This interpretation no longer seems to be adequate in the modern age, when our expectations of architecture have become more complex. Today architecture is a form of expressing one’s creativity while incorporating practicality. Another requirement is that the buildings should blend with the environment, not distorting it. In order to achieve all this, we must refer back to the ancient kingdoms of our country, when our ancestors built with proper planning with efficient and organized systems.
In the Confetti section is an article on Frederick Kiesler, an Austrian–American architect who endless influence spanned through the modern ages through art and architecture. In line with the urban expansion of the new age, Confetti also studies the importance of understanding the terrain before building, through the example of planning cities. In the Projects section we showcase an urban house in Colombo 13, Kotahena, by the architects Peshali Perera and Vinuri Ethapane. They have managed to create an oasis that block the noise of the nearby highway and town. Despite its closed structure the house captures the essence of seamless and undisrupted living spaces, while providing inhabitants a connection with nature, natural lights and ventilation. It creates an elegant interior conceptualized around the principle of less-is-more. The architects have brought together the beliefs of Hindu Vastu Shastra with modern design to create an urban envelope that is a home to their clients. Projects also includes the canopy in Paris, where two architects have resolved the complexity of the social, cultural and infrastructural of a public place by drawing inspiration from the 19th century pavilions designed by Victor Baltard. Also featured is the design of the new Valentino Flagship Store in London, a fashion house imagined by exploring a contemporary take on Italian architecture.
In Feedback, discover the Fort in Colombo. While an actual fort no longer exists, this is a unique area that displays the country’s colonial heritage. In the neighbourhood are many grand buildings including the Queen’s House, the Dutch Hospital, the Chartered Bank and the Cargills and Millers Building.
