SLIA marks 50 years of architecture in Sri Lanka

The year 2007 marks a momentous year in the history of architecture, with the celebration of 0 years of contribution to architectural education as well as the profession through the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA).

As part of the wide variety of celebrations to commemorate the anniversary, Sri Lanka will hold the prestigious 28th Architects Regional Council of Asia (ARCASIA) Council Meeting with the participation of 17 member states such as Japan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Korea and Malaysia.

The Forum 14 will follow this from September 18-20, 2007. The theme of the international conference is titled "Asia nation - Architecture Across Cultures," which will focus on the similarities of cultures in the region. A total of 300 foreign architects along with local 500 architects are expected to participate.

There will be a wide variety of speaker's from across the world, with the inclusion of Architects' Antoine Predock of the US, the current Gold medallist of the American Institute of Architects as the main keynote speaker. B V Doshi of India, Shigeru Ban of Japan, Zhu Pei of China, Tariq Hasan of Pakistan, Wee Hii Minof Malaysia, Sunil Gunewardhana and Channa Daswatte of Sri Lanka and David Robson of the UK among others.

The sub themes of the forum include 'Asian Endeavour - Mega works by Asian Architects; Breaking the barriers between old and new worlds,' 'Asian Edge - New directions in Asian design: issues of sustainability, contextuality and historicity at the cutting edge of Asian architecture,' and 'My Asia -Distinctive perspectives of the evolution of Asian society and designin our times, through the voices and lives of Asian masters.'

A first day cover to commemorate this event will also be released along with a widely researched 50th anniversary publication, which will cover the history of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects.'

"The SLIA is one of the foremost professional organisations in Sri Lanka as well as the Asian region.

The institute has been working on the professional practices of architecture in the country as well as education, which have been the primary focuses over the years. I am proud to note that we haveseen a lot of improvements in the industry and have played a great role in contributing to the development of architecture as well as the raising of the standards in the country," Architect, Jayantha Perera, President, SLIA, said.

During the first 25 years of the history of the SLIA, the institute has been concentrating on establishing itself as a professional entity. The architectural profession is more than 50 years old in this country, with the formation of the profession into an organised body occurring in 1957.

One of the main people behind this was Past President and Architect Herbert Gonsal. During that year 16 people got together and had a meeting at the Jubilee hall of the Galle Face Hotel resulting in the Ceylon Institute of Architecture (CIA) being born. In 1976, the next milestone in the field of architecture in Sri Lanka was the incorporation of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) through an act of Parliament. This was called SLIA - Law number one.

This was followed by a major amendment to the act called Act number 14 of 1996 where the architect's registration board was incorporated to the original act.

Thus, those who want to call themselves architects have to be registered and renewed annually at the Architects Registration Board. What is unique about the board in this country, in comparison to those in other countries, is the fact that it is under the umbrella of the SLIA.

Architectural education has undergone rapid changes over the last 50 years, with the moving of the first course of study from the Institute of Practical Technology, Katubedda to the University of Colombo in 1969.

Though there had been a technical level course in Architecture conducted at the Government Technical College, this was the first professional level course established in the country.

Until then, the demand for architects in Sri Lanka had been met through training in foreign countries, with a high concentration in Australia and the UK. They have made substantial and far reaching contributions to establish, sustain and develop architectural education in the country to reach its present status, through individual achievement and collectively via the Ceylon Institute of Architects, which was the predecessor to the SLIA.

The upgrading of the course of study to a university level course at the Faculty of Natural Sciences followed this.

With the restructuring of the University system in 1972, the course reverted to its place of origin at Katubedda, which by that time had been elevated to a Campus of the University of Sri Lanka and was consolidated as a separate department of study under the Faculty of Engineering.

In 1978, the University system was restructured, which resulted in the campus at Katubedda receiving an autonomous status, becoming the University of Moratuwa.

Presently, the University of Moratuwa and the Colombo School of Architecture (CSA) conduct the tertiary levels of courses respectively. With regards to education, the SLIA is the sole body in Sri Lanka that has the power to control the standards of architectural education.

After the silver jubilee, the SLIA concentrated on consolidating itself as one of the most dynamic and successful professional institutions in Sri Lanka, with having its own building as well as the organising of its annual trade exhibition. Currently, the institute has 700 members.

"The industry has come a long way to be able to reach the standards that avail it today, tied into the high standards of education in relation to architecture in the country. Our vision for the next 25years is to concentrate on regionalising the practices of the country, as it is still concentrated in Colombo.

We want to take the practice of architecture to all regions and more so, to make the Sri Lankan architect, a global architect, where he has the skills to practiceany where in the world and be competitive in the global market," Perera said.