Enchanted by the mesmerising connotations architecture can preserve with the tall and bold constructions, Indika Samarasinghe, a Chartered Architect by profession and the entrepreneur by post is the cofounder of ISS Architects (PVT) Ltd., shares his story in the field, highlighting the acmes of his journey.
Springing his academic progression at Trinity College, Kandy, during the 1980s, Indika subsequently transferred to the Sacred Heart School, Bahrain. Then, taking a professional turn towards his career, he followed a Bachelor in Architecture Program at the University of Bahrain after which he joined the Colombo School of Architecture to graduate with his Charter from the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects, back in 2005.
After his massive achievement academically, Indika took up various directorial positions at leading organisations; ISS Architects Pvt. Ltd., Propylon Square Pvt. Ltd., Anacar Agro Pvt. Ltd., Premier Skills International Pvt. Ltd, Gravity Resort Group Vakarai Pvt. Ltd, and IWA Associates Pvt. Ltd. For two years, he was the Inaugural President of the Business Network International (BNI), Infinity Chapter and has also held various other positions in different Councils. While advancing in the academic ladder, he contributed and added his essence as an esteemed architect in various symposiums as a guest speaker. Some such public enriching moments were noted at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects National Conference (2009), The 14th Asian Congress of Architects (ACA-14), Lahore, Pakistan, (2010), The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) 37, National Conference, Philippines (2011) and The IAPEX Institute of Architects Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan (2014).
Indika finds passion in ISS Architects Pvt. Ltd. and its remarkable journey to delve deeper into the means of architecture. Laying the basic foundation with his wife Samanthi Samarasinghe (Director / Chartered Architect), Indika believes their expertise in the field can create collaborative outcomes. In the order of accomplishment, they designed the Brandix Eco Centre in Seeduwa, receiving the Platinum Award under The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Green building rating system, of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), being the first apparel factory globally to achieve the highest credits during that period. Indika further elaborates on the worldwide initiatives taken up by ISS, “We have working experience in Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Myanmar, Seychelles, Bangladesh, India and currently focusing on mega factory complexes in Pakistan. We designed the first LEED Certified Building in the whole of Pakistan for the Artistic Milliners Group which received the LEED Gold Certification of USGBC Gold rating for their denim plant in Karachi”. He continues, “We have worked with most of the large conglomerates in the garment industry of Pakistan and received the Platinum LEED Certification for Interloop Limited which was selected as one of the 7 greenest buildings in the world.” He is also proud to have worked with Style Textiles in Lahore on the 50 acres Garment Campus project with 2 million square feet of production areas. Another international achievement was the Dekko Garment Project in Bangladesh which received the LEED Gold Certification.
“We are currently engaged in megaprojects from Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. We aim to make our services specialised and recherché,” says Indika, as he elaborates further on the procedures followed by ISS. Starting with the Industrial Engineering Calculations, the factory designs will be unwound step by step to ensure a precise coverage of the task via the Process Flow. “This creates a basis for functionality, making the factory designer-made and highly efficient”, he adds. Apart from the basic architectural activities, ISS specialises in providing consortium consultancy services and in improvement to factory process flows. “We recently made improvements to Sri Lanka’s most famous paint brand production facility for JAT Holdings, where we helped them to increase productivity without incurring any capital cost by two-fold”, Indika shares when mentioning their recent contribution to the JAT Holdings in the design and development of JAT 96 Residencies apartment building in Kotte. He commended the Client team for their dedication and adding extra value to the buyers by offering over and above what was originally offered even whilst facing delays due to the extended pandemic and other numerous challenges faced by the site itself.
Indika believes that free-flowing ideas can preserve a more significant degree of uniqueness within this architecture. At ISS, decisions result from experimental sessions, finding the best-suited design or style for a particular project. He trusts that addressing each project individually can help mould the customer’s demands according to their budgets.
ISS holds a firm partnership with End2End for all their Industrial Building designs who support him with the Industrial Engineering services, EnergySolve International provides MEP and LEED Certifications services. Accrediting these partnerships, together they hold a record of reaching a high number of LEED Certifications within Asia. Indika is proud to have them assist in efficiently designing their architectural consultation. Other partnerships, like Oak Mantra, in Pakistan, manage marketing angles and ground support in Pakistan. ISS also shares ties with Rohan De Silva Design Studios as their design partner for all interior designs and fit-outs for their projects, providing a holistic approach to furniture and detailing.
Having a more comprehensive design portfolio, ISS has successfully designed architecture from multi-storeyed apartments and leisure resorts to personalised housing and more significant organisational buildings. Indika shares when encouraging prospective clients to have a sneak peek at the extended portfolio available at the official website.
Indika shares a more incredible bond with his fellow friends and Directors of Propylon Square, The Gateway Company, acquiring holistic consultancy and advisory services. Both domestic and international clients are benefitted from their project development needs. Indika mentions, “We are a unique and integral component of the construction and development community as we offer a complete spectrum of services under one roof.” He is also proud to be partnered with Propylon One, which is a boutique system integrator helping growing businesses to succeed in their digitisation initiatives; especially in the field of ERP.
He has a diverse portfolio of business ventures, as he stated, “Along with other partners of Anacar Argo, we manage a vast agricultural estate of 25 acres in Wanathawilluwa,”. He is a Director of Premier Skills International, for upcoming higher education programs and the launch of the Magazine, Hoteliers Sri Lanka.
The pandemic has stood against most organisations. However, ISS could hold it tight working on their pre-planned and being awarded new projects during this period, as the company had been based online even before the Pandemic. “All our staff work online and are target-oriented.”.
Indika is strongly connected to two main elements; trust and honesty, which he believes to be the basis of ISS Architects. Honouring their staff and their clients is of paramount importance to Indika. Team-work has also been a strong suit for him while working in various countries. He is proud of his position in the architectural industry and is grateful to his mentors for their support.