Impact of the commercial activities on historical character of the street front facade of Havelock Road, China Garden, Galle

Abstract

Facades of the buildings in a street and their usage are important, as collectively these factors create street elevation and the character. Havelock road, which faces China Garden and located on the periphery of the historic city of Galle, is a commercial street shaped by colonial architectural influences. However, intensification of commercial activities has made significant transformations to this street facade, often disregarding their heritage value. This research aims to examine the impact of the commercial activities on historical character of the street front facade of Havelock Road in China Garden, Galle. Through the literature review, proportions of the buildings, proportions, openings , materials, color and texture, roof character and decorative elements were selected as the physical factors which determine the building facades. The type of commercial activities and number of people accessing the building were selected as the parameters to identify the nature of the building usage. Current building facades data were collected via onsite measuring, observations and photographic recordings. Historical building facade data were collected via historical recordings, building owners’ old photographic recordings and semi-structured interviews. Current and historical activity data were collected via observations, semi-structured interviews and photographic recordings. A building facade analysis and a building usage analysis were adopted to identify the impact of commercial activities on the historical character. Findings show that the change of building usage to modern commercial activities has directly impacted changes in the facade character, prioritizing modern commercial demands, leading to the negligence or removal of key architectural characteristics. The research concludes that a more regulated approach in changing the building facades in Havelock Road, is needed as preserving facade character can enhance the social appeal and reinforce place identity.