The common lobby with its panoramic window. Global finalist entry 2015.

The slip-form, rammed- earth wall construction process is projected as an opportunity to transfer technology to locals/soldiers. The subsequent training tasks are planned at an early design stage called “fabrication and training design”. Here, various components of the system and mould-work are delineated, the fabrication/training tolerances are defined, the production site (training ground), minimum module and sample labour gang (for training) are established, and fabrication steps are laid out. Project update November 2015.

Presentation of the Global Silver Award 2015: Celebration of prize winners Ganga Ratnayake and Milinda Pathiraja (center) of Robust Architecture Workshop, Colombo and team members.

The building runs down the hill playfully, incorporating sudden changes in spatial volumes, and framing distant views through its cubic protrusions. Project update November 2015.

Building sections and elevations: Rhythm in formal organization, meaning in environmental response.

Presentation of the Holcim Foundation Awards Bronze 2014 for "Post-War Collective: Community library and social recuperation, Ambepussa, Sri Lanka" (l-r): winners Ganga Ratnayake and Milinda Pathiraja of Robust Architecture Workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The reading room: A series of formal and informal platforms for reading are organized in and around the library. Global finalist entry 2015.

3D view of the proposed library: The single-story building mass spans nonchalantly across the landscape, touching the earth as lightly as possible. The building informally wraps around an internal courtyard that is also an extension of the external landscape. The placement of the building on site retains all existing trees, while its linear footprint allows optimized natural ventilation and brings in sunlight to all internal rooms; rammed earth walls provide thermal mass.

The army's human resource is assimilated for social building through carefully planned, on-site training initiatives. This reduces immediate labour costs and produces a skilled workforce, whose training expenditure is internalized within the project, thus saving on social cost. Project update November 2015.

Social Capital: The army's human resource is assimilated for social building through carefully planned on-site training initiatives. This reduces immediate labor costs and produces a skilled workforce. Global finalist entry 2015.

The slip-form, rammed earth wall construction process is projected as an opportunity to transfer technology to locals and former soldiers. The subsequent training tasks are planned at an early design stage called “fabrication and training design”. Here, various components of the system and moldwork are delineated, the fabrication/training tolerances are defined, the production site (training ground), minimum module and sample labor gang (for training) are established, and fabrication steps are laid out.

Plan of the ground floor layout: Towards a serene flow of space across landscape.

“You can’t design a delicate building if you plan to build as we did here. You have to design the building and the process with plenty of tolerance. The process must be robust, flexible, and adaptable – and be able to withstand many interventions”. – (l-r): Ganga Ratnayake and Milinda Pathiraja, Sri Lanka