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The Architecture Asia Awards for Emerging Architects was open to all architects professionally registered in Asia, who are 45 years of age or under in 2014; who could present projects completed post 2009, in or out of Asia.
The Awards for Emerging Architects, organised by Architecture Asia was held under the auspices of the Malaysian Institute of Architects and the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA), in association with the Malaysian Institute of Architects’ annual Datum: KL International Architectural Design Conference.
Whilst recognising the best works of young architects, the awards also aimed to promote the works of emerging architects in Asia. Another aspect of the awards was to provide a platform for discourse on emerging talent in the region as well as to establish a contemporary reference for Asian architecture.
In the initial round, over 500 entries from over 60 countries had been submitted for the Emerging Architects competition and submissions were judged under the criteria of creativity, sustainability and contribution to the advancement of architectural design and technology in Asia.
Architect Damith Premathilake (third from the left) with the other awardees at the Architecture Asia Award for Emerging Architects Brochure of the award ceremony
Architect Damith Preamathilake presented one of his holiday cabana projects, built in the Maduru Oya army camp. The holiday cabana which has the Maduruoya lake front as its back drop is built utilising material lying in the area abandoned after the war. The building is a semi two-story holiday retreat, with the ground floor accommodating a large bedroom, toilet, and kitchen and living area overflowing to a deck that connects to a small pier. The sheltered upper deck providing serene lake views, is accessible via the artfully crafted outdoor stairway.
The conceptual sketch was done taking into account the use of all the available natural and manmade elements accessible from the surroundings. The main structure of the cabana is an abandoned container while the rest of the structure including furniture is built using abandoned iron rods; timber strips left over from bunkers and weapon boxes. Some discarded wooden railway sleepers are also used adding to the rustic effect.
Speaking of his award winning effort to transform what is abandoned in to a usable space, Damith Premathilake says, “The container boxes lying idle, provided sufficient interior space and timber strips taken from weapon boxes, railway sleepers and iron rods, became ideal raw material for the design to take form. The interior and furniture are built of timber that was formerly used for Army bunkers. Only steel, glass and roofing material were locally purchased.”
Commenting on the difficulties faced during the designing and construction of the cabana, he says that the biggest challenge was to create a resting place that would enable the visitor to experience the environmental quality combined with minimalist luxury, without causing damage to its existing natural ambience. “The use of reusable and recycled material in building the cabana not only created the minimalist comfort I wanted to create but also helped to uplift the value of the building by blending it to its natural surrounds. All of these aspects counted in the selection process,” he says.
The holiday cabana project, built in the Maduru Oya army camp, using recycled material
