Situated in the scenic up country town of Nuwara Eliya, the site provided the most picturesque backdrop for this apartment building. Nestled away from the busy town area, this tranquil site challenged the architect to design a habitable structure without hindrance to the vistas of the landscape in the surrounding. The structure also needed to respond to the sloping terrain while making the most use of the surrounding views.
The step-down layout of the building and interior spaces were designed in a way that each apartment gets its own view of the beautiful mountain landscape. The architecture followed the British architectural language seen in the Nuwara Eliya townscape to a certain extent, with the use of angular roofs. The use of colour was restricted by pre defined regulations; hence the ability of the architect to play with colours was limited, however he ensured that the aesthetic appeal of the design was not compromised.
The solid and void ratio was experimented through the arrangement of spaces and use of material. Glass was used to create a feeling of a void in order to relieve the mass structural impression of an apartment building, thereby, creating the notion of a structure floating in the hills when viewed from afar. The material used also ensured responsiveness to the climate of Nuwara Eliya, of capturing heat and retaining it within the building.
