REINVENTING TRADITIONAL

TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY:

Contemporary Earth Architecture of Sri Lanka
Ranjith Dayaratne1

INTRODUCTION
In the search for sustainability, Sri Lanka like most countries has been looking at modern and new materials and
technologies as much as at the indigenous practices. Despite having possessed a resourceful repository of traditional
technologies and practices, their reinventions, however, have remained somewhat unrecognized. This stems partly
from the absence of focused research as well as sponsored or recognized programs to promote and experiment with the
new possibilities of their applications in modern building.
Sri Lanka’s traditional architecture has been extensively studied, and there exists much literature on the art and
construction of the buildings. However, a greater focus has been on recording the variety of their spatial patterns
together with the architectural compositions and appearances of buildings and their architectural details (De Vos
1988; De Silva 1990; Lewcock et al. 2002). While De Vos and De Silva have constructed a set of patterns of tra-
ditional Sri Lankan houses in settlements, Lewcock et al. have traversed the entire range of traditional settlements
and buildings and particularly their architectural splendor. Karunaratne has often highlighted the marvel of timber
architecture (1984), while many archeologists have discussed the structures and constructions of buildings in the con-
text of the history and archeology of Sri Lanka’s ancient civilizations. In contrast, Dayaratne (1999, 2000, 2003,
2007) shows how its indigenous architecture has been inherently sustainable and how some of the modern architects
have employed their principles in creating architecture that is appropriate to culture and kinder to the environment.
This paper provides a general introduction to the traditional materials of Sri Lanka and examines in detail how earth
architecture has been revitalized as a sustainable approach to building.

KEYWORDS
sustainability, earth buildings, reinventions

INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURE asteries, and enormous religious edifices. In fact,

OF SRI LANKA site selection, use and re-use of sites and materials
Sri Lanka as a tropical island in the Indian ocean therein have all been fashioned by the culture of
with a 2500 year old documented civilization has simplicity and thrift, reverence to nature, and the
had buildings constructed of numerous natural understanding that the earth must be treated with
materials available aplenty in its geographical ter- care and gentility because it is both fragile and
rain. Its traditional architecture has been fashioned exhaustible (Dayaratne 2000).
by principles of sustainability, although it had not Unsurprisingly, earth or mud has been one of its
been so claimed. Derived from the natural avail- primary and foremost building materials combined
ability of materials and cyclical possibilities of their with timber as a framework and coconut thatch
regeneration, they contributed to a prudent utili- and paddy thatch as roofing; all materials available
zation of the earth’s resources in constructing its aplenty in the settlements themselves. Timber that
25,000 or so villages and hamlets, the cities and was renewable through cultivation and reuse com-
urban centers as well as the forest temples, mon- plemented and sometimes also became the primary

1
University of Bahrain, Bahrain, [email protected].

Volume 5, Number 4 23
material and was abundantly cultivated in home gar- habitability. The practice has become so popular
dens as well as grown naturally in the forests. Stone that often many temples have emerged in difficult
was used when it was available and appropriate to terrain, in close proximity to rocks and boulders also
build, particularly the public and religious buildings exploiting the inherent characteristics of such lands
that required materials that would endure. On the to define spirituality, reverence, and seclusion.
whole, Sri Lanka’s traditional architecture ensured Indeed, Sri Lanka’s constructed rock architecture
that its consumption of the resources neither dwin- is historically unparalleled, except perhaps by those
dled their availability, nor damaged the fine balance of Cambodia’s Angkor (Higham 2001). Rock build-
of the ecology upon which it depended as an agri- ers of Sri Lanka have mastered the art of stone build-
cultural community. ing with specific knowledge of the types of rocks,
their materialistic compositions, processing involv-
TRADITIONAL TECHNOLOGIES ing retrieval from the earth, and cutting and shap-
Three distinct materials have dominated the build- ing them to assemble into structurally stable forms.
ing practices of indigenous Sri Lanka; stone, timber, The achievement of this technology is in evidence in
and earth, which have been separately and collec- a seven storey building known as the Lowamahapaya
tively used and technologies developed. In fact, in of which unfortunately only the ruins now exist.
the history of architecture of the island, there are dif- Sri Lankan indigenous builders developed a tra-
ferent regions in which specific materials have been dition of conscious integration of rocks into land-
extensively used because of their availability and scape that still continues. Boulders dominate mon-
the progress of artisans’ skills. It is noteworthy that asteries (Ritigala, Wessagiriya), and add spiritual and
whatever the materials used, their technologies have serene quality to places. Often, large boulders were
been refined and mastered with unimaginable dex- cut into in order to create caves or natural boulders
terity and prowess, evidenced by the ruins of ancient were used to define places (Seneviratne et al. 1992).
cities and other archeological sources. Some struc- Further, retaining walls have been built across
tures have survived thousands of years of human the boulders, creating new terraces. In fact, in all
occupation, but present neglect and abandonment ancient landscape works, retaining walls have played
clearly demonstrate that, had they been properly uti- a central role in creating magnificent architectural
lized and maintained, they would have lasted a few landscapes.
more thousand years; a sustainable building practice
indeed.
FIGURE 1. Finely crafted stonework at temples.
Stone Technology
The simplest form of the use of rocks for habita-
tion had begun with the occupation of the natu-
rally occurring caves around which walls and roofs
in mud, brick, and timber were constructed trans-
forming them to habitable places. As a principle,
when natural rock caves, rocks, or boulders were
transformed as habitations, minimal changes were
made to the rock itself but other constructions com-
pleted the enclosure or the enclosing possibility that
existed. Moreover, the landscapes were developed
guardstones
using the same attitudes to rocks and boulders or
stone that were organized and orchestrated to cre-
ate the splendor of the natural landscape. Obviously,
it was the availability of such opportunities in the moonstones
geographical terrains that have been exploited, while
retaining the ecology of the places to enhance their

24 Journal of Green Building

FIGURE 2. Natural boulders to define sacred lands. FIGURE 3. Exposed timber ceilings.

Carefully laid out stone slabs

Usually, public constructions were qualified to be

built in stone. The ambalams or the resting places
for the travelers and stone bridges, or the galpalamas
and steps in monasteries often were constructed in
large sawn pieces of stone.
Indeed, the development of stone has been so
extensive that there exists a whole period of civiliza-
tion based on stone constructions—rocks, boulders,
and refined and crafted stone. In Anuradhapura and
Polonnnaruwa, the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, a
countless number of ruins of buildings that have been
constructed of stone pillars on stone foundations as
well as mud brick foundations exist that stand as a have existed from the third century. Sigiriya for
testimony to the dexterity and deftness of the Sri example has had an elaborate gatehouse made of
Lankan builders who had employed stones and rocks timber and brick masonry with multiple tiled roofs
as natural resources of the earth sensitively, meaning- in its access to the rock palace.
fully, and with ingenuity. Three types of trees were extensively cultivated
and extensively used for buildings. Jak, coconut, and
Timber Architecture areca-nut trees provided for varying needs and were
Indigenous communities took to timber as a building consumable without any waste. If Jak fruits provided
material in a similar manner selecting the most apt fruit and vegetable for the villagers and feed for the
materials for the most appropriate use. Unlike stone, buffaloes, its timber provided for the durable qual-
which cannot be regenerated, timber was a cultivated ity required for making doors and windows as well
material. Although large, age-old timber came from as roofing rafters. The same could be said about the
the forests that surrounded many villages, the vil- coconut trees of which no waste came about because
lagers themselves cultivated much of the timber for its fruits provided for cooking, weaved leaves for
the domestic use as trees meant purely for producing thatching, and husks and other parts as raw mate-
timber or as fruit trees in their home gardens. rial for kitchen fires. Coconut with a straight and
Although extensive stone ruins remain suggest- strong stem could be easily husked and transformed
ing a predominant stone use, timber with mud or into rough timber rafters that were used in ordinary
masonry walls and sophisticated wooden buildings peasants’ huts.

Volume 5, Number 4 25
FIGURE 4. Celebrating the exposed timber ceilings. FIGURE 5. Earth walled unplastered peasant house.

Earth Architecture
Although stone architecture of the ancient times has
FIGURE 6. Granary Storage houses.
left ruins to display the ingenuity and dexterity of
the Sri Lankan buildings, very little of the earthen
architecture has survived, except some of the tem-
ples and those of the noblemen. However, the con-
tinuing traditions of villagers suggest that earth has
indeed been one of the most popular and abundantly
available materials that contributed to sustain the
rural hamlet as a composite of a habitat that plugged
into the cyclic and fragile eco-system sensitively and
carefully while consuming its resources and inhabit-
ing the spaces so sensitively created.
Traditional earth technologies of Sri Lanka have
ranged form the use of raw-earth: soil, to processed
earth brick as well as those hardened earth materials
such as kabook (clay ironstone) quarried from where
it was available. Although many of the aristocratic plaster (meti) and a cow-dung mixed mud plaster
houses and buildings built of such materials have (goma meti) was applied by hand to smooth the sur-
stood the test of time and have provided suitable face. Often, instead of cow dung, a lime sand plaster
shelter, there also exist many cottages of the poor applied with a leveler would finish the wall provid-
whose earth constructions have been structurally ing a strong and neat wall. The technology had been
weak, environmentally unsound, and did not pro- employed in constructing even the granary storage
vide stable shelter. houses in the front of the dwellings. The materials
Most of these employed wattle-and-daub as having been obtained from the surroundings, and
the earth technology; a technique in which a hol- the labour having been provided from the village
low timber frame is made first and then filled with itself, this was indeed an extremely sustainable prac-
adobe balls to create a wall. Often bamboo sticks tice that consumed little energy and did not produce
were used for the verticals (which gives thickness any toxic waste.
and reinforcements) on the sides of which the splits Once plastered and well-sheltered with overhang-
of the areca nut trees are knotted horizontally to cre- ing roofs, however, the raw earth buildings were
ate the frame. Once the wall dries up, a thick mud structurally stable, environmentally sound, and

26 Journal of Green Building

also lasted generations provided that the day-to-day
FIGURE 7. An urban shop and a street house built in earth.
maintenance was attended to. The Sri Lankan social
and cultural practices had built-in ceremonies and
events that ensured their renewal and maintenance
thus guaranteeing the continuity of those sustain-
able building practices.

REINVENTING TRADITIONAL
TECHNOLOGIES
In understanding how traditional building materials
have been re-invented in contemporary architectural
practices, two distinct spheres need to be examined.
On the one hand, there are those indigenous com-
munities continuing to engage in the age-old build-
ing practices coupled with the modern technologies
that have reached the rural settlement. Here, the
practice has been rejuvenated largely because of the
economic benefits the technologies offer. On the
other, there exists a whole new sector of architects
and clients collectively and individually advancing
and re-using them in often innovative ways driven
either by ideology or by individual fascination.
This has not only renewed interest and develop-
ment of innovative practices but also influenced the
urban middle class, and the rural poor in the trickle
down process of culture. Both spheres however offer
ample indications that the ideas of sustainability
have inherently been present there if not clearly
articulated.

The First Context: The Community

The arrival of modern technologies such as concrete and some artisans trained. The material is moving
blocks and concrete slabs in the past, however, had slowly in to the community that replaces the burnt
pushed traditional technology to the background and brick with the stabilized earth blocks. In particu-
it became the aspiration of those in wattle-and-daub lar, no design interventions or changes can be seen
houses to rebuild them with the concrete blocks, that could absorb all the benefits of earth building.
despite the fact that they did not offer the same kind Nevertheless, urban earth buildings are becoming a
of thermal comforts. The peasants thus exchanged common where shops and particularly eating houses
their comfortable, affordable, and sustainable houses are being constructed in earth.
for the modern opposite, which were trendy and
fashionable and expressed progress, modernity, and The Second Context:
a distinct place in the social hierarchy. It is in this The Formal Architectural Practice
context that earth has received an increased attention The first reinvention of traditional technologies
as a modern building material that can be less costly within formal architectural practices emerged in
yet provide for the very same modern needs. the early 1970s when Sri Lanka was subject to a
There is not much change in the community restricted economy and a program was launched for
building practices in the use of mud or earth except self-sufficiency through local production. The 1970s
that stabilized earth blocks have been introduced was a politically critical period of time in Sri Lanka

Volume 5, Number 4 27
when it became a socialist republic and Marxist- Stabilized Earth Blocks
nationalist policies were implemented. Importa- Stabilized earth blocks are an innovative reinven-
tion of modern materials was impossible, and many tion of the adobe brick promoted by the Auroville
architects were forced to explore all the options Building Center (ABC) in India among many
available to be creative. Naturally, many turned to others (Maini 1999). Unlike the ordinary adobe
local materials and technologies and Geoffery Bawa, block, which is a mixture of soil and water formed
in particular, reinvented a number of traditional in a timber mould, the stabilized compressed earth
technologies to cater to the modern needs. block has an additional cement component in its
Often, the innovation was not so much in the mixture but a smaller quantity of water. The mix-
material itself, but the ways in which the material ture is not kneaded to reach a plastic state, but sim-
and its products were used for generating archi- ply mixed until the cement and soil are thoroughly
tectural grandeur in the buildings. Indeed, these integrated. Thereafter, the mixture is placed within
reinventions are significant in that together there a mould and compressed with a high level of pres-
evolved an approach to architecture that was based sure applied through a hand-operated machine. The
on the vernacular and traditions, which is now formation of the brick is a resultant of the compres-
known as “Bawa style”; an embryo of what later sion of soil and cement together in a wet condition.
became internationally known as critical regional- Dried in the shaded sun, the SEB acquires a high
ism. The architects who followed this approach have compressive strength suitable generally for two
developed the attitudes and skills to employ materi- storey constructions but higher strengths can also
als and technologies of the past and reinvent them be achieved for three- or four-storey constructions
for the contemporary world in a sustainable manner. (Maini 1999).
The combination of other modern technolo-
Stabilised Earth Blocks (SEB): gies has made possible earth buildings that do
The Re-invention of the Earth Technologies not require domes, vaults, and other forms of this
More recently, the introduction of SEB has intrigued nature, which used to be associated with earth
many architects looking for sustainable building constructed buildings (Fathy 1969). Earth blocks
technologies, who have put their hands to the task of are sometimes left unplastered and sometimes cov-
building with earth as a modern material. A number ered with plaster or are painted with watered earth,
of interesting projects have come into being from added with natural colouring. For earth plaster, a
urban houses to tourist hotels; while a now popular suitable coloured earth is specifically chosen, the hue
jungle hotel known as the “Ella resort” has used the of which could be later enhanced by means of colour
traditional earth technology of wattle and-daub con- additives. Unlike the lime plastered modern urban
struction. However, the technology that has become dwellings, earth plastered buildings express a feeling
popular in the new practice of innovative build- of cool interiors. In fact, the interior temperature of
ings is the production of Stabilized Earth Blocks— an earth building is almost always less than that of a
unbaked earth blocks of size 8″ × 6″ × 10″. similar ordinary brick building.

FIGURE 8. Traditional technologies at

Ella and other resorts.

28 Journal of Green Building

AN EXPERIMENTAL URBAN HOUSE made from plywood sheets were used in between the
In 2000, encouraged by the renewed interest in beams, and the concrete slab was laid in smaller por-
earth architecture in Sri Lanka, an urban house was tions from beam to beam. Formwork was removed
constructed experimentally in the suburbs of Sri Jay- a day after and re-fixed within the adjoining beams
awardanepura, the new capital. Construction was to continue the laying of the concrete. This con-
completed in 2001 and the building has been occu- crete slab construction eliminated cumbersome steel
pied by a small family for the past eight years. frameworks, formwork, and also extensive labour.
Two new technologies were kept in mind at the Moreover, since plywood formworks were used, no
inception of the design of the house, namely Stabi- plastering was required.
lized Earth Blocks and 2″ concrete slabs with pre- The combination of these two technologies
cast, pre-stressed beams. Both technologies were ensured that the use of earth did not result in
becoming popular as alternatives to the conven- domes, vaults, and other forms of this nature, which
tional brick and concrete constructions, although usually differentiate earth constructed buildings
the skilled craftsmen familiar with the technolo- from conventional house forms. At the same time,
gies were hard to come by. In this case, a trained it enabled conception and design of an architectur-
craftsman for the making of the compressed earth ally flexible dwelling, which if only earth were to be
blocks was found and employed to make the bricks used would have resulted in forms having to be gen-
while an experienced ordinary mason was employed erated, restricted by the potential uses of earth itself
for the construction of the entire building. He was for spans. This freedom is found to be necessary in
trained in the methods of construction for both the introduction of earth as a building material in
technologies while being on the job. A large part urban settings where built-forms have to be gener-
of the earth blocks were made at site using the soil ated within very restricted site conditions and shapes
available at the site, while the shortfall was met from while also creating architecturally interesting and
soil brought from nearby hilly sites where conven- contemporarily valued spaces.
tional land preparations for house building makes Earth blocks were laid using an earth cement
such soil available. Standard sized compressed mixed mortar of 1:8 (w/w) proportion and the walls
blocks (8″ × 6″ × 10″) were used for the construc- were left un-plastered. Externally, they were painted
tion of the walls, using an earth, water and cement with watered earth, added with natural colouring.
mix mortar as a filling. Earth was sieved for this purpose, and a suitable
Since the house was designed from inception coloured earth was also specifically chosen the hue
with the experimental technology in mind, larger of which was later enhanced by means of colour
spans were avoided and the room sizes were taken additives.
as multiples of two feet; the distances recommended
for the laying of the pre-cast beams with the 2″
piecemeal concrete slab system. This system has
been developed by the Center for National Engi- FIGURE 9. Earth walls and bricks at a site.
neering Research and Development (NERD) of Sri
Lanka to eliminate the excessive use of concrete and
steel, which entirely eliminates the need for a stan-
dard formwork. (NERD Technical Leaflets 1999).
The low-cost slab system involved the making of
pre-stressed beams of pre-designed lengths, which
could be ordered from NERD approved sites across
the island. The slab construction involves the lay-
ing of these beams on the walls at 600 mm inter-
vals on which a 50 mm slab is constructed with a
square iron grille replacing the conventional steel
frame. Standard sized small pieces of formwork

Volume 5, Number 4 29
FIGURE 10. Plans of the urban house showing the brickwalls.

30 Journal of Green Building

 FIGURE 11. Section through the slab.

Its appearance in stark contrast to the modern

FIGURE12. Exterior views of the walls: ivy grown over
urban dwellings offers a feeling of a colder inte- earth walls.
rior and in fact, the inside atmosphere is at least 3
degrees lower than outside at any given time. Part
of the reason for the lower temperature within the
house was the result not only of earth walls but the
plaster that did not use cement as an ingredient.
Instead, lime, mud, and sand of 1:2:6 (v/v) propor-
tion was used to apply a 1″ thick plaster surfaced
with lime in order to obtain a smooth finish in the
interior. In the exterior, the lime plaster was avoided,
saving both labour and materials while finishing it
with a coat of selected earth, dissolved in water and
chemifix; a glue that is often used as a bonding mate-
rial in wood. This also added water resistance to the
exterior to withstand Sri Lanka’s heavy rainfall.
The experimental case study presented here does
not totally represent the contemporary earth archi-
tecture of Sri Lanka where many earth technologies
of various combinations are being experimented by
many architects. Indeed, the leisure industry has
enabled the pursuit of earth technologies for small
scale buildings mainly to enhance the idyllic tropi-
cal atmosphere that the resort hotels and jungle
retreats seek to promote. In the area of housing and
particularly in urban areas, earth architecture has its
appeal more because of its thermal qualities and also
the potential lowering of costs while enabling the
making of unique and exclusive buildings, which
the urbanites desire.

Volume 5, Number 4 31
CONCLUSIONS and they alone can either promote or discourage the
This experimental earth house among many oth- prospective builders from accepting earth.
ers amply demonstrates that earth can easily be Resulting from these experiments in Sri Lanka,
employed as an urban modern material to construct earth as a material has now been accepted in general,
at least two-storey buildings, particularly dwell- and most important its derogative image is being
ings. It also shows that earth as a material produces shed as a material for the poor. The construction
cooler interiors, provided no cement is used in the technologies employed produce savings in both the
plaster work. Since the house was constructed using material and labour since no plastering is necessary.
a wall-on-wall structural system, without many Moreover, the houses being built are seen as semi-
concrete columns, except three where two larger luxurious and thus contribute to the transformation
openings were required for the sitting room and the of the perception of earth from an inferior material
garage, the structural capacity of Stabilized Earth to one of superiority. Indeed, the design and con-
Blocks to take the loads of an upper floor has been struction of these dwellings have demonstrated that
reconfirmed. it will be possible to change the public perception of
It shows that unlike the many attempts by Hasan earth as a material while architecturally exuberant
Fathy to reintroduce earth, new buildings have to buildings can be designed using a combination of
avoid the negative consequences of earth construc- low-cost technologies.
tions. This means, vaults have to be avoided and
larger spans have to be obtained by using other
materials for the construction of roofs and f loor
slabs. In this case, a thin slab laid on pre-stressed FIGURE 13. Earth cottages in a way-side resort:
beams were used. Moreover, while earth as a mate- Ambalama.
rial may be employed, the modern ideas of space,
such as open planning and spatial fluidity, incorpo-
ration of visual courtyards through large openings,
and indoor bathrooms and pantries, etc., should be
included intrinsic to the design because contempo-
rary clients view houses as elegant, spacious, and
modern settings.
As for construction, it is noteworthy that the use
of earth does equate with burnt bricks or popular
cement blocks. It consumed less energy to produce
and consumed less cement for both the brick and
the mortar. However, it should not exclude concrete
or any other materials. The task in fact is to employ
a well integrated multiplicity of technologies, both
traditional and modern. The two-inch thick slab on
pre-stressed beams was a useful system that reduced
the load of the first floor, while providing a sufficient
stable and strong floor.
The experiment also shows that it is easy to
transfer the technology to artisans and make them
become innovative in its use. We also found that
with respect to costs, the wages for artisans have to
remain competitive for earth construction to attract
them to build with earth instead of cement blocks or
burnt bricks. This is crucial because it is mostly the
artisans who determine the materials to build with,

32 Journal of Green Building

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Volume 5, Number 4 33