Connecting new city with old historic city of Colombo

Sri Lanka Institute of Architects President, Megapolis and Western Development Ministry Secretary and CHEC Port City Colombo Planning and Development Director discussing the winning idea

SOM Associate Project Manager Gabriele Pascolini and SOM Director Peter Kindel receiving the award from Megapolis Ministry Secretary Eng. N. Rupasinghe with Sri Lanka Institute of Architects President Archt. D.H. Wijewardene and CHEC Port City Colombo Planning and Development Director Lim Kian Siew looking on

By Neluka Jayasinghe
In selecting the winner of the recently held Urban Design Idea Competition by the CHEC Port City Colombo, the judges looked for more than just the creation of iconic buildings.

Although all three submissions from world renowned design firms had ideas of value for the Financial District and Marina, the judges were looking for something that stood out, which they found in the submission made by Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), a company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Some of the background and basis for the competition was sanctioned by the International Union of Architects (UIA), which is recognized by most United Nations agencies as the only association in its field. This includes UNESCO, UNCHS, ESOSOC, UNIDO, the World Health Organisation and the WTO.  The competition also had the support of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA).

As the Port City Colombo is slated to be the city of the future, within the old Fort, the project company was looking for ideas that could further enhance the relationship between the old and the new in the current master plan. The panel of judges which consisted of industry experts from across the globe as well as local professionals, said that the winner had captured this very well in the way they connected well laid out streets with beautifully appointed buildings and green spaces for the Marina and public areas, creating an impressive theme overall. As Jury Chairperson Dr. Deborah Dearing said, the vote to give the winning award to SOM had been unanimous because they stood out in the way they blended various aspects of city life to bring out a vibrant theme.

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Director Peter Kindel who headed the SOM team on the design project said that their first thoughts on visiting the site was how to connect the new city with the the old city of Colombo. “So right away we started to think how this financial district and marina could be connected back to the historic city and that really determined how people would move through the project, we wanted the project to be as connected as possible between the old city and the new, so that when you walk there, ride your bike or take a bus it feels very natural and very connected. We did not want the project to be isolated from the old city.”

Sri Lanka Institute of Architects President Architect D.H. Wijewardene said that design competitions have become a world trend today as it helps to get different options and wider perspectives for a project and helps the project initiators to get an opportunity to see the most suitable and viable design solutions. “This is not very common in Sri Lanka, but it should be made a practice for all land mark projects in the country. This will open up the stage for creative people, so that finally the best design solution would emerge,”he said.

Colombo Port City’s Urban Design Idea Competition was limited to three invited participants: Gensler headquartered in San Francisco, Nikken Sekkei of Japan and SOM which also hails from the USA. The competition commenced in February after which each of the participants took turns to visit the project and Colombo for the first time during the month of March. The final inquiries and clarifications were completed by April and designs submitted anonymously by all three in May. The judging process was a three day closed-door event from 16th to 18th of May and the submissions remained anonymous to the jury panel until the winning design was decided. The announcement of the winner was followed by an award ceremony in July 2017.

CHEC Port City Colombo Planning and Development Director Lim Kian Siew said that, whilst the competition was an important milestone for the entire project, there was a specific reason why it was contained to the Financial District and the Marina. “It is because these areas are common to the whole of Colombo Port City and more importantly they are directly connected and related to the existing Fort area.” He added that although an idea or design would not be able to address all issues and every design would have its strengths and weaknesses, by doing the Ideas Competition, Port City was able to leverage three world renowned design practices.  “We can actually get a lot of ideas that not just one designer can give us. All the design submissions were ideas we consider worth exploring. We are not limiting ourselves to ideas from one participant, but are open to ideas from all the entries provided they are viable and implementable. Of course every competition needs a winner and SOM has proved themselves to be better than the others by the jury panel.”

The panel of top international jurors who judged the competition were Greater Sydney Commission District Commissioner Dr. Deborah Dearing, with over 30 years international experience in urban design and strategic land-use planning; University of Westminster UK Architecture and Built Environment Faculty Dean, Pro Vice Chancellor and Chartered Architect Prof. David Dernie; Acclaimed practitioner with a leading voice and a representative of contemporary architecture from New York Calvin Tsao; and Representing International Union of Architects (UIA), Harris - Kjisik Architects Finland Co-Founder, Prof. Harris Trevor Gordon Stuart.

Pali Wijeratne, a highly qualified Sri Lankan architect and town planner with over 50 years’ experience in conservation was also on the panel, representing the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA).
The elite panel based their final judgment on various criteria. Some of them being, the appropriateness of the proposed urban design and spatial concepts and their articulations in enhancing the original vision and objectives of the Financial District and the Marina, their innovative ways of relating their ideas to the public spaces, their conceptualization of urban forms and their integration as a whole to generate iconic images, ability to creatively distribute the special enclaves to produce places of excitement and memorability and the strategies employed to create socially responsive places in its urban enclave. They also took into consideration the uniqueness of the proposal and the ability to create world class, futuristic enclaves within the Colombo Port City which would make it an iconic, internationally recognized development of the contemporary world.