Civic Centre for Panadura. Part 1 Project 2011 Tharindu Wijepala City School of Architecture | Sri Lanka This project involves designing a Civic Center for Panadura, a coastal town located on the South Eastern Coast just outside the city limits of Colombo (the capital city of Sri Lanka).Panadura has a history dating back to the pre-colonial era of the 14th century, andhas been the birth place of many revolutions and revolutionists. Thus giving rise to a strong sense of pride and belonging, which was further reinforced by the town's architecture and planning.Today the important nodes of the town seem to have lost their prominence due tourban sprawl, while the town has lost its once eminent character and spatial hierarchy. From a demographic point of view, at any given point of time the majority of the town's population comprise of persons in transit, due to the town being situated at a junction along a main highway, as well as being a stop point along the coastal railway line. From a social point of view this factor appears to have diluted the sense of belonging amongst its inhabitants. The fact that Panadura has not produced any eminent personalities in the recent past may be a factor which has led to the younger generation to have a diminished sense ofbelonging.The project brief which was very open required three aspects to be looked in to;interaction between all communities and age groups; the gathering, exchange and discussion of -inforrnation; freedom of expression. All these factors which were used as tools to overcome the short comings that Panadura Town was facing.In order to achieve these goals a site had to be selected from a choice of three. Thesite selected was one which was located amidst a cluster of public buildings. Its location was also strategic in terms of linking several public open spaces to form a very coherent public realm which could easily be further linked so that it spreads though out the town, while the built form of the Civic Centre would be used to give a new sense of character to Panadura.In short this building would serve a much greater purpose than what it is originally intended to do. Tharindu Wijepala Tutor(s)