Nakulugama Primary School
Tsunami School
Though this school did not get directly affected by the Tsunami, many students were and the UNOPS decided to rebuild. The site is very small and was packed with school buildings. Children did not have a play ground or any free space.
The site was modest, hemmed in by walls and buildings, leaving no room for laughter to spill or games to unfold. Yet, childhood thrives on play — the breath between lessons, the rhythm that shapes young hearts. Thus, the design began with a single intention: to give back space, freedom, and sky.
By stacking the built spaces towards the rear, the front was liberated into a playground — a realm where little feet could run unrestrained, and where, amid loss, joy could return.
The mass of the building, though large, was broken down into forms that spoke to the scale of a child — approachable, friendly, and filled with wonder. Corridors, stairways, and landings became places to linger, to peek, to discover — with openings at eye level children offering “little spy holes” for imagination to play.
In ther Interior, upto the hight that children touch, Bambo color was used to mask the dirt marks, thus making maintence easier in a public school. Two great trees, witnesses of the past, were lovingly
preserved and embraced by the new form. shadows dance daily upon white
walls — a living, shifting artwork of light and memory.
In the blazing Hambantota sun, the pure white structure stands serene and dignified against the deep blue sky. A place of calm, hope, and freedom at time and for childen that had no place to call home.
