New British High Commission
- Due for completion - 2008
- Contract value - £6.2m
- Contract type - Design & Build
- Architect - Richard Murphy Architects
- Role - Technical / Site / Administration
In 2001 Richard Murphy Architects won a limited competition for the design of a new British High Commission in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. The project has had many holdups due to the global political situation following the events of the 11th of September 2001 but is now on site. Richard Murphy Architects has collaborated with local architects Milroy Perera Associates at every stage of the job.
The design, unusually for an embassy, is single storey arranged around a series of small and intimate courtyards. The starting point of the design is the possibility that office workers can switch off the air conditioning, open windows to the courtyards and induce a breeze through their offices with the use of a thermal chimney operating down the middle of each “leg” of the design.
Water is used extensively in the design for pools and lakes and this together with the courtyard idea is inspired directly by traditional Sri Lankan architecture, also more recently reinterpreted through the work of the late Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa.
Construction work started on site in March 2006 with an anticipated completion date of February 2008.
