My Architect - 1

From this week Daily News Business will carry a series of articles titled 'My Architect' which would educate the readers on the importance of an architect in the process of converting the natural environment in to the built environment, commonly known as 'The Development.'

A council member of Sri Lanka Institute of Architects and principal architect of Design Arcade Ajith Ranasinghe has volunteered to offer his services towards this series of articles on a fortnightly basis and answer any questions raised by the readers.

Architect Ranasinghe, obtained his Masters Degree in Architecture with a highly commended pass for the dissertation and Honours Degree in BSC Built Environment from University of Moratuwa. He also has over ten years experience as a chartered architect and has offered his services towards the development of our motherland.

In the face of a global economic crisis, the construction industry is first to be affected. Slowing down of construction activities ranging from a basic dwelling place to mass scale development projects are evident, mainly in developing countries like ours.

Drawbacks of activities in fields such as construction are certain in such economic climates and proper collective actions should be implemented beforehand as a precaution. Since temporary recessions are common in the global economic cycle, activities such as construction should be streamlined and strengthened in the most conducive and appropriate manner to move in line with the turbulent economic conditions.

In other words strengthening or finding alternative solutions to the building industry to cope up with the possible future economic boom is vital since without proper infrastructure in place, no country can utilize or manage the booming economic trends. Lack of proper funding is the most significant reason to slow down the construction activities which in turn slow down the development of that country.

The construction cost of a project increases mainly due to improper designing and bad management. This is why the involvement of proper professionals is vital since a professional of a particular field is the one who knows best about that field and as such the profession of architecture is no exception. An architect is the only qualified professional who has obtained years of academic and practical knowledge to reshape, modify or create the built environment in which we as human beings live in. Architectural creations must always be environmental friendly and human sensitive whilst being practical in construction and most importantly cost conscious. An architect is also specifically trained to analyze a client as a human being and his or her socio-economic requirements in the process of achieving a better and habitable living environment while fulfilling today's demanding life-cycle needs.

May it be a creation of a small dwelling space, a sizeable civic building or a breath taking leisure or shopping complex, an architect is the best professional to foresee the feasibility, viability and the operational benefits and drawbacks of a specific development.

The prime intention of this series of articles which would appear fortnightly in the Daily News Business, is to create public awareness of the role of an architect in a turbulent economic and socio cultural environment and to look forward in achieving better results than a haphazard development undertaken by non qualified personnel who would destroy the entire path of development. The aim is to re-capture the lost valuable years due to the so-called ethnic crisis prevailing in the country and in particularly to the current economic recession.

As such preparing for the worse and looking forward to partake in the future economic boom is what we should do at present and appreciating and understanding the true value of the Sri Lankan Architect and allied professionals would be of paramount importance. From the next article the importance of commissioning an architect even before the site is selected would be elaborated in detail, since the profession of architecture seems to be identified as an elitist selection rather than a subject meant for the common masses.