Japan International Cooperation Agency （JICA) / Preservation Plan of the Heritage Area of Kandy, Sri Lanka

Summary

Project description

The goal of this project is to develop the masterplan of the Greater Kandy Area and district plans of the Kandy Town, which is the locus of this region and is famous for the Temple of the Tooth, World Heritage Site. We were responsible for the development of the detailed district plans of the Kandy Town, which is adjacent to the Temple and filled with the lower-scale, shophouse buildings from the Colonial Era. We, not only proposed the plans and regulations related to the preservation of the historic built environment, but also planned and held the advocacy events for the citizens so that they could recognize and appreciate the historic resources which were not familiar to the public.

Technical features

Due to the high development pressure of the Heritage Area, which also functions as the commercial center of this town, while we try to preserve the historic lower-scale streetscape, we also allow some addition to the historic buildings as long as they are subordinate to the historic buildings and harmonious with them. In the plan, we also proposed the walkable streets with wider sidewalks, which allows the citizens and tourists to enjoy the historic streetscape. The pilot project to advocate the significance of the historic resources includes the open house of the historic prison and the large townhouse and the exhibition of the old buildings which were filled with the memories of the residents.