WHERE DO WE GO NOW?

Coming into 2023, Sri Lanka was still in the grips of its worst financial crisis ever with the building construction industry taking significant blows including a shrinking market for built projects, a severe lack of building material and skyrocketing prices. It comes as no surprise that practising Architects as well as those on the cusp of embarking on their professional careers have been impacted heavily.

They say that it is in times of dire limitations and crisis that innovation truly shows – and it’s safe to say that many Architects have manoeuvred their way through these murky waters using every ounce of alternate skill and ingenuity be it artful renovations, regenerative designs or simply going back to the vernacular.

In this issue, we look at the true implications and meaning of the term ‘sustainability’ – an expression that is often used as a buzzword especially in the realm of Architecture.

However, sustainability does not only apply to the standard application of green roofs and rainwater harvesting. In today’s context, it holds meaning in terms of professional sustainability – the relevance of an Architect in an ever expanding world of generative design and data driven technology, as well as the true application of a sustainable ethos in a crisis riddled environment.

Is it a matter of combatting it or joining forces in order to sustain ourselves?

In a period of change and improvisation, the editorial committee along with the Board of Architectural Publications with the support of President Architect Rohana Bandara Herath is pleased to launch the coming editions for the session 2023-25 in the format of an e-journal for the first time with this being slated as the inaugural issue.

As much as this edition leans on introspection, we also shine a spotlight on projects and individuals who have either forged ahead in traditional ways or managed to take the reins of advanced methods – all of which serve to inspire and motivate us in moving forward.

And as we look to rebuild in more ways than one, it seems the one way forward is to stay open to the tools of the future and lessons of the past.

Shahdia Jamaldeen
Editor
2023/24

If you want to go fast, go alone;
if you want to go far, go together

Burkinabe proverb