Palinda Kannangara改造的科伦坡5层住宅丨斯里兰卡科伦坡

Palinda Kannangara turns this 5-storey house in Colombo into a calming oasis

Designed as a tall white column, the dwelling by Sri Lankan architect Palinda Kannangara mutes out the colour and clamour of the city.

Those who know Colombo, deeply and intimately, can confirm two things to be true: that time here likes to stop for nobody, and that it's just as easy to get lost in the colours as in the clamour. “It's a vibrant place,” says Palinda Kannangara—so vibrant that its effect, evidently, seems to have worn off on the celebrated Colombo-based architect. That is, if his latest residential project is anything to go by. Situated in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital, just strides away from the Cinnamon Gardens and the candy cane-striped Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, the dwelling, designed as a white column that rises towards the sky, is a quiet antithesis to the surrounding smorgasbord of colour.

Designed as an angular white column, the dwelling slimly rises towards the sky.

The double-height living room is cocooned in earthy tones. Muted furniture and brooding accents are counterbalanced by an artful band of colour.

The dining room seamlessly extends out of the living area. An aerial installation subtly demarcates the two realms. “It’s one of my favourite objects,” says Silva of the sculpture. “I quite enjoy how the breeze gently activates the piece and animates the space. I could stare at it all day.”

Light outside, light inside—the former an adjective, the latter a noun—that's how Kannangara imagined the dwelling, as did the owner, Montreal- and Colombo-based visual artist Lidi Silva. But beyond the need for plenty of light and abundant ventilation, Silva’s brief was open to possibilities. “As an architecture enthusiast, I had been following Palinda’s work for some time before entrusting the project to him. I trusted him and basically told him to do with the house as he wills. He is the expert, after all,” says Silva. Even so, Silva explains that the aesthetic lexicon was the result of several iterations. “It was essential that the house let in lots of natural light while not heating up the space too much as is usually the case with having large glass windows facing east or west during daylight hours,” he notes.

With pared-back timber forms, the kitchen mirrors the dining area in scale and signature. A luminous balcony backdrops the two spaces.

As the day wears on, perforated screens along the far wall cast tapestries of light and shadow across the interior.

Where many architects would have summoned the wind up from the lower floors, Palinda Kannangara did the opposite. He designed the terrace as a wind tunnel, channelling the breeze downward to envelop every last corner of the house. “One of the best things about the home is the rooftop terrace. It's where I relax and unwind, and it’s also where my studio is located. The breeze is especially nice in Colombo's warm and humid climate,” explains Silva, who likes to spend his days off on the terrace, which, with its open recreation spaces, rooftop garden by landscape designer Varna Shashidhar, and scintillating birdlife, is the picture of Eden—if Eden existed five levels above the ground. Kannangara didn’t limit nature to the outdoors; he also brought it inside by way of pocket gardens—in the living room, by the bathroom, flanking the passageway—wherever there was space and light. He also restrained the aesthetic lexicon to subtle tones and touches of timber in a bid to slough off the stridency of the city and serve as an antidote to the surrounding hardscape.

The kitchen is characterised by sleek timber cabinetry, which blends into the shell when shut.

Timber fins open out to reveal the first floor, in turn, promoting an exchange of light and ventilation.

One of the banes of urban architecture, as architects in frenetic megalopolises will avouch, is the lack of space. No different was the case for Kannangara, who designed the home vertically rather than horizontally in face of said constraints. He took care to see that slimming the build didn’t mean slimming the light, by introducing expansive skylights that welcome daylight inside, gilding the white walls and illuminating the small indoor gardens designed by Shashidhar. Admittedly, giving Kannangara carte blanche over the design paid off perfectly for Silva, who enjoys finding peace in the living room when not on the terrace. “One of my favourite objects is the kinetic sculpture that hangs overhead. It incorporates movement as an essential part of the sculpture's design, rather than merely adding movement to an already static object. I quite enjoy how the breeze gently activates the piece and animates the space,” he says. “I could stare at it all day.”

The rooftop lounge basks in the evening afterglow, seemingly at one with the elements.

Architect Palinda Kannangara enjoys the breeze and birdlife on the rooftop garden.

The primary bedroom, located on the fourth floor, is a meditative haven, thanks to abundant natural light and bare minimum furniture.

Enveloped in rustic cement oxide walls, the guest bathroom harks to the elements.