Linear House

Located in the busy Battaramulla area close to the Sri Lankan Parliament, the low-budget single family house designed by Palinda Kannangara Architects stands on a narrow plot. The house has been designed to provide a feeling of being connected to tropics, nature and trees despite being in a busy and residential neighborhood.

  The entrance forecourt is paved with the lone existing  sapodilla tree as the focus. The designed was meant to provide the couple with the feeling of living within a garden. A series of courtyards link together indoor and outdoor: the inner living room space can totally open out into the exterior pond and garden through large sliding doors. The ground level comprises of a living dining space intersected by a courtyard with syzingium trees, a kitchen and a guest bedroom. The first floor hosts a TV lounge, a master bedroom and two additional bedrooms. 

Slender wood bridges cut through the courtyards tree tops and lead to the two bedrooms. The master bedroom has a double screen with an exterior balcony that overlooks the sapodilla tree. The timber screen provides filtered light and shade keeping the interiors cool. The uppermost level comprises of a roof gardens that not ony captures storm water and favours a micro climate within the house. It also acts as an outdoor garden space for the couple to enjoy quiet dinners and to entertain.

Linear House, Battaramulla, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
Program: single family house
Architects: Palinda Kannangara Architects
Total area: 688 sqm
Cost: 57,000 USD
Completion: 2015