The ground-breaking project created by Colliers International that reconstructed the Sri Lankan village of Kirinda after the tsunami in a sustainable, green vision has won the residential award at MIPIM.
Shigeru Ban the architect hailed by Time Magazine as one of the Top 100 innovators of the 21st century worked with the trust set up by Colliers International, the Colliers Kirinda Trust, to reconstruct the village. He and his firm of architects donated their time to produce a radical vision that embraces local traditions and materials (the houses were constructed with rubber tree wood, coconut wood, teak, and sun-dried earthen blocks, natural materials chosen for their durability, strength and beauty) and conforms to the highest environmental standards. His design ensures that the houses can breathe in the heat and that air can circulate freely inside. Many other project homes made from concrete force occupiers to sit outside during the hot dry season. Also, all wood for the project has been purchased from local tree farms, which has kept the money in the local economy. And in a first, 100% solar-powered street lighting has been introduced.
The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, has welcomed the impact of the project. "I would like to express, on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka, heartfelt thanks for the contributions that Colliers, Shigeru Ban and partners have made to rebuild the community in Kirinda. They took an extremely professional approach, developed the highest standard designs, used the most appropriate local materials and consulted our experts and the local people to ensure that the end product matched displaced families' needs. The project has become the standard to compare with for ongoing tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka -- and Colliers has quite rightly also received international recognition and acclaim for this."
Source: Colliers
