MoU signed for Colombo Uni. swimming pool complex architectural and structural design work 

From left: Alumni ex-Co-Member J.M.S. Bandara, Thilan Koththigoda, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Chandrika Wijeyaratne, Rajeev Amarasuriya, Alumni Head of Administration Sunethra Peiris, and Swimming Pool Steering Committee Co-Chair Asanka Ranhotty 

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo and KWA Architects for the architectural and structural work for a new 50 m Swimming Pool for the University of Colombo.

The Alumni Association of the University of Colombo has undertaken to construct a professional swimming pool for the University of Colombo, which has been a long-term need of the university. Construction is due to commence by the middle of this year.

The proposed swimming pool complex is expected to meet and exceed all standards associated with a professional aquatic facility. Once constructed, the facility will benefit present and future generations of students of the University of Colombo for years to come.

KWA Architects have come forward to provide all the design and structural work in an honorary capacity. Speaking at the signing ceremony, KWA Architects Precedent Partner Thilan Koththigoda said that they consider this project as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. Many of the Architects at KWA, including Thilan, are products of the local university system, and he said that they consider this as an opportunity to give back to Sri Lanka’s university system.

 Koththigoda went on to state that considering the value of the proposed swimming pool project for the University of Colombo, as a project of national significance, KWA Architects together with their engineering and cost consultancy partners, Edifice Consultants Ltd., Haritha Consultants Ltd., and ARQS Consultants Ltd., decided to provide the design and consultancy services on a pro bono basis.

Being products of Sri Lanka’s free education system, the architects, engineers and quantity surveyors involved in the project felt this was a suitable opportunity to give the knowledge they have gained back to the national university system. 

KWA started life in 2001 as an independent design studio mainly focusing on built space and interior design. Now, it is a registered chartered architectural practice with a portfolio covering a wide range of projects for private clients and developers in Sri Lanka and the Middle East. KWA’s special focus is towards tourism, leisure, commercial/retail, and residential architecture as well as master planning and urban design. 

The project team will comprise architects Thilan Koththigoda and Thushari Wijesundera as the lead architects, Edifice Consultants Director - Engineering chartered engineer Nuwan Bandaranayake as the structural engineer, chartered engineer Shiran Jayalath as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer, and ARQS Consultants Managing Director Hasitha Gunasekera as the cost consultant.

Architect Thilan Koththigoda worked in the UK and the Middle East prior to forming KWA and has won numerous academic awards including the Professor K.R.S. Peiris Design award for the best designer in M.Sc. Architecture, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects award for the best part III results, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects award for the best results in M.Sc. Architecture and from the University of Moratuwa, the awards for best results in M.Sc. Architecture and B.Sc. Built Environment degrees. Thilan also acts as a visiting tutor of design for the University of Moratuwa and the City School of Architecture.

Architect Thushari Wijesundara worked in the UK and the Middle East prior to forming KWA and completed her Diploma in Interior Design while working in London. Thushari also acts as a visiting tutor of design for the City School of Architecture and lecturer for the M.Sc. Interior Design course at the University of Moratuwa.

Some of the Awards KWA Architects have recently won include Muse Design Awards 2020, New York, Gold Award for Residential Architecture, Tropical Stack House, Battaramulla; Muse Design Awards 2020, New York, Silver Award, Commercial Architecture Thilakawardhana Textiles, Kiribathgoda; Asia Pacific Property Awards 2019/ 2020 Architecture, Single Residences, Sri Lanka, Floated House, Kandy; Asia Pacific Property Awards 2019/ 2020, Retail Interior, Sri Lanka, Thilakawardhana Textiles, Kandy; Asia Pacific Property Awards 2019/ 2020, Commercial Architecture, Single Residences, Sri Lanka, Amazon Teas, Colombo; Asia Pacific Property Awards 2016/ 2017, Architecture, Single Residences, Sri Lanka, Layered House, Colombo 08; Asia Pacific Property Awards 2015, Best Hotel Architecture, Sri Lanka, Reefs Edge Hotel, Uswetakeiyawa and Asia Pacific Property Awards 2015, Highly Commended; and Public Service Interior, Sri Lanka Expo Rail - Railway Carriages.

University of Colombo Alumni Association President Rajeev Amarasuriya said that when the university requested the support of the Alumni Association to construct this swimming pool complex, even though it was a very large project, the Association undertook the same as this would be a development which would cater to and benefit generations of students.  He went on to state that in 1995, the Association gifted to the University of Colombo a 400-bed women’s hostel complex in Buller’s Lane, and now, 24 years after, the Association, representing all alumni of the University of Colombo, was happy to take on this project, which was even larger in magnitude. He invited all alumni of the University of Colombo to support this initiative.