A Study of Experiment in Architecture with Reference to Personalised Houses

Abstract

This research is an enquiry into architectural design and construction. It is an examination on how architects experiment and innovate. Research identifies ‘design intervention’ as the critical and profound feature common to Sri Lankan architecture. Having established that, the question arises as to ‘why’ this ‘richness’ has not extended into interventions with building materials and technology? This leads to two key hypotheses; “Architects are not sufficiently involved in experimenting with building material and technology” and “the limited experimenting is due to cost issues”. The research looks at the architecture of personalised houses designed by Chartered Architects in Sri Lanka. This sector receives the most active contribution from the professionals but the approaches are confined to a limited set of practice conventions. Therefore, this segment of the industry is identified as the most appropriate the carry tout the research. The research is carried out according to a theoretical framework formulated in relation to materials and technology. The study investigates the effects of ‘cost’ in relation to experiment and attempts to establish the notion of ‘experiment’ in architectural design process and practice in Sri Lanka.