Project Background
This project seeks to use students’ knowledge, resources and 
enthusiasm to design and build a cost-effective house in Aselapura, Welikanda. The house is builtfor an underprivileged family headed by Ms. Wimalawathi who is a single parent with four children, eldest of them being 16 years old and the youngest reaching 2. Recent returnees to the former war-affected area, the family was found to be living in a small shanty house. Mr Asanga Hapugaskubura, who has also very generously volunteered to bear the cost of the needed material for the house, introduced the project to the Arcnest team.
The proposed new house is to be built using rammed earth as the main building material, thereby setting an example to use material that are locally available, environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
Project Objectives
While providing a safe and a comfortable home for the family, the project seeks to investigate on alternative building typologies and methods of construction as solutions for economically, environmentally and socially sustainable building constructions. In addition, it also proposes to share and transfer building knowledge to the public by incorporating on-site labourtraining and up-skilling processes. Critical to this approach is to forecast and identify the probable training needs as part of the initial building conception.
From an academic point of view, the project also offers an opportunity for students to gain practical knowledge of implementing such alternative building systems and acquire an interest on participating in the social building production interventions. Capacity building – both internal and external to the university system – therefore is a key intention of the proposed project.
Project Methodology
The project was set in motion when the members of the Arcnest team met the donor and the benefitting family, who collectively developed the building scope and design brief. In parallel to this process, research was undertaken on the local building systems, construction processes, andpossible alternative building solutions.
Taking into consideration the subsequent social, economic, and technical implications of the particular building process, design solutions are generated by the studentswith the guide from professional advisers. Simultaneously,probable training needs and up-skilling strategies will be formulated and incorporated into the building solutions.During the construction phase, the students will oversee and participate in erecting building systems,setting performance standards and transferring knowledge to the locals.
Arcnest team is an organization registered as an architectural student society of the University of Moratuwa with a vision follows;
“With spirited leadership, collaboration and team work, we intend to co-ordinate and promote the affairs of the students of Architecture in the University of Moratuwa giving them extraordinary possibilities to grow both as human beings and as professionals and to utilize their talents to make a change to lives of disadvantaged populace through modest design and construction solutions.”
The team closely works with the academic staff and past student of Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa and also with the practicing body of Architecture in Sri Lanka.
