TY - ART T1 - Yodakandyia Community Centre Y1 - 2007 A1 - Susi Jane Platt KW - Community Centre KW - Neo-Vernacular KW - Public Building KW - Rehabilitation CY - Tissamaharama N1 -

A tsunami reconstruction project funded by Architecture For Humanity (a not for profit organisation) and implemented jointly by AFH and UN Habitat. The project saw the design and construction of buildings and facilities at the heart of a new village for people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 comprising a Community Centre, a Pre-School, a Library & Medical Centre as well as a Cricket Pitch and a Volley Ball Court. 

The project was carried out through a Community Contract System whereby all funding collected by AFH from private donations for tsunami relief was given directly to the beneficiary community. A social programme was implemented by the UN that mobilised the Community into making decisions about their own rehabilitation. Through the formation of a democratically elected representative council the Community was empowered to decide how the money raised on their behalf was spent. In this way the beneficiary community became the Client, and set the initial brief for the community facilities and who participated fully in the design development process in collaboration with the AFH Country Representative and Architect. 

The Community determined to appoint a Commercial Contractor to undertake the Construction works but when that Contractor reneged on his obligations approximately one-quarter of the way through, the Community took over all site operations and completed the works  themselves. Practical training workshops were organised to enhance and expand the existing skill set in the locality. 

The Centre is a three-building complex at the heart of the Yodakandyia housing reconstruction scheme, in a new village outside the town of Tissamaharama in south-eastern Sri Lanka that was developed for 218 families affected by the 2004 tsunami. In addition to the community centre, there is a pre-school, library, medical centre, and a cricket pitch and volleyball court.

The programme engaged the beneficiaries directly: the residents not only acted as client, they also prepared a design brief, implemented the construction and continue to operate the facilities. The available budget and the hot climate drove low-cost construction techniques, with the extensive use of local materials and passive cooling measures. Bricks were hand-made using natural clay earth, fired in open-air furnaces of burning left-over rice husks, and a number of redundant buildings on site were recycled into rubble for the foundations. To address the problem of a lack of access to drinking water—one of the main challenges facing the community—the project also includes a rainwater harvesting system with two large underground tanks that store sufficient rainwater to provide for basic needs throughout the dry season.

Source: Yodakandyia Community Centre On-site Review Report, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2010.

ID - AZ-CF-166701 ER -