Halcyon Residencies brings southern comfort to Labuduwa with new lifestyle concept @Sunday Times - 2014

By Mohan Samarasinghe

In keeping with the impressive infrastructure drive in post-conflict Sri Lanka, another unique up-market housing development is about to open its doors; and this time, it is in the comfort of the South.

The Halcyon Residencies, a join collaboration between a Sri Lankan entrepreneur domiciled in Canada and his local partners, will break ground this month on a charming plot of green earth in the village of Labuduwa, five Kilometers from Galle town.

Halcyon, the brainchild of Sri Lankan-Canadian software engineer Anura Gamage, will see his ancestral property in Labuduwa transformed into a high-end gated community of five individual residences and helmed by a central villa replete with swimming pool, gymnasium and barbecue terrace.

“For Galle, this is a novel concept. We are offering a new lifestyle which combines individual homes that are nestled within a small community of like-minded neighbors,” says Gamage.

This exclusive neighborhood with a manned entrance will be surrounded by a security wall, while each residence will be equipped with individual service accesses to the outside through a backyard gate. Inside, landscaped and undivided gardens will unite the neighborhood with interlocked pavements and coordinated vegetation harmonized with decades old endemic trees.

According to Architect Channa Daswatte, who envisioned this modern boutique community, Sri Lanka’s South has become an ideal place for creating architecturally-enhanced modern living spaces.

“Colombo is no longer the centre of all things modern. A Colombo-style lifestyle can now be enjoyed in provincial towns and Galle is in the forefront of this advancement,” says Daswatte.

One of Sri Lanka’s best-known architects, Channa Daswatte is a Partner of leading architectural firm MICD Associates. Daswatte, who cut his teeth in the business under the venerated Geoffrey Bawa, with four years as a director in Bawa’s company, already has a number of hospitality and residential works under his belt.

“Sri Lanka’s housing requirements are changing. The new generation is demanding a new lifestyle. People are no longer living in extended family situations. The extended family is shifting to the nuclear family,” Daswatte explains some of the criteria that drive today’s housing development.

The requirement, then, is to create smaller homes which are flush with modern amenities, suitable for a fast-paced lifestyle and assured of the inhabitants’ security. This is also the Halcyon guarantee.

“I am imagining how the people who buy these houses will live. For instance, when we were growing up, we interacted more with family. But today’s home needs to be suitable for multiple uses. First it is for family living, but it must accommodate visitors, it should be a place for frequent entertainment and even business meetings,” says Daswatte.

At Halcyon, the architect extends his design concepts well beyond the home. The village encompasses a continuous common garden with meandering walkways and park benches, offering the residents with shared green space without all the dividing fences seen in most Sri Lankan backyards.

Anchoring this blissful set up is a central villa, which is open to all residents and their guests. Here, they will also enjoy the facility of a party room, to accommodate larger groups of visitors at birthday parties or at a barbecue for your corporate buddies. The entire premise is built on the boutique concept, offering a lifestyle of exclusivity, community and elegance.

“The idea of community living has been woven into this design with lots of public spaces. You will live in an attractive environment with people of similar economic backgrounds, coming together in shared living. It’s a good way to live,” muses Daswatte.

According to Gamage, Galle has certainly lived up to its accolades as “The Jewel of the South.” Today, it is a thriving metropolis, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gall Fort and host to world class tourists. The once sleepy village of Labuduwa has today transformed into a bedroom community to accommodate the rising numbers of young urban professionals who work in the city’s ever-growing commercial enterprises and public service centres.

Among them are prominent public institutions such as the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, University of Ruhuna Medical Faculty, the Labuduwa Advanced Technological Institute, the Higher National Diploma in Engineering (HNDE) Labuduwa and the Labuduwa Agricultural Research Station, all of them just a few kilometers from the Halcyon Residencies.

Architect Daswatte points out that the location of Halcyon Residencies is a developer’s dream come true. Labuduwa is blessed with rural roots and still retains some of the old world charm, though only a stone’s throw away from the city bustle and teaming with professionals. The sloping landscape of the property too is a great advantage for designers, he says.

“When you sit on your terrace, you are looking out into a rural landscape, but actually you are in a suburban setting. So it’s a bit of the best of both,” Daswatte says.