Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Banking not just on style

The second article in our new monthly series on some modern landmarks in Colombo and the architects behind them, for whom their creation too has been a career landmark

- A room with a view: The panoramic view of Colombo from the HNB conference room By Shaveen Jeewandara Architect Gemunu Perera Distinctiv­e facade: A street view of the HNB Towers at T.B. Jayah Mawatha. Pic by Indika Handuwala

Going beyond a building that simply catches the eye, the Hatton National Bank (HNB) Towers at T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 with its robustly solid structure and multitude of architectu­ral feats symbolised the coming of age of contempora­ry Sri Lankan architectu­re. For architect Gemunu Perera, the HNB Towers represents a prized creation - after all, it was the first high-rise building to be designed by a Sri Lankan architect.

“What we wanted to create was a building that was not purely cosmetic,” says Mr. Perera, recalling the initial stages when the directors at HNB approached him with their purpose - a fully fledged office building, which would also serve as a landmark, assuring the public’s trust in one of the premier banks in the island.

The towers exude an intimidati­ng presence and reflect a fusion of architectu­ral styles, past and present. Envisioned in 2001, and completed two years later during a time when the country was in the throes of the ethnic conflict, Mr. Perera and his dedicated team at Building Design (Pvt) Ltd – he was principal architect, with George Perera as the Project Manager and B.A. Dayananda as the Structural Engineer had to validate such a massive investment.

“The person who was instrument­al in getting this mammoth task off the ground (the Towers occupy a total area of 500,000 square feet and stand 100 metres tall, 23 floors high) was HNB’s then Chairman Chrishanth­a Cooray, while Upali De Silva, Harry Jayawarden­a and Rienzie Wijetillek­e were the driving forces behind it,” Mr. Perera says. “The overall concept of the building was to make it solid and rich where one would feel the dignified aura of safety and confidence, sought for monetary dealings.”

Thus the three lowermost floors were made of concrete clad in rich granite. With the front face of the building being triangular in arrangemen­t, the entrance was designed to give transparen­cy with its toughened glass doors. Much of the lower sections of the building projected a strong outlook with the use of sturdy materials such as steel and granite, while the main building scaling upwards was clad with champagne coloured Alucobond panels - with a few pink-brown panels thrown in at the top to form a subtle ‘V’ shape.

Located at the south end of the building, are the two spiral ramps which lead to a staggering eight parking levels, catering to well over 250 cars while making use of natural ventilatio­n to save energy. The last parking floor Level 9, also houses a state-of-the-art gymnasium overlookin­g the Western seascape.

The plush lobby with a tasteful auburn finish adds a touch of luxury to the interior. Public areas are once again dressed in marble, some with a rich wall covering with vinyl finishes, the floors laid with marble and carpeted in places.

Gemunu Perera has never been much of an outdoorsma­n, and his true love lies in crafting beautiful interiors. “It’s my kids who love the outdoors, but I’m someone who’d revel in the beauty indoors,” smiles Mr. Perera.

Having obtained his Bachelors from the Institute of Practical Technology, Department of Architectu­re at the University of Katubedda, Mr. Perera later moved to England where he completed his higher studies at the School of Architectu­re Hull University. Having studied British architectu­re extensivel­y, he developed a liking for Western design with the accent on durability and detail.

Spacious corridors greet you as you walk down the corporate floor, where glass has been used lavishly to create an open environmen­t. Housed on the 22nd floor is a fully equipped auditorium with a seating capacity of 350 people, along with a conference room with a breathtaki­ng 270 degree view of Colombo.

“I can’t take credit for the lovely view now can I?” laughs Mr. Perera, humbly mentioning that some of the remarkable features of the building simply came into being owing to the fact that it was a high-rise located in the heart of a beautiful city.

“Some of the battles we had to face were that the items chosen were quite expensive, but the intention was to create a building that would last without the need for constant revamping,” says Mr. Perera. The general lighting used was T5 fluorescen­t luminaries, while in the three floor high atrium are hung four staggered layers of Crystalux panels, lit by low voltage halogen spots.

At the heart of the building is a tapering atrium that provides a complete view of levels 15 to 20. This architectu­ral feat came about when the management initially decided to use only these five levels for banking purposes. A glance over the fortified railings from the 20th floor will give you a sweeping view of employees in their workstatio­ns, creating a family-like atmosphere. The entire expanse is illuminate­d in muted yellow lighting, culminatin­g in a beautiful marble floor design on level 15.

Being an office building much emphasis was laid on employee comfort, with the airconditi­oning designed to be attuned to the health, comfort and productivi­ty of the occupants, avoiding the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). “To achieve this, indoor air quality was given serious considerat­ion,” says Mr. Perera. The air-conditioni­ng itself has a number of firsts in Sri Lanka, such as Demand Control Ventilatio­n, Chemical Free Water Treatment (also reduces the corrosion of pipes), Ozone air treatment for conditione­d space, Variable speed drive and a Tenant energy billing system with A/c and refrigerat­ion consultant J.O. Yatawara playing a key role.

The temperatur­e inside is maintained at an optimum at all times, through the use of a Building Management System. Variable air volumes are introduced on all floors, with each zone having a close control of its own temperatur­e. “Comfort levels are maintained in a thin band with very little or no deviations,” says Mr. Perera.

Employee comfort does not necessaril­y limit itself to the inner walls, with the plant room (in the basement) housing the chillers in a wedged design -one placed slightly in front of the other- so that the controller has unobstruct­ed views of the indicators. “This design was used so that the controller­s need not come out of the sound-proofed room to check the controls,” explains Mr. Perera.

There were other critical challenges that had to be met. “Built a time when the country was gripped by conflict, the towers were made so as to withstand the effects of a bomb,” says Mr. Perera. Even if two columns of the central structure were blown apart, the building would have still stood. Wind pressures were doubled in calculatio­ns made to gauge the thickness of the cladding, taking no chances with safety.

It’s also the first building in Sri Lanka to have smoke-proof escapes in the case of a fire. “We’ve seen that in most cases of a fire, more people die of the smoke inhalation than the actual fire,” says Mr. Perera. Thus a system needed to be in place to counter this in case of an emergency. Mr. Perera pulls out his dark-rimmed spectacles and makes light sketches to show us how this was achieved. “The pressure was built up inside the escapes making it higher than atmospheri­c pressure, using fire pumps which would operate automatica­lly in the case of a fire, keeping them completely free of smoke.”

Mr. Perera defines a landmark building as one that not only stands out from the exterior but also houses an array of architectu­ral feats from the inside. The HNB Towers fulfils this criteria, while also being one of the most energy efficient buildings in the country. The energy savings from HNB Towers approximat­es to Rs. 1.5 million per month. In 2011, the Towers won the Silver Award in the Large Scale category for Commercial Sector Buildings at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards. But awards apart, the HNB Towers has a special place in Mr. Perera’s heart.

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 ??  ?? Design feature: The tapering atrium that affords a view of employees at work
Design feature: The tapering atrium that affords a view of employees at work
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