12/09/2025
🍃 Nestled in the heart of Habarana a region celebrated for its lush vegetation, tranquil atmosphere, and deeply immersive natural beauty the “GaBaa” Villas project emerges as a sensitive and poetic architectural response to its setting. Located on a site densely populated with trees, the project challenges conventional hospitality development by embracing the forest rather than clearing it. Here, nature is not the backdrop, it is the central character. Conceived as a boutique retreat for both local and international travelers, GaBaa comprises seven uniquely sculpted villas, a restaurant, and a pool.
The client’s vision was clear, it’s to create a form of
architecture that had not yet been realized in Sri Lanka, which is one that would offer a distinct spatial experience while maintaining an uncompromised respect for the existing landscape. Each villa was designed with a sculptural yet solid form, carefully placed among the trees to avoid unnecessary felling, fostering a sense of ‘living within the forest’ rather than adjacent to it. Natural ventilation and daylighting are seamlessly integrated into the design, allowing the architecture to breathe with the land.
The play between solid and void creates a rhythm of openness and enclosure, connecting the visitor with the forest at every step. Though modest in scale, the spatial experience is rich. The architecture balances privacy and openness through controlled proportions and thoughtful orientation.
There are no grand gestures, just the quiet power of simplicity, geometry, and restraint, its strength lies in its simplicity and its seamless relationship with the site. Material choices reflect the natural palette of the area which including raw textures, earthy tones, and finishes that age gracefully with time. The goal was to allow the structure to blend in, to feel like it belongs, yet not as an object placed on land, but as something grown from it.
In a time where tourism developments often compete with nature rather than coexist with it, GaBaa Villas offers an alternative narrative. It is a place where architecture recedes into the forest, where luxury is redefined through stillness and simplicity, and where each visitor leaves with not just memories, but a renewed sense of belonging to the natural world.
Project Details
Principle Architect: GuLiRo Architect
Project Team:
• Kaushalya Rodrigo
• Piumal Liyanage
• Mahesh Guruge
Client: Madunika de silva
Structural Engineer: H. A. Dissanayake
Contractor: HDLP Construction & Engineering
Photography: Ganidu Balasuriya photography
