Architect 2010 to be held in February

SLIA hosts Commonwealth Association of Architects Session 2010:

The most sought after event of the construction industry, the annual Architect exhibition will be held for the 28th consecutive time this year commencing on February 17 and continuing until February 21.

This exhibition is held as part of the Annual Sessions of the professional body of architects, the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA). The Annual Sessions of SLIA comprises of several key components - the Inauguration, the National Conference, the Members' Work and Trade exhibition, the Annual General Meeting as well as the Fellowship Night.

The exhibition, since its inception in 1982, has grown to become the most prominent exhibition of the construction industry in Sri Lanka. SLIA said that their main objective through organizing an exhibition of this nature is to maintain a certain momentum in the construction industry, creating vigour and enthusiasm for local stakeholders to be more involved in the field.

"SLIA serves as a catalyst and creates a platform for the stakeholders of the construction industry to interact.

"The architects receive the opportunity to showcase their creative skills; the industry personnel receive an opportunity to promote their new products and technologies to the public as well as the construction professionals. As for the general public it serves as a one-stop-shop," said SLIA President, Chandana Edirisuriya.

Commencing the venture with a member span of 200 architects, the SLIA and the exhibition is now backed by nearly 1000 members.

As Archt. Edirisuriya said, even during the inception, the exhibition had kicked off with a bang and has been expanding annually. During this year's exhibition, SLIA President said that they are focusing on integrating the Architects' Work exhibition furthermore with the Trade Exhibition. He said that emphasis will be laid on the students' exhibition. This year the Trade Exhibition will be featuring more than 300 stalls from 200 companies.

Another remarkable event linked to the international architectural arena, the 19th General Assembly of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) will be also hosted by Sri Lanka Institute of Architects and will be held concurrently with the sessions of the SLIA. Although Sri Lanka is one of the founder member countries of CAA, this is the first time that Sri Lanka is hosting the general assembly of CAA. Nearly 39 countries will be participating in the General Assembly and SLIA said that this is a major achievement for SLIA as well as the country. A student design competition will also be held as part of CAA proceedings.

The event will be attended by eminent figures of the global architectural fraternity such as the International Union of Architects President Archt. Louis Cox from Australia, CAA President - Archt. Gorden Holden from New Zealand and CAA President Elect - Archt. Mubassar Husseine from Bangladesh. Also, Archt. Gorden Chong from USA, Archt. Kenneth Yang from Malaysia as well as the Union of International Architects (UIA) Immediate Past President - Archt. Gei Tan Sue from Mauritius will be the keynote speakers.

The inauguration ceremony of the SLIA annual sessions will be held on February 17, at Water's Edge, while the National Conference will be held on February 18 and 19 at Cinnamon Grand. The Architect 2010 exhibition will commence on February 17 and will continue until February 21. However it will be open to the public only from February 18 onwards at the BMICH. The Annual General Meeting as well as the Fellowship Night would follow on February 20 at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel.

This year's theme of the National Conference is 'Architecture: Rethinking Sustainability'. This is a joint conference between SLIA and CAA. The Conference will continue for two days. "It has been found through research that more than 60 percent of the world's resources are consumed by buildings.

Therefore, architects have a leading role to play towards conserving the environment, preserving the natural resources and creating sustainable futures," said Edirisuriya. He said that at present when the entire planet has been challenged with environmental issues such as global warming and climate change, the National Conference will focus on this theme to share the experiences, researches as well as skillful and creative approaches through which the architects could deal with the challenges. Architects from overseas as well as from Sri Lanka will make presentations at the National Conference. A student session will also be held where the students will make their presentations.

SLIA has developed an Annual Award scheme in which the following categories are appreciated; Product Award, Design and Colour Award, Excellence in Architecture Award, Research Award, Publication Award as well as the SLIA Gold Medal. Moreover, in context of the exhibition, awards will be presented for the Best Stalls Display as well as the Best Design Panels Display. Also, several eminent local architects will be honoured in recognition of the contribution they have made to the field of architecture in terms of profession as well as education.

The distinguished architects that would be honoured this year are SLIA Past President, Architect Lalith Devendra De Silva, Architect Professor Nimal De Silva and Architect Valentine Gunasekara.