ArchiSpeak with Channa Horombuwa and Jeeva Horombuwa

We at Aludecor rejoice whenever Architects decide to delve deeper into creativity and share with us, the making process and the design philosophies of their dream projects. What amuses us more is the sheer genius with which these eminent Architects inspire us and redefine Architectural art. In today’s #ArchiSpeak segment, we bring to you, Architect Channa Horombuwa and Architect Jeeva Horombuwa who have explored with new designs for their curated Project in the land of Sri Lanka.

Project Details:

Name of the Project: The Kalapuge House, Sri Lanka
Owners: Amali Kalapuge and Dhammika Kalapuge
Architects: Architect Channa Horombuwa and Architect Jeeva Horombuwa

The Design Philosophy of the Project

The Kalapuge House is a four-bedroom house designed for a twenty perch land using only a half for the home and leaving rest as the garden. Location is a decent residential neighbourhood with walking distance to the main road. The main requirement of the clients (Amali Kalapuge and Dhammika Kalapuge) was to design a contemporary home to relax and live peacefully. Being a religious Buddhist, the clients purposely selected a land right next to a Buddhist temple and wanted the Architects to keep an opening of the house towards to temple. The living room and the master bedroom are located facing the temple to meet this particular requirement.

White has been the primary colour used for the interior of this house. Walls, floors, furniture, skirting, ceilings, etc. are all in white to maintain a minimalist theme for the home and at the same time to symbolize the serene, pure calmness required for the house interior of a religious practising Buddhist family. As a result, the house is well lit during day time with natural light to make the users feel more relaxed and psychologically comfortable. Subtle colour differences have been introduced by the use of wood for the floor of the bedroom level and for the internal doors. In addition, the paintings on the walls add more colour to the interior to break the monotony of white.

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An off white shade called ‘Dove White’ has been used for the exterior walls of the house. This colour reflects the daylight very adequately and changes its shades according to the sunlight at different times of the day. A dark brown pigment called ‘Spice’ has been used for the ground floor parapet wall. As a result, the parapet wall acts as a dark base to highlight the light colours of the house. At the same time, this dark colour is a practical solution for a parapet wall facing a busy dust collecting road. The owner of the house, a professional Motivation Trainer is enjoying the comforts of the house and highly appreciates the Architects’ dedication to design his dream home precisely up to his satisfaction.

The Inspiration behind the Kalapuge House

The site and the surroundings have been the main inspiration to the design. All spaces were arranged according to the location of the temple at the back.

Challenges of the Project

Although the site extent is 20 perches, the clients requested to limit the design within a ten perch land. Having the rear garden and the swimming pool being located at the back overlooking the temple, the living area had to be shifted to the end of the land although the entrance is from the road front. An interesting spatial progression has to be introduced to reach the living area once entered through the main door.

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A Notable Project of Architect Channa Horombuwa and Architect Jeeva Horombuwa

In the words of Architect Channa Horombuwa and Architect Jeeva Horombuwa – “We have designed a Minimalist house for a family of four, a few years back and that was the turning point of our current Architectural style we practice now. The client, having a good taste for contemporary Architecture, contributed a lot to create an excellent piece of Architecture. This house consists of many unique features which have ultimately become our regular features for most of the homes that we designed after that.” Check out the Project HERE.

Famous Inspirations for Architect Channa Horombuwa and Architect Jeeva Horombuwa

In the words of the Architects – “We got inspired by Minimalism to a great extent. We admire works by Tadao Ando and Mies Van der Rohe. The contemporary Mexican Architect, Ricardo Agraz has been a significant influence for our Architecture, as well.”

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