This project provides 100 houses in a Muslim fishing village in the region of Tissamaharama, on the south-east coast of Sri Lanka. Following the destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami. Shigeru Ban’s aim was to adapt the houses to their climate, to use local labour and materials to bring profit to the region, and to respond to the villagers’ own requirements through direct consultation. For example, kitchens and bathrooms are included within each house, as requested by the villagers, but a central covered area separates them from the living accommodation, as stipulated by the government. The covered area also provides an entertainment space from which women can retreat to maintain privacy. Local rubber-tree wood was used for partitions and fittings, and compressed earth blocks for walls.
"Post-tsunami Housing.” In Architecture is Life, edited by Mohsen Mostafavi. Zurich: Lars Muller Publishers, 2013.
Description
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage excellence in architecture and other forms of intervention in the built environment of societies with a Muslim presence. The Award is given every three years and recognizes all types of building projects that affect today's built environment. Smaller projects are given equal consideration as large-scale buildings. Richly illustrated and with explanatory texts, Architecture is Life, the monograph for the 2013 cycle, presents the 15 shortlisted and the 5 Award recipients. The 2013 cycle's topic is centered around the relationship between life and architecture. Numerous essays examine how architecture interacts with the life of people who inhabit it.
Source: Lars Muller Publishers and Aga Khan Award for Architecture
