Matale Holiday Retreat

Thisara Thanapathy Associates

ARCHITECTS
Thisara Thanapathy Associates

MANUFACTURERS
Guardian Glass, Jat, Metroof

CIVIL CONTRACTOR
Sunil

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Wasantha Chandrathilake

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Thisara Thanapathy

ASSISTING ARCHITECT
Nadun Saputhanthri

CLIENT
Sanjeewa Maddumage

PHOTOGRAPHS
Waruna Gomis

AREA
1725.0 ft2

PROJECT YEAR
2009

LOCATION
Matale, Sri Lanka

CATEGORY
Houses

The building is positioned to create an immense enclosure of space between the building and encircling crescent of mountains across the valley.

The building is linear in form. It does not dominate the landscape, but tries to be a gentle noticeable part of it.

This thin form does minimum damage to the vegetation, while allowing the sun and rain to fall on the ground.

All this minimizes the damage to the ecology. By being on pillars it allows the breezes to cool the building.

Timber grills used on either side of the upper level bedrooms provides ample natural ventilation. A thin metal roof with its long eaves, shades the building.

Salvaged materials are used for the building. These salvaged materials had been purchased prior to designing the building.

Steel and timber grills were salvaged from a demolished factory.

The decks are out of salvaged railway sleepers. Rest of the timber was purchased from the locality.

There are only two main masonry walls, except the peripheral walls of the toilets.

The building is approached via a long walkway by the side of an elongated wall.

At the end of the long walkway begins a viewing deck which is perpendicular to it.

This viewing deck is pierced through the building and is in the center of the vast space between the mountain range and the building enabling the user to fully experience it.

This viewing deck is orientated towards a patch of paddy field, which is a significant feature of this landscape.

While the building tries to capture different views from the dinning room and the bed rooms.

It is the extreme end of the significant deck that provides the dramatic experience of an encompassing space defined by the mountain range and the building.