Fritz-Höger-Preis 2014 für Backstein-Architektur

House LS is situated on the western coast of Sri Lanka, an area where the architectural ideal is embodied by the colonial villa. In light of this, we asked ourselves how we could make an architecture that would not idealize a false past but would directly engage the contemporary local conditions of building. Architecture based on the honest use of local materials and techniques rather than on the imposition of formal devices. Pushing this idea to its logical conclusion we thought on how even the traces and marks left by the act of construction and the textures of the materials itself could imbue the design with unmediated sensorial qualities.

The spatial and structural layout of the building is as clear and lucid as possible. A big white shed that accommodates all the rooms arranged around a large open living area (its long shape is the result of the strict local regulations for building on the coastline).

All materials used were low-cost and locally produced: corrugated roof sheets, bricks, timber and concrete. Next to this, the detailing was done as straightforward as possible by maintaining a sharp distinction between the different materials and components: The roof structure is visually separate from the walls, the windows distinctly apart form the masonry and the corrugated roof sheets jettison beyond the timber roof structure.

By rethinking how the building was actually made, how manual labour was employed to transform and bond the materials, the traces of construction and the as-found textures of materials were used to imbue the building with a delicate tactile quality.

The outer walls are all made from brick - laid in an English bond – which has been gently washed with a cement emulsion and afterwards painted white. This was done due to the poor quality of the locally available bricks and to protect the façade from the corrosive sea air. On top of the brick walls a reinforced concrete tie beam provides structural stability. The tie beam has been poured in-situ on top of the brick wall allowing the cement to drip through the formwork along the bricks. The rustic quality of the brick is accentuated through the English bond; the header course and stretcher coarse differ in width making the façade slightly undulate, and thus reinforcing the tactile quality of the façade.

All window frames are 8 inch smaller then the façade opening. Allowing for a ventilation gap on top of the window frames, naturally ventilating the building even when all shutters are closed. Combined with the buildings orientation towards the ocean and its white colour, the interior temperature never reaches above the 22 centigrade even if the building has been closed for a longer period.

Project data:

Architect: M&DB architects
Date: 2011 – 2013
Location: Madampe, Sri Lanka
Client: private