Visitor centre · Colombo, Sri Lanka
A low building on the edge of the water.
A visitor centre on a point between two channels of the Kolonnawa marsh, to welcome visitors, start boat trips and let people watch the wetland and its birds. Clay-tile roofs, timber frames and a viewing tower keep it in the landscape.
Client
Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, Metro Colombo Urban Development Project (to confirm)
Funder
World Bank (to confirm)
Team
Signes Archi (to confirm)
Site
Kolonnawa wetland, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Area
Building of 683.5 m²
Programme
Visitor centre, boat jetty, car park, boardwalks, viewing tower
Timeline
(to confirm)
Status
(to confirm)
The site
Colombo’s wetlands act as a sponge for the floods of the city and shelter a rich birdlife. At Kolonnawa the marsh runs alongside a dense residential area. The centre stands on a point where two channels meet, reached from the road by a small bridge.
The challenge
Open the marsh to visitors without harming it: a place to arrive, learn and set out by boat or on foot, built lightly at the water’s edge and made to live with floods and with the surrounding neighbourhood.
The programme
A building of 683.5 m² around a lobby: an exhibition hall (96 m²), a classroom (132 m²), a conference room, a café and multi-purpose hall with a terrace, a shop, a reception, offices, staff rooms, toilets and a garden. Outside, a jetty for the boats, a car park, boardwalks into the marsh and a viewing tower. (To be completed from the brief.)
Mission of the team
To confirm.
Mission of Signes Archi
- Architecture of the visitor centre: low volumes under clay-tile roofs, timber frames, shutters, a plinth against floods (to confirm)
- Layout of the building: three entrances, a lobby, exhibition, classroom, café and terrace, services
- A viewing tower over the wetland
- Site layout: jetty and boats, car park, boardwalks and the approach from the road
- Mapping of the wetland habitats and of the route through the marsh (to confirm)
- Project visuals: perspectives and aerial views
Scope and themes: Design · GIS and territorial analysis · 3D, BIM visualization and films · Ecology and biodiversity · Local resources
The site today and the wetland
Kolonnawa is one of the wetlands of Metro Colombo, a mosaic of open water, floating vegetation, woodland and marsh grass. A timber boardwalk and a small shelter already run along the water.
The building
The plan gives each use its own roof: the exhibition hall and classroom on one side, the café and terrace on the other, and the services in between.
Test page. Text drafted from the images only: client, funder, role, dates, area and image credits to confirm.