Post-war collective is a library at Ambepussa, near Colombo, awarded by the Global Holcim Awards in 2015, among the best sustainable architecture projects to improve community living in the area. The slender building with a footprint of 1,400 sq m sits lightly in the landscape and wraps around an inner courtyard, taking full advantage of cross ventilation and daylighting. Rammed-earth walls and recycled materials reduce costs and the ecological footprint. This building respects all the conditions that should have a construction that is placed in a warm-humid climate.
First of all the surrounding: shading and ventilation are the most important factors for comfort. Solar radiation is mainly diffuse. The surroundings of a building have great influence on its indoor climate, topography, surrounding buildings, vegetation and water are elements that transform the regional climate into a specific microclimate, which is the input for the indoor climate of the individual building. The surrounding vegetation offers sky shading and wind deflection.