled after use. Since no suitable prefabricated components are produced in Sri Lanka, RAW created a design that enabled the components to be made in a small backyard factory close to the remote site at the tea plantation.
Architecture beyond technology
By engaging in the social process, architecture can take on an influential role in social policy. Milinda Pathiraja shows how the function of sustainability is not only something to measure in terms of environmental performance but also in terms of economic costs and returns. “It is vital that architecture looks beyond the technological, so that the social dimension is also an integral part of the design,” he says.
The LafargeHolcim Awards winning project of RAW as praised by the LafargeHolcim Awards jury for “Capacity building that focuses as much on the process as on the physical artifact”. Milinda Pathiraja presented “Can architecture build people’s lives” at the TEDx Colombo event “I, You, We” in October 2018.
Watch the presentation: “Can architecture build people’s lives”
See moreThis is the fifth time the LafargeHolcim Awards competition is being conducted. Over the years, more than 200 projects have been awarded worldwide. More than half the winning projects have been built or are scheduled for completion soon. Thus, the LafargeHolcim Awards are not about “castles in the air” but about tangible measures that advance the science of construction. This aspect of tangible change is underscored by a prize that is awarded for the first time in 2017: the LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition. It is awarded for a winning project from a previous competition cycle, one that has been realized and has stood the test of time as a particularly successful example of sustainable building.
In Asia Pacific, this accolade went to Robust Architecture Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, represented by Milinda Pathiraja. Their design for a community library in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka, built with the support of former army personnel engaged in the nation’s civil war, shows that “turning swords into ploughshares” can be realized even today. The project received the regional LafargeHolcim Awards Bronze for Asia Pacific in 2014 and the Global LafargeHolcim Awards Silver in 2015. Today the library is a source of knowledge for veterans and the local community. The construction methods were selected specifically to help transition members of the army to civil life.
See moreThe LafargeHolcim Awards Global Silver winner of 2015 focuses as much on the process of building as on the building as a physical artefact. The project exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia shows how architect Milinda Pathiraja of Robust Architecture Workshop (RAW) is contributing to the reconstruction of post-civil war Sri Lanka on the level of invigorating both the social and building fabric.
He proposed that the skills and discipline of the troops could be deployed into the building industry: replacing guns with tools. This meant training the military in a different set of skills, and since they were not trained craftsmen, the design needed to be robust and have room for tolerance. The design is repetitive to enable the ease of construction and aid training through repetition and building upon basic techniques. They created a program for building schools and used the project and construction of a community library in rural Ambepussa itself as part of the education process. Given the need for many new schools, this new knowledge has the potential to achieve scale and be replicated many times over in the future.
Beyond the impressive social dimension of the project, Milinda Pathiraja was able to go even further by constructing a building of rather remarkable architectural quality: an intelligent insertion into its context. A careful understanding of the sloping topography, an articulation of the volumes so as to integrate the surrounding landscape and the lush trees of the rainforest, the use of strong materials to provide thermal mass and lighter ones to allow for cross-ventilation, and an elegant architectural language are all operations that should not be taken for granted when working under charged circumstances.
The catalog of the Biennale notes: “So many times we have seen examples that try to tackle complex political and social challenges that fail to deliver quality architecture. Milinda Pathiraja is an exemplary case that demonstrates that the best way to do good is to start by making a good building.”
Post-War Collective wins Terra Award 2016
The community library and social recuperation project was announced Terra Award 2016 laureate in the Public Cultural Facilities category. The Terra Awards were initiated under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair “Earthen architecture, construction cultures and sustainable development” as the first international prize for contemporary earthen architecture.
The Terra Awards notes: “Earth is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary architecture: hundreds of projects of high aesthetic and technical quality are emerging across five continents. This material, which has low embodied energy, is readily available and appropriate for participatory buildings. It could help provide a solution to the needs for ecological and economical housing.” 2012 Pritzker prize laureate and former LafargeHolcim Awards winner, Wang Shu, was head of the awards jury. The prizes were presented in Lyon, France on 14 July the Terra 2016 World Congress, hosted by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
Effective training and architectural proficiency
Overlapping between vocational training and environmental planning strategies, the project attempts to heal social wounds, build workforce capacity, disseminate knowledge, appreciate sustainable building and strengthen social relations. The focus on knowledge creation and retraining – and the subsequent transformation of the army into a society-building institution – intends to support the much-needed demilitarization of the country in the aftermath of its 30-year civil war.
The single-storey building mass spans across the landscape, resting on soil through rammed-earth walls and floating above rocks via galvanised iron stilts. The building informally wraps around an internal courtyard, which is also an extension of the external landscape. Its placement on site accommodates all existing trees, follows the scale of adjacent buildings and acknowledges the natural life of the physical setting.
A series of formal and informal platforms for reading are organised in and around the building; its spatial progression unfolds as an experiential journey across diverse volumes, framed views, and blurred definitions between inside and outside. The library complex consists of three building blocks: the lending and reference section (main library), the children’s library, and the research centre. The main library and the research centre are placed almost parallel to the site’s contour formation, while the children’s section runs up the hill playfully, incorporating sudden changes in spatial volumes, and framing distant views through its cubic protrusions; skylights and the protrusions bring in plenty of light and air, while also generating a formal curiosity to entice the building’s young users.
The work of Robust Architecture Workshop is on display at the Central Pavilion until November 27, 2016, as part of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. The 5th LafargeHolcim Awards competition is open for entries until March 21, 2017 at:
See moreGlobal LafargeHolcim Awards Silver 2015 winner Milinda Pathiraja from RAW (Robust Architecture Workshop), Sri Lanka is featured in “Reporting from the Front” at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition. His winning project Post-War Collective: Community library and social recuperation redeployed the skills and discipline of former troops in Sri Lanka into the building industry – and illustrates his belief in the power of architecture to integrate and contribute to the resolution of social, political and economic challenges.
The work of Milinda Pathiraja is an intelligent insertion into its context. A careful understanding of the topography, an articulation of the volumes so as to integrate the surrounding landscape, the use of strong materials to provide thermal mass and lighter ones to allow for cross-ventilation, and an elegant architectural language are all operations that should not be taken for granted when working under charged circumstances. So many times we have seen examples that try to tackle complex political and social challenges that fail to deliver quality architecture. Milinda Pathiraja is an exemplary case that demonstrates that the best way to good is to start by making a good building.
The library, completed in 2015, was the first LafargeHolcim Awards recipient to host its prize handover ceremony in the winning building, and was built by a regional army squadron with the assistance from local community. The approach focuses as much on the building process as on the building as physical artefact, to celebrate a specific understanding of sustainable architecture derived from the very structure of its making. Milinda Pathiraja is co-founder of RAW; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka); and Honorary Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning, University of Melbourne (Australia). His PhD research examined the possible role of architects in developing world regions as facilitators of construction policy. The study originates from the belief that, when developed with an understanding of regional characteristics, idiosyncrasies and limitations, the strategic design of technological configurations can not only produce sound building artefacts but also increase technical capacity in the workforce.
“Reporting from the Front” is curated by LafargeHolcim Foundation Board member Alejandro Aravena, and includes 88 participants from 37 different countries. 50 of them are participating in the Biennale for the first time, and 33 architects are under the age of 40. The exhibition presents examples where different dimensions are synthesized, integrating the pragmatic with the existential, pertinence and boldness, creativity and common sense.
See moreConstruction is now completed for Sri Lankan studio Robust Architecture Workshop’s project, Post-War Collective. The community library is located in the rural town of Ambepussa, outside of the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.
Milinda Pathiraja, Ganga Ratnayake and their team have created a community library building that aims to reintegrate ex-soldiers into postwar Sri Lankan community. Made from rammed-earth walls and recycled materials, the building was constructed with the support of the army, teaching young soldiers building techniques and skills through its construction process.
Architect Milinda Pathiraja explained that the project also contributed to improve the quality of construction in Sri Lanka: skilled workers are essential for architects and acquiring skills is also necessary for those workers aiming at having a career in the construction industry. “Architects have a responsibility not only for the profession and the client, but also to society – it’s our goal to bring these dimensions together in our work,” he said.
The building hosted the Global Awards Silver handover ceremony in September 2015. This was the first time in the history of the competition that the prize was presented on the site of the winning project. In addition to providing outstanding social infrastructure, the project investigated the contribution architects can make to labor policy, and to developing economies through construction projects. The approach facilitates positive economic growth in the context of sustainable development.
See moreA construction training and community engagement project in rural Sri Lanka won the Silver prize in the most significant international competition for sustainable design and construction. Architects Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake from Robust Architecture Workshop in Colombo were presented with the Award on the site of the winning project in Ambepussa. At the ceremony on the military base of the Sri Lankan Army, the Colonel of the Sinha Regiment, Major General Boniface Perera, and Global Awards jury members Maria Atkinson (Australia) and Meisa Batayneh (Jordan) praised the project for building human capacity as well as a physical structure.
The recently completed library makes an impressive architectural statement. The facility is open to both army personnel and the neighboring communities and thereby supports a broad cross-section of the community in the process of establishing strong foundations for their future development. The building complex 60km northwest of Colombo was constructed by soldiers who were coached in building techniques using rammed-earth walls and recycled materials that harnessed their expertise in logistics and modular construction.
Member of the Global jury and the Board of the LafargeHolcim Foundation, Maria Atkinson (left), commended the project for creating a skilled and motivated workforce through an educational program and the thoughtful deployment of specific construction techniques. “There is significant value in the basic message of the scheme – and the construction of a library that builds both the physical and social fabric of a community”, she said. Atkinson praised the initiative of the Sinha Regiment for taking an unconventional approach by offering its soldiers practical education in construction and at the same time a place to study and develop additional skills. The Awards ceremony was the first in the twelve-year history of the competition to be held on the site of the winning project and took place in the main reading hall of the library.
Recognition for the soldiers
Lieutenant General Chirshante De Silva, Commander of the Army, and Major General Boniface Perera, Colonel of the Sinha Regiment, explained that the library project was an effective method for re-tooling former soldiers for meaningful employment that improved lives both on an individual and community level. “The project brings skill development for soldiers so they have socio-economic expertise after they leave the army”, he said. The Generals presented certificates of accomplishment to the entire workforce engaged in building the library complex.
Architect Milinda Pathiraja explained that the project also contributed to improve the quality of construction in Sri Lanka: skilled workers are essential for architects and acquiring skills is also necessary for those workers aiming at having a career in the construction industry. “Architects have a responsibility not only for the profession and the client, but also to society – it’s our goal to bring these dimensions together in our work,” he said.
Commitment to create sustainability in the construction industry
Ian Thackwray, Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim responsible for Asia Pacific, noted that the Awards were an integral part of the company’s commitment to sustainable development. “We want to use our position as the world leader in the building materials industry to support sustainable construction, build awareness, and to advocate solutions that incorporate architectural excellence and enhanced quality of life”, he said.
Philippe Richart,CEO of Holcim Lanka, a member of LafargeHolcim, commented on the innovative approach to vocational training and building design that is strengthened by Sri Lanka’s architectural tradition. “Robust Architecture Workshop has truly lived up to their name – creating a solution-driven approach to sustainable development that celebrates both community and structures aligned with local climate and materials. The project was selected out of more than 6000 submissions from all continents, and we are proud that Sri Lanka is recipient of one of the top three global prizes”, he said.
LafargeHolcim Foundation and Awards
Holcim and Lafarge joined forces in July 2015 to become the new global leader in the building materials industry. The activities of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction – known since 2003 for its international Awards competitions, academic Forums, online information hub and an array of publications – continue under the name LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction.
Created by the LafargeHolcim Foundation, the Awards is an international competition that recognizes innovative projects and future-oriented concepts on regional and global levels. A total of USD 2 million in prize money is awarded in each three-year cycle. The 5th cycle of regional and global Awards competition will open for submissions in the second half of 2016.
See moreBuilding this library on a military base was not only about the physical result, but also about the process: The soldiers who worked on it acquired new skills that will ease their transition back into civilian life.
The architects’ mandate was formulated in very general terms: Build a library to serve the soldiers and the community. The program included a children’s library and a small study area. Based on this, the architects conceived a building that is sustainable in every way. They paid special attention to economic aspects: The construction materials should cost as little as possible. They proposed making the walls out of rammed earth – using waste material excavated from a playground built nearby. These walls require only a small supplement of cement, they are easy to build, and they provide thermal mass. The floors are constructed from salvaged railroad ties.
Architect Milinda Pathiraja notes the questions framed by the project: “How can knowledge be transferred on the building site? How can real building projects be conceptually organized – architecturally – to act as training grounds for the development of construction labor skills?”
Read feature interview in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)
Silver was awarded to a project in the rural town of Ambepussa near Colombo, Sri Lanka that aims to reintegrate soldiers into post-war Sri Lankan society. The community library by Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake of Robust Architecture Workshop in Colombo is made of rammed-earth walls and recycled materials. With the support of the army, young men were coached in building techniques through the construction process.
Mohsen Mostafavi explained that the value of the project centers on transforming a discharged army without mission into a motivated workforce at the service of society using a set of concrete measures including the introduction of an educational program and the deployment of particular construction techniques. “There is significant value in the basic message of the scheme – and the construction of a library that builds both the physical and social fabric of a community”, he said.
Read more »The project submission tells a powerful story, not just of a building, but of a society in the process of establishing strong foundations for its future development. The juxtaposition of weapons and tools on the introductory panel sets both the tone and objective of the endeavor, with a persuasive and well-chosen pair of images, making the conceptual framework of the project more than clear: how to transform a discharged army without mission into a motivated workforce at the service of society?
The project offers proof that the vision can indeed be translated into reality. Rather than remaining in the realm of the abstract, the submitted entry outlines a set of concrete measures, ranging from the introduction of an educational program to the deployment of particular construction techniques – all beautifully and clearly outlined. The authors recognize the potential of using an army’s knowhow in logistics for peaceful purposes, while strengthening social bonds. The jury sees significant value in the basic message of the scheme and greatly appreciates its translation into a tangible physical structure – the construction of a library and public facility for building the physical and social fabric of a community.
As one of the three main Holcim Awards winners for Asia Pacific in 2014, “Post-War Collective” automatically qualified as a finalist in the Global Holcim Awards 2015. All 15 finalist project teams were asked to submit an updated and more comprehensive entry that was evaluated by a global jury in March 2015.
View project entry posters - Global Holcim Awards
The results of the global phase of the 4th Holcim Awards competition were announced on April 20, 2015.
Read full media release - Sustainable design improving communities
The winners of the global phase of the 4th International Holcim Awards competition will be revealed on April 20, 2015. The results will be announced via the Holcim Awards website.
The USD 2 million Holcim Awards is the most significant international competition for sustainable design. The jury composed of renowned specialists from around the world and headed by Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University (USA) will evaluate 15 projects out of more than 6,000 submissions. The finalists are the winners of the Holcim Awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards 2014 in each of the five competition regions of the world.
The finalist projects competing for one of the three Global Holcim Awards prizes are located in Austria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA and were entered by authors from these countries as well as from Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. They reflect a broad variety of the current interpretation of sustainable construction combined with architectural excellence and enhanced quality of life beyond technical intervention.
The submissions will be evaluated by the Global Holcim Awards 2015 jury including Marc Angélil, Senior Dean of Architecture and Urban Design at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich, Switzerland), Alejandro Aravena, Principal of Elemental (Chile), Maria Atkinson, Founding Director of the Australian Green Building Council (Australia), Meisa Batayneh Maani, Principal of maisam architects and engineers (Jordan), Yolanda Kakabadse, President of WWF International (Ecuador), Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University (USA), Matthias Schuler, Principal of Transsolar(Germany), and Rolf Soiron, Chairman of the Board of the Holcim Foundation (Switzerland).
The winners of the global prizes will share prize money of USD 350,000. Previous winners of the tri-annual Global Holcim Awards include Bureau EAST (Los Angeles, USA), Centola + Associati (Salerno, Italy), Coelacanth and Associates (Tokyo, Japan), Ingenhoven und Partner Architekten (Dusseldorf, Germany), Kéré Architecture (Berlin, Germany), L’OEUF (Montreal, Canada), Public Architecture (San Francisco, USA), Proyectos Arqui5 (Caracas, Venezuela), realities:united (Berlin, Germany), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), and Urban-Think Tank (São Paulo, Brazil).
Members of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2015
Finalist projects for the Global Holcim Awards 2015
Videos of all Global Holcim Awards 2015 finalists
About the Holcim Foundation and Holcim
The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation promotes and illustrates the strength of diverse strategies of achieving greater sustainability of the built environment. As part of its approach, the Foundation publishes booklets on outstanding examples of applied sustainable construction. The initiatives of the Holcim Foundation include the USD 2 million Holcim Awards – the most significant international competition for sustainable design.
Since it was established in 2003, the Foundation has been supported by Holcim in more than 70 countries worldwide and is independent of commercial interests. Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, gravel and sand) as well as further activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt, including services.
See moreThe Post-War Collective project by Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake of Robust Architecture Workshop is centered upon a community library and social recuperation building in Ambepussa, a rural town near Colombo, Sri Lanka. The project is currently under construction, and was praised by the independent jury for going beyond the physical building to explore processes, engagements, and interactions.
Post-War Collective aims to re-integrate former soldiers into post-civil war Sri Lankan society. Young men from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds are being trained in building techniques through their involvement in the construction of public structures, such as the community library, which is due for completion in early 2015. The Holcim Awards jury commended the way the project focuses “as much on the building process as on the building as a physical artefact. The combination of two objectives, pertaining to the term ‘building’ both as verb and noun, celebrates a specific understanding of architecture – one derived from the very structure of its making.”
The slip-form, rammed earth wall construction process is an opportunity to transfer technology to locals and former soldiers. The subsequent training tasks were planned at an early design stage, various components of the system and formwork were delineated, the fabrication/training tolerances defined, the production site (training ground), minimum module and sample labor gang (for training) were established, and fabrication steps laid out.
Project author Milinda Pathiraja received the 2011 RIBA President’s Award for Outstanding PhD Theses. His dissertation, The Idea of “Robust Technology” in the Definition of a “Third-World” Practice: Architecture, Design and Labour Training, was completed at the University of Melbourne School of Design. Dr Pathiraja investigated the contribution architects can make to labor policy, and to developing economies through construction projects; and the findings of the research were integrated into Post-War Collective as a way to change current practices to facilitate positive economic growth in the context of sustainable development.
See moreHow real building projects can transfer knowledge and build skills is the key to Milinda Pathiraja’s Holcim Awards Bronze winning project. “Post-War Collective: Community library and social recuperation” in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka aims to reintegrate former soldiers into post-civil war society. Young men from underprivileged backgrounds are trained in building techniques through their involvement in the construction of public buildings – such as this Community Library.
A project in the rural town of Ambepussa by Milinda Pathiraja of Robust Architecture Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka was awarded Bronze. The project aims to re-integrate former soldiers into post-civil-war society by providing training in building techniques through the construction of a community library. The slender building sits lightly in the landscape and wraps around an inner courtyard, taking full advantage of cross ventilation and daylight use, rammed-earth walls and recycled materials reduce the building’s ecological footprint.
Read more »The jury commends the intention of the project to focus as much on the building process as on the building as physical artifact. The combination of two objectives, pertaining to the term “building” both as verb and noun, celebrates a specific understanding of architecture, one derived from the very structure of its making. Greatly appreciated is the project’s vocational training aspect, which will contribute – beyond the immediate task at hand – to “capacity building” in a broader sense: the project would potentially heal collective wounds, build labor workforces, disseminate knowledge, foster sustainable development and strengthen social relations.
Download project summary and jury appraisal - Sinhala (PDF, 289.01 KB) »The project in the rural town of Ambepussa near Colombo, aims to reintegrate former soldiers into post-civil war Sri Lankan society. Coming from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds, young men are trained in building techniques through their involvement in the construction of public buildings – as for example in the realization of the Community Library in Ambepussa. Respecting existing trees, the slender building sits lightly in the landscape and wraps around an inner courtyard, taking full advantage of cross ventilation and daylight use. Rammed-earth walls and recycled materials reduce the building’s ecological footprint.
Progress: To overcome general de-skilling of the construction workforce, and to promote the army’s participation in post-war reconstruction, this project explores the possibility of using real building projects as training grounds for skill development. Planned early, training tasks are built into the design, an approach that can be extended across the building industry as a policy to build workforce capacity. Innovative use of rammed-earth demonstrates the first attempt in Sri Lanka to use that material for a building of this type and scale.
People: For psychologically, socially and economically destitute soldiers, the building process facilitates a career development path and an opportunity for social integration. The finished building is a repository of knowledge for soldiers and the local community – mainly school children and women who have been long deprived of accessing such knowledge. For all, the project delivers the possibility of social cohesion and personal advancement.
Planet: Rammed-earth is sourced from an adjacent site undergoing excavation for a playground. Re-used steel sections gathered from dilapidated old factories and discarded timber railway sleepers collected from a neighboring train station provide other key materials for structure and floor respectively. Such uses of renewable, recycled, zero-carbon emitting materials and processes are complimented by sustainable environmental planning that includes cross and stack ventilation, and access to natural light – thus reducing the building’s life-cycle cost.
Prosperity: The army’s human resource is assimilated for a social building project through carefully planned on-site training initiatives. This reduces immediate labor costs and produces a skilled workforce, whose training expenditure is internalized within the project, thus saving on social cost. Recycling and reliance on free, low-tech, natural resources saves money and long-term environmental costs. Programmatically, access to knowledge is reinforced as a counter to ethnic disharmony and racial conflicts, and the vehicle for proper economic development.
Place: The building’s placement on site accommodates all existing trees, follows the scale of adjacent buildings and enhances the natural charm of the landscape. A series of formal and informal platforms for reading are organized in and around the library; its spatial progression unfolds as an experiential journey across diverse volumes, framed views, and blurred definitions between inside and outside.
Download project entry poster (PDF, 1.74 MB) »See moreArchitecture & Design » Community & People » Materials & Technology » Energy & Climate » Use & Life Cycle » Economy & Affordability »
The LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition is awarded to a winning project from a previous competition cycle, that …
Beautiful impressions of the finalized Global Silver Award 2015 winning project "Post-War Collective: Community library …
A construction training and community engagement project in rural Sri Lanka won the Silver prize in the most significant …
Global Holcim Awards jury member Yolanda Kakabadse commended the Silver-winner, Post War Collective (Sri Lanka), for …
Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2015 Mohsen Mostafavi was impressed with how relatively simple construction …
The project in the rural town of Ambepussa near Colombo, aims to reintegrate former soldiers into post-civil war Sri …
Winning prizes in the LafargeHolcim Awards competition confirmed the importance Robust Architecture Workshop's focus on …
How real building projects can transfer knowledge and build skills is the key to Milinda Pathiraja’s Holcim Awards …
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