Le cube is a personalized residence designed in the dense suburbs of Colombo. The land extent is a mere 10 perches. The plot is surrounded by two roads and two tall buildings giving very little natural light and ventilation. Apart from these challenges, the client’s brief required a high degree of privacy. The main entrance gives glimpse into the house, while preventing direct gaze inside from the adjoining road.
Project Completion – 2019
Project Duration – 1 year
Floor area – 316 sqm
Location – Kalubowila, Sri Lanka
Photo credits: Amila Rathnayake
Upon entering the house through the portico, you are welcomed into an interconnecting space consisting of the living, dining and kitchen. A pass-through counter serves as a beverage center and provides a visual connection from the kitchen to the living and dining room.
The master suite consists of two identical sized bay-windows, one with fixed glass and the other with a casement window. The one with fixed glass opens out to the outside. The one with the casement window hides away through the louver detail. Making it possible to open and get natural ventilation while maintaining privacy.
The louvered skin is designed as a permeable boundary providing a high degree of privacy while allowing in natural light and ventilation. Carefully placed slits brings in natural light while providing much needed privacy. The municipal reservation at the rear, along with a strip in front and side, is used to create a greenery around the living spaces.
Timber plank floor finish gives a contrast from the white painted walls. On the contrary, furniture in the living room are white-washed to contrast from the cement-grey color ceramic floor tiles. The exterior color pallet mainly consists of shades of yellow, combined with the warm white LED lights.
The skylight allows for stack effect to take out the hot air. Introduction of bush plants close to the windows provides a well needed relief to the eye. The plant wall, meanwhile, helps to purify the air. Through these features, Le cube tries to find a balance between the traditional Sri Lankan and contemporary architecture styles.
Asiri & Antonelli Partners
Asiri & Antonelli Partners is a multidisciplinary architectural practice of young, energetic and enthusiastic individuals dedicated in achieving optimum client satisfaction and challenging deadlines. They thrive to work in complex projects requiring precise architectural solutions. Although their projects vary in size and scale, they provide the same degree of attention to detail. Thus creating unique buildings breaking away from the common trends and traditions of Sri Lankan architecture style.
Architecture Firm: Asiri and Antonelli Partners
Firm Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Lead Architects: Archt. Asiri Dissanayake (AIA) SL
