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LOCATION
MIRISSA, SRI LANKA
ARCHITECT
TADAO ANDO ARCHITECTS
Recent works by Japanese architect Tadao Ando featured in the AR showed something of a departure from his signature use of exposed concrete, with two projects of irregular form, cloaked in sheet steel (AR November 2005 and August 2007). Designed concurrently but finished a number of years later, this project for a house in Sri Lanka returns to a more familiar language of pristine exposed concrete, arranged to contain a series of protected courtyards and voids.
In an urban setting Ando would typically build a wall around the site to control and bring distinction to the relationship of inner and outer realms, using tension between found and imposed geometries to create dynamically lit spaces. On this site, however, fewer constraints existed so the architect was free to compose a form that responded to key views and aspects of orientation.
Remarkably, Ando never visited the site before construction and has not been there since its completion. He relied instead on the coordination skills of two long-term Japanese collaborators, Kiyoshi Aoki and Yukio Tanaka, who liaised with local firm PWA Architects. Ando describes his envoys as being of 'around retirement age', but 'still fit' and 'wanting to put their experience to good use'. They teamed up with PWA founder Philip Weeraratne and his associate Ravindu Karunanayake, to ensure Ando's exacting standards were maintained, while also, according to Weeraratne, 'developing a partiality for Sri Lankan curry'. Checking progress and enjoying local cuisine, they made many...