ARCHITECT CHINTHAKA WICKRAMAGE; in a land of dreamers, dreaming of greatness.

Some call it the ‘vision thing’, others ‘an unorthodox approach to design’. However if one chooses to encapsulate Architect Chinthaka Wickramage’s work one feature stands out: a free thinking yet functional conception of how buildings can work both inside and out. Though mindful of the traditions that have shaped Sri Lankan Architecture, he never allows them to become unbending rules, inhibiting his freedom to design or the comfort of those that will occupy the building. A keen awareness of light and color, an in-depth knowledge of materials and surfaces, and a sharp sense of spatial proportion provide him with the requisite tools to realize his unique vision of architecture. He shares an exciting vision of how architecture not only is, but how it can be, an environment for working and living with an eye to the past but both feet firmly planted in the future.

To live humanely in a city like Colombo requires the architect's apportioning of space, light and color to be exquisite. One requires the expanse to relax & recover and the air to move and rise in order to remain fresh. Colors need to breathe warmth and welcome while cooling the hot and tired traveler. At his private residence, Chinthaka Wickramage achieves this with an admirable sense of balance, offsetting the rich design traditions of his native island against his own simple and modern instincts.
Amongst the palm fronds that litter Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo, the capital of the tropical island of Sri Lanka, lays the house of the architect Chinthaka Wickramage. As one negotiates the rises and turns that usher in this suburb, it is with relief that one arrives at a simple wrought iron gate that guards the property. Beyond the clipped, green expanse that greets the visitor, one notices that Wickramage's house has been built as an extension to the old family residence but with a seamless join and a stylistic continuity that pleases rather than jars the senses.

A simple, gabled entrance of mottled blue cement walls sets the tone for the whole house; clean lines, sharp angles and a welcome sense of space and comfort that are needed in the often oppressive surroundings of a tropical city.
One enters first the double height lounge and the cool of the blue exterior gives way to the warm terracotta hues and cool, smooth touch of amber local tiles and titanium cement rendered floors, that make up the interior and which signal that this is a functioning house to be lived in rather than some lofty architectural statement.
Minimalist carvings form a column down one wall, simple wooden stack shelving support personal keepsakes and a sturdy cement urn slots under the wooden staircase that give access to the mezzanine.
Here the personal papers & files of the architect together with the electronic din of the television are kept in a cool elevated study area, leaving family and guests to enjoy the peace & quiet of the lounge & dining room which both open out onto a secluded courtyard garden, minimally designed with a Zen motif of pebbles, rocks and scattered tropical plants.

Here and throughout the house is scattered rough, cement benches, which with a bright cotton cushion or two, offer a private escape to sip some tea or read. In the architect's world, comfort, privacy and simplicity of design mesh with ease.
The kitchen, so often the repository of all things hot & smelly is buttressed by an interior courtyard, the blue wash of the exterior making a timely reappearance to skirt a mature tree and naturally ventilate the middle of the house.
Beyond this lies the spacious bedroom and ensuite bathroom of the architect, where once again the calm, clean lines of a cement vanity counter form a counterpoint to an enormous expanse of 'kumbuk timber' which makes up the owner' s bed. Returning to the dining room and adjoining lounge, gazing up, one sees a lattice of timber against white, from which globular paper lanterns and spotlights offer ample illumination as the tropical night draws in. The timber shutters, rough wooden dining table and chunky coffee table compliment the earthy, naturalistic tone that Wickramage has given his abode.
“The rapid growth of Asian cities and the accompanying problems of increased density, traffic congestion and pollution have seen the proliferation of parallel phenomenon-second homes. When city dwellers have sufficient means to escape the frenetic pace of life in the city they acquire a site some distance from the city, to build a second home. Preferably the site will be off the beaten track, yet accessible, and though somewhat isolated, not without basic services. It offers the opportunity to escape the stress of city life, to relax, to enjoy the natural environment”.

The Furniture Factory.

An accent piece or a carefully selected craft object becomes the ultimate decorative element in making an ordinary space extraordinary. The Furniture Factory is the latest decorative novelty that has hit Sri Lanka. They separate themselves from the average furniture retailers by having a thorough background in interior design and the elements that form twisted contemporary spaces. Their products have already made their way into the most high end of homes and hospitality designs.

Opening as retailers for the first time on the 1st of December, they are already confident in the public perception of their branding and wear. Most of the sought after items are directly imported from Indonesia and each piece has its own history and story. Originality and that certain something is what makes each piece the beauty it is; and by this the product promises to uplift the ambiance of your space and give it features that are currently unseen in the island.

As a bonus service they have the facility to produce three dimensional renderings of your to-be-built spaces; using the latest digital technology. This way when a client orders a product they can see for themselves how that specific piece, in proper scale would interact with their interiors. Their teams of professionals are always up to date with the latest design trends and can provide on the spot design guidelines, under the specifications of color, fabrication and materials.

PWA Interiors Pvt Ltd; Thank You.

On the Wrap up eve for SLDF2010 I was offered a chair with the "Philip Weerartna Architects" design team. Philip with his blazing reputation was pulling in the biggest projects in the island and I humbly consider it the biggest deal in my life to get to work with him. Sharon De Silva would be my immediate director and Head of the Interiors Team.

Coming in I was rather apprhensive about what i would face and wether the corporate lifestyle was for the likes of me. This was further ignited by the heartache of leaving design school. Your on your own, if your renderings crash theres no Darren or Chris to save you, when you want to throw the bitch fit of the century your females arent around you and most of all your mentors and lectureres arent there to tell you if your just plain crazy or wether your pretty scribbles can actually be constructed into realistic design work. So i put my trust in God. Who else could i call??//
The journey has been amazing and the experience will last me a life time. Much learned much to share:
+Firstly no senior designer will trust you just because you have a flashy portfolio, if you want them to respect  your design sense your going to have to prove it to them.even when you are the most insignificant part of the team know that they cant be a complete team without you and keep pushing until someone sees what you got. ( after that don't let anyone boss you around ;))
+Don't forget what you know, and don't think you know everything.
+ Clients can bitch out loud, you can do it in the restroom.
+ When your told you cant do something, do it anyway, even if its just for the pleasure of proving them wrong.
+ Despise Mediocrity and always strive for excellence. that way even if it isn't perfect its damn close.
+ Don't be afraid to fail. ( "if you want to really succeed you must successfully fail at least five times" - Pastor Neil Obeysekara to jude and I )

Other than all this i believe that my design approach and project management techniques received some polishing, and it was a good job to call my first. I'm sad to leave, specailly due to the amazing design team that soon became good friends and because i will miss the homely atmosphere at PWA.
 Thank God for his grace and for everyone at PWA. hope my replacement - the evil black chris doesnt irritate you all into murdering him. Though i wouldnt complain ;)))...Chris- all the best!!!!
Good Bye!!

Sri Lanka Design Festival 2010- The Assistants story

Last December i was fortunate enough to work under Joel. M. Rapp, a well seasoned designer from New York as his junior designer and coordinator. Rapp is the Head of interior design at my grad school, The Academy of Design and is without a doubt one of the most influential faces in developing my skill and career.  Event Design is all about pressure, time limits and quick solutions. Food, rest and socializing becomes an afforded luxury. Design week was brutal murder on my poor feet but i believe it contributed in teaching me to let insults go over my head, smile even when i wanted to freak out and going over the ordained boundaries to get things done. 

Lesson learned- Never get a man to do what you can do yourself….you will end up shifting 6’ hardboard blocks around a traffic packed driveway three times more than necessary. Also it helps to occasionally loose your mind and threaten all of them with the wrath of a white man (joel) who they are culturally bound to pay more attention to. *sigh*

Detail Drafting…check! Material allocation…check! Site supervision…..check! standing there for the last twenty seconds of installation….Oops!!!
Lesson Learned- you can give someone the perfect details and still things could go wrong. when there’s no going back, don’t freak, instead pretend like the mistake was intentional art, and that your design sense is way way WAY more authoritative than anyone that comes to see it. Also, this is a good time to get the contractor to make up for his mistake by doing you other small favors, things you might have overlooked in your rush to create perfection. …ahhh yes design week made a  villain out of me *winks*

“Being a designer isn’t just about the product or space, its about self branding.” why would someone hire you for creative input if they weren’t convinced you were much more cooler than themselves?…harsh but true man!!!!
Lesson Learned- If you live and breathe design, enjoy every minute of it, gets orgasmic over colors, heights and materials you will never have to actually work a single day in your life. look at joel….so fly even as he attempts to get the lighting perfect for the evening fashion show. if you haven’t met this man…you should.
On a concluding note, when oppertunity knocks on your door…jump on it, challenge it, screw with its friends and make mad passionate love to it. ;))

Cubist Structures- Appreciation and Relavent Irony- The Final Chapter.

Chapter 4: Local examples of cubism- relevant irony 

[1]Since the time of colonial rule Sri Lankan builders and architects have shown great favor to development concepts under the geometric alignment. While there has been structures that truly revolutionized the perception of how a structure should be created it has also gave Sri Lanka an Architectural era that became quite repetitive along the years. The few individual designers and architects who stepped beyond this norm deserve commendation.  This also brings into light the revolutionary attitude that should be instilled into every freshman that hopes to improve the countries creative mindset. It is important to understand that the designer is not proclaiming that Sri Lankan Architecture doesn’t have its beauty and value but merely that it’s been around for years and designers and architects alike have become complacent in their execution and by this a truly contemporary piece becomes a rare find in this nation.

[2]Many Authority figures in the Sri Lankan Creative Community make a proud claim of having been heavily influenced by  the “Bauhaus School” and this particular school of design holds many properties in common with cubism; most prominent among them is their love and beautiful manipulation of geometric forms and planes.  They have derived influences from the likes of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. [3]The former being a Swiss-French nationalist was a very influential architect in the 20th century. He is given a significant place in the chapters of Universal architecture due to his unique projects and theoretical thought process. He firmly believed that architecture is a perfect balance between simple shapes and utilitarian needs.

[4]It is evident that majority of the time when a structure is being represented by someone who is learned in the creative field the piece becomes more than a buildings, it becomes a space that evokes the best kind of emotion from the consumer giving truly innovative views and perspectives. It is because they were taught to love this cubist way of rendering spaces and they were instilled with a proper and complete understanding of the isms principles. By this it becomes easy to identify structures that were the product of creative individuals from the structures of mere constructors who never truly understood the beauty of cubist character; it is unfortunate that given the economical, social and political status of Sri Lanka most Structures come into being without the influence of a capable architect or designer.

[5]The works of Geoffrey Bawa and his products Chelvadurai Anjalendran, Anura Ratnavibhushana and Channa Daswatte have received global recognition for their perfect understanding of cubist and Bauhaus principles, having executed geometrically inspiring space. However the designer recognized that these great men were a league all on their own and shared a similar concept throughout a majority of their projects. From a personal point of view the work is almost undistinguishable as the work of an individual. [6]In the opinion of a majority of student designers this becomes their way of maintaining a harmony in Sri Lankan architecture and creating an era of their own, perhaps like that of Czech Cubism. [7]To a minority of Students, the designer among them, the era should come to a healthy end and a new format should be introduced in creating breathtaking views; to the heartiest of the designers peers, the comfort zone of designing within set lines and rules have become tiresome and they look forward to revolutionizing this beautiful yet repetitive era of structural design into an ism of total contemporary design where the individuality and style of each designer comes into play. It is no longer about the space itself but the conceptual thinking and personality of a designer; it will be this uniqueness that makes their contribution to the much needed revolution in Sri Lankan Spatial Design a significant one.

[8]To those who aspire to change and improve the current, the works of Young Architect Philip Weeraratne gives much hope. The Designer has a personal fascination for this his works and finds the cubist format executed with so much clarity in his spaces.  He has dared to take the Bauhaus school into the next level and because of this [9]his pieces while being in complete harmony with the other significant structures of Sri Lanka provide him with an individuality as a creative person, magnifying his contribution to the Architecture of our nation. The designer would wish to make a bold statement that the future of Sri Lankan Spaces looks very promising due to the Solid Foundation Laid By Bawa and his pupils, which was given a radical makeover by the likes of Phillip Weeraratne and the revolutionary attitude demanding change that is instilled in the hearts of many student designers.

 “What we have is beautiful; but it’s already in existence, a significant effort to push the limits, still valuing all that Sri Lanka has been, is what will take Sri Lankan Design to the Global Contemporary design forum.”

Author

Conclusion

In conclusion the designer would like to state that the ism of the cubist revolution has indeed created a historical impact that its founders wouldn’t even be able to fathom. The way in which Picasso and Braque men of a single vision were able to influence global design for the last century is solid proof that it only takes the effort of one man to produce a masterpiece and by that masterpiece for that simple man to become immortal. From the corners of Prague, to the paradise we Sri Lankans call home the universal design cosmos has played a humongous role in developing an architectural identity that Sri Lanka can call her own.

To the designer and her peers as a graduating design students this paper represented the still small voice that encouraged a revolutionary attitude; giving the encouragement to pursue visions and bring to reality dreams that would in time shake the very foundations of this country. To the Braques and Picassos of today and tomorrow it provided ample proof that to challenge the norm and classical, to brave opposition for having a contradictory mission, tough pungent for the moment will in the longer run result in the designer finding their true creative identity, achieve universal recognition and impact the centuries to come as part of the grand design cosmos

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED- TOP PROPERTY MAGAZINE- Jan2011

Whenever I make a new acquaintance and they discover my profession, an immediate inquiry is made after an easy fix -it solution, over the numerous amount of interior design issues. Our team here at Top Interiors would like to put this unsettling uproar at ease and help you build, furnish or even renovate your ideal space to provide you with the “bel espace ».  We strive to provide a variety of design solutions to serve those creating spaces under various scales and budgets. I wish to inspire you to think creatively and would like to offer our teams professional assistance to anyone that requires contemporary and high end design solutions. With the right direction any space can live to its full potential.

  Q. After completing the entire interior setup for our new home we find that this certain “spot” has not been catered to. We tried finding a use for it; even filling it with furniture. This only resulted in cluttering the area. How do we successfully tackle the “spot”? 

A. This is a frequently asked question and has many avenues of address. Almost everyone has an identical « spot » in their homes; One that is devoid of function. Since this “spot” has no apparent role or usage treat it just as accordingly. Find something that is clever and fun, in the correct scale to fit the area. Don’t try to hide the emptiness of it by cluttering the space with multiple decorative elements. Many times while you are out hunting for accent pieces for you interiors you will come across one or two rare beauties; you love the piece but wonder where you would place it, boom!!! The “spot” is usually perfect for this piece. This being the high road to take, most of the time homemakers substitute the accent piece with a rare form of greenery in small scale. This has its pros and cons, while it provides the interior with natural elements and balances the indoor outdoor aspect, it can be tiresome to maintain. Remember artificial plants are a definite no!!! So choose wisely.

Q. Our new house is currently under refurbishment. It’s a Colonial Building and we wish to convert the interior into something very contemporary while leaving the exterior intact. We are trying to preserve as much it as possible. Any tips?
A. Firstly and most importantly you need to confirm with the Urban Development Authority whether your building is under any specific heritage lists and acquire a sheet containing the construction and demolition rules of your site. With a clear idea of exactly what you are allowed to do it will make design choices more solid and effective. The General rule among many in the field is to preserve as much as possible, however if the building is just another one built in the same era that is of no significant value then it is understandable that the client wishes to take the space in a modern direction. With spaces like this it’s always best to go for subtle changes first, they pave way for bigger and bolder choices. Have a Structural engineer with adequate experience do a site visit and confirm the possibility of all the design changes you wish to make, because in structures that old one can never tell what is behind walls!!! That’s just the construction side of it, the creative element of this is much more interesting; combining beauty, delicacy, and exquisite design of the exterior façade into the interior can be a lot of fun.

For example Material such as dark stained wood and plexiglass are representative of both your design objectives and will bring balance to the complete structure. Steer clear of stainless steel and yellow brass work; these materials somehow never manage to bring in the high end contemporary look you desire. Carpeting is a possible flooring solution, but be mindful of what the current flooring material is and program your installation schedule to meet with any challenges this might provide. When accessorizing consult a decorator and be very selective of your feature pieces; it would not do to have such a detailed and beautiful façade give way to a house with random frames and ornamentation. The pieces could have a possible connection to the colonial era but seen in the eyes of a modernist. In this instance the mixing of other civilizations and their particular design motifs and crafts is not advisable. Remember you are building a home not an artifact museum!!! Many clients come to us with this issue; they have beautiful homes with a clutter of an art collection. By sticking to one theme and understanding it well you will be able to put together a space that is artistic as well as functional. Recently I came across a interior space that had dealt with the same issues you spoke of, to get a further idea of what you could possibly do have a glance at: ‘55 Blair Road’ by Ong&Ong.

Q. Can I use carpet underlayment under laminate flooring?
A. Laminate flooring can be laid on any clean, dry and firm surface, so you may be able to use your existing carpet underlay. However, you will need to decide if it is the right type of underlay for your needs. You can use various types of underlay for laminate floors, such as acoustic, fiber and foil backed. If your floor is uneven, then a thick fiber or foam underlay is advisable. If noise is a problem then acoustic underlay will help to reduce sound travel, whereas foil-backed underlay will help to contain heat.

Q. How can you put hardwood floors on a concrete slab foundation? What options do I have?

A. It is possible to install hardwood flooring over on-grade or above-grade concrete slabs that are not prone to excessive moisture. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use proper substrate materials to prevent moisture from damaging the wood. Engineered wood flooring is more suitable for below-grade slabs.