SLIA - Daily News Joint Forum Compiled by Edward Arambewala

A White House

Archt. Harsha Fernando

This house is the architect's solution to create a pleasant environment in the chaotic neighbourhood by the appropriate use of the modernist simplicity.

Modern architecture and urban planning derived inspiration from the machine to house an industrial society. Many reactions to modernism since the 60s have sought inspiration from pre industrial townscape. The success of the urban architecture can be argued in both ways, either it is Venturi's complexity or Jane Jacobs social and 'mixuse' or Camillio Sitte's medieval townscapes or the new-urbanist cultures against the modernist's designs.

But the issue we face in our towns is the neighbourhood and the social level which governs the values and attitudes of our neighbours. It is evident that Colombo has a very limited pleasant neighbourhoods compared to the developed world.

The modern lines of the exterior gives this building an order in the chaotic context which yet sits, without an overriding character but one could count this as a design landmark. The sides to the roads is a plain wall facade, impermeable and exclusive, and the entrance to the by road is the only feature which protrudes from the plain wall facade.

Its pure symmetrical forms can be read simply as the result of functional responses but appears to have deeper significance.

This inverted house consists of many garden courtyards between the facade walls and creates an open house internally conforming to the recurring theme of duality of openness and closeness, including the wanted and excluding the unwanted, in an ideal urban concept in the tropics. Ideally this is a place of retreat or refuge from the increasingly chaotic and polluted Colombo's urban environment.

Duality in the planning arrangement gives openness and direct access to garden courtyards internally with a closed and exclusive appearance presented on its public face. Functionally, the house form and the garden courtyards keep away the noise, pollution, dust and the heat generated from the busy urban roads.

The house form and details is a significant example of a globalisation approach to tropical architecture beyond tiled pitched roofs and sun shades.

##################

'Think twice before purchasing a house'

by Athula Wimalaratne B.Sc. Eng. (Hons), Dip. C.Sc. (Hons), EDBA, C.Eng., MIE (SL)

It is our duty to educate the public on certain important areas that must be considered in purchasing a house in a housing scheme despite most of the investors and developers tend to get into this demanding sector, in competitive ways.

It is very clear that developers have to encourage and attract the customers or buyers by different means and provide additional features in their housing schemes such as playgrounds, children's parks, leisure activities, environmental-friendly items as well as additional facilities such as common water storage facilities to houses, additional generators/transformers for electricity, parking facilities, good roads, drainage, liquid and solid waste disposal systems etc which are commonly known as common elements and common amenities.

They are very well provided and maintained by most of the developers during the unit selling stages. Normally due to lack of awareness of long-term probable complications in using and enjoying common elements and common amenities provided at the stage of property transactions, most of the purchasers use to go by the ownership of their individual housing units only.

Later most of them understand their mistakes after identifying the difficulties in using and enjoying those commonly provided elements or amenities. It may be too late at that stage to rectify the situations promptly as the housing unit dwellers may not be accurately covered by the relevant legal aspects at the time of deed transaction.

Most people mistakenly interpret common elements and common amenities as relevant only to multi-storied housing schemes. Actually it is relevant to housing schemes with even separate single storeyed houses in most of the cases.

At the time of unit ownership transaction, it is the buyers' privilege to negotiate with the original owner or the developer as the case may be on their rights of using and enjoying common elements and common amenities in long run. In most of the cases the purchasers are entitled to have shared ownerships or percentage ownerships of those common elements and common amenities already provided.

It is also necessary to have a legal validity to shared ownerships and they are to be properly addressed in their deed transaction documents. In order to fulfil this requirement there has to be a 'Registered Condominium Plan' for the entire development as shared ownerships of common elements and common amenities are properly listed in Condominium Plan for easy reference and it becomes a valid legal document on registration.

There are certain acceptable standards in providing common amenities and common elements for the well-being of occupants / unit owners in long run. Mainly those standards are regulated by the newly formed Condominium Management Authority as per Common Amenities Board (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 2003.

Reference the Apartment Ownership (Amendment) Act No. 39 of 2003 it is mandatory to get a certificate from General Manager of Condominium Management Authority to register the Condominium Plan.

This certificate ensures that the common amenities provided for the benefit and welfare of the occupants of the Condominium parcels of the building are satisfactory and arrangements made as regards the control, administrative, maintenance or management of the common elements of condominium property are satisfactory.

With this certificate and registered condominium plan all buyers are more secured within a legal framework in their long-term usage of all common elements and common amenities. Since most of the investors and developers sell the housing units in housing schemes even before the construction work is commenced it is advisable to have the registered condominium plan for them initially and we name it as "Provincial Condominium Plan Registration".

If the original owner registers the condominium property in more than one completion stages with a view to complete the balance units in later stages then it is named as 'Semi Condominium Plan Registration'. It is mandatory to have 'CMA Certificate' for all above registration classification as the case may be. Time frame for the registration of a condominium plan, provisional condominium plan or semi condominium plan shall be

(a) Within eighteen months from the date of such first sale or in agreement to sell or three months from the date of the completion of such building whichever is earlier.

(b) Within six months from the date of completion of such building, if the sale or agreement to sell of any parcel of the building, of which the first of such sale or agreement to sell took place, after the date of completion of such building.

We, Condominium Management Authority wish to advise all relevant house buyers, investors, developers, management corporations, unit owners, occupiers and other interested parties to educate themselves with these requirements and details as the Authority is empowered to regulate the condominium industry as per Apartment Ownership (Amendment) Act No. 39 of 2003 and Common Amenities Board (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 2003.

"We regulating continual enhancement of habitable condominium properties" So interested parties are hereby advised to all our 'Customer Care Unit' on 2447429. The writer is the General Manager of the Condominium Management Authority, Ministry of Housing Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development.

##################

Architecture on parade - Nuwara Eliya

When disaster struck on Boxing Day and also during the floods previously, the loss of property was only second to the loss of life. It is interesting to note that most of the structures that were erased from existence were those haphazard constructions that were built without thought or care to hazards of the environment.

Built without care they perished without trace. Thus it seems timely that awareness was created on the value of professional guidance in construction. The Sri Lanka Institute of Architects has embarked on an awareness programme with this objective in view.

The first steps in this endeavour will be taken at Nuwara Eliya today April 20, 2005 when the Architects' Work Exhibition will be declared open at 5 p.m. at the Banquet Hall of the Grand Hotel Kandy.

This exhibition will be open to the public from April 21 to 24 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.

Facilities have also been made available for career guidance on the avenues for pursuing a career in architecture in Sri Lanka. Those interested can make inquiries on the courses available at the University of Moratuwa and at the Colombo School of Architecture.

The work on display will highlight creativity of Architects and their buildings. Entrance free

##################

Letter Box : Old World Charm

I read the interesting article titled 'Wasala Walawwe' by Archt. de Abrew Rajapaksha. A charming picture of the ancestral home shows it standing in grandeur amongst over-hanging foliage.

It brought back to mind the Divulapitiya Walauwe we occupied during the 2nd World War. That was a sprawling mansion set within a coconut plantation. The path down to it had ornamental wrought-iron gates and graceful palm trees on either side.

Its distinctive features were the long outer verandah with motif carved furniture including the 'haansi putuwa', a brass betel tray and spittoon beside it. The rooms were spacious with high roofs and broad ledged windows.

Photographs in the hall proudly displayed a family collection of Muhandirams in their imposing garb. Sinhalese ladies in lace jackets, graceful skirts and buckled court shoes reflected the elegant lifestyle of that period. The cavernous kitchen contained all sorts of earthenware, reed baskets, stone grinder and pounder.

The dark store-room with its flight of steps conceaed sacks of rice, other cereals and dry rations. What I fancied most was the country environment with sturdy jak and fruit trees and the sapodilla branches which hid queer ant-nests we learnt not to disturb.

On the footpaths of the vast paddy field, my brother (now in Canada) and I would walk until we confronted a lonely scarecrow with his stick body and black, painted eyes. We also sat on the bund of the square bathing pond with its cool, greenish water and we both strolled down to the quiet rivulet taking our family of ducks.

We ought to protect the idyllic antiquity of country homes. After all, life is distinguished by its harmony with nature features now almost lost to modern architecture.

Caryl Nugara,
Kandana.