SOM wins competition to design a new master plan for the Colombo Port City in Sri Lanka

SOM has won (yet another) major commission: the master plan for Colombo Port City in Sri Lanka. Covering a 269 hectare site, the master plan is for a new city development that will extend the existing Colombo Central Business District. The project, which is designed in collaboration with Grant Associates landscape architecture, is intended to respond to the sensitive ecology of the area, an d includes canal edges, new gardens, a new harbor, and a new city park.

The master plan is oriented around a central civic plaza inspired by hanging gardens and featuring shaded promenades. “The locally resonant design approach is also apparent along the canal edge promenades,” the press release states, “where inlets of varying character reference the lagoons of Sri Lanka’s rich and articulated coastline.

The design is also intended to create a distinct skyline—a “striking and legible profile with a clear hierarchy when viewed from key points within the city.” This includes a central cultural venue at the seafront. According to the press release, the SOM-designed master plan “presents a dynamic new vision for Port City Colombo that promises to deliver high quality urban environments for residents and visitors.”