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roven rebeira your everyday architect set design daraz

ABOUT ME

Hey there!
Glad you stopped by.

My name is Roven Rebeira and I am a licensed architect living in the paradise island of Sri Lanka. 

Architecture is something I fell into - is how I always answer the famous question 'what made you become an architect'. No - I didn't know I wanted to be an architect 'since I was 5 years old' as most would say. When I was 5 - oh come on, people don't remember what there were doing at the age of 5! do they ? well.. I don't for sure.  However, what I would say might have been a precursor to my love for architecture (that I didn't know at the time) is that I loved making (and breaking) things with my hands. Be it Legos, rocks, wood blocks or broken electronic parts - I was obsessed with putting things together and taking them apart.

 

Fast forward several years of that and I got into architecture school and simply loved every (toxic) moment of it- HaHa...*weeps*. 

 

roven rebeira RIBA Silver Commendation Award

I was fortunate enough that my hard work through a grueling 7 years of study was recognized when my masters thesis was awarded the 'Silver Commendation' in the prestigious RIBA Presidents Medal Awards. Being the only Sri Lankan student recipient in the history of the RIBA President's Medal awards (a 185 year history and counting) is truly humbling *and kinda crazy*. The project was published in various journals and articles in printed and digital media, both locally and internationally, notably The RIBA Journal

The course of study that I selected in architecture school was a work-while-learn model (which I honestly think is the only way architecture should be taught). Through this I was able to gain 10 years of experience with top tier practices in the field at the point I completed my professional qualification and obtain a license to practice architecture in Sri Lanka. I went on to work for several more years at a few renowned practices until the point where a general lack of appreciation for the hours of hard work I put in, and the fact that the work I handled was just not challenging enough to stimulate my personal views and notions about architecture, helped me realize that this was not how i wanted to practice architecture.

I found myself at a crossroads where I was facing a personal choice (which I'm sure most of you have faced or will face at some point in your own careers and life) -

A. continue working for practices that task you with the kind of design work you really didn't sign up for ?

or

B. quit, start your own firm and focus on the craft of architecture that you fell in love with in the first place? 

I'll let you take a guess at what I picked... Of course I quit! 

This decision may come easy for some, but as someone who grew up in a family that did not come from wealth, this was a risk in every sense of the word. At the time I took this decision, the love of my life Natty and I were just married and starting our life together, living a very simple life (we practice a minimalist lifestyle), living on rent (still do BTW - buy property? in this economy?). Her support in this decision is something I thank her for to this day. 

island studio projects gallery black and white
island studio logo

I teamed up with an architect buddy and dear friend and founded Island Studio together in 2018. We started with a strict focus on delivering quality design to our clients with a unique island flair and exploring alternate ways of practicing architecture and running a firm. Practicing architecture as co-founder and director at Island Studio is what I do professionally (best decision I made, hands down). Follow these links if you want to check out what we get up to at the studio -Instagram - Facebook - Projects Gallery

It's been 4 years since I made the move to start my own architectural practice based in Sri Lanka. During this time I have had the great pleasure of meeting some amazing people through my work, complete some very unique projects and have several more ongoing. It's been a fun experience setting things up the studio and the team (we are a MASSIVE team of 4 in total) and finding our own rhythm in how we design and deliver our projects and more importantly, balance work and an enjoyable life.

your everyday architect sketchbook

The freedom of pursuing my various other passions and interests is one of the main aspects that tipped the scale in favour of taking the leap to work for myself. Which brings us to 'Your Everyday Architect'. Starting a blog was something that constantly entered my mind and I am so grateful that I have finally gotten down to it (should have started this way earlier) . Of course like most things in my life it is a work in progress and I own that as one of my endearing personality traits - I love tweaking things so that they could maybe work a little bit better. Your Everyday Architect is a space where I can share focused snippets of my life as an architect and just an everyday minimalist guy. I have plans of extending Your Everyday Architect as a YouTube channel and maybe even a podcast ?  Let's see where life takes us, and I would love for you to tag along and share your thoughts on my content. 

All in all I am a pretty positive person and an easy going guy. I am happy about where I am in life and I am happier knowing that putting in continuous work and effort will only make life better for myself and my people around me. 

I say yes way more than I should and if you ask me anything that is not super crazy ( like "hide my stash" , "help me get rid of the body" or designing your project for free) I will probably say yes. My goal in life is to spend everyday with the people I love and do the work that I love doing in a way that would make everyone proud - to me this seems like a great way to start each day. 

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