Soraya Somarathne, The Cloister | Light Roof Competition in partnership with RIBA Journal
Keylite Roof Windows has partnered with RIBA Journal to challenge architects to design remarkable projects, shaped by daylight.
The competition tasked entrants to design a generous family home for a compact site that was enclosed on all sides, so that the only access to daylight is from the sky directly above.
Soraya's design was commended by the judges.
Influenced by its location in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, Soraya Somarathne’s top-lit Cloister offers a meditative and contemplative space for its occupants. The secluded, subterranean residence was admired by the judges for its ‘different sensibility’ and ‘celestial atmosphere’.
Brick is the primary material, tying in with the historic surrounding architecture. Somarathne also incorporates building techniques derived from the ‘Rohtak dome’, a self-supporting shallow brick dome found in the Indian villages of Rohtak, topped by a central skylight. ‘The mounded roof gives the design a certain presence,’ said Foges. ‘In some ways it recalls the Pantheon with its central oculus – there is no outlook but it does not feel claustrophobic’.
Find out more about the competition: https://www.keyliteroofwindows.com/ri...