Category: Sustainability

Five ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle

As the world grows ever-smaller and more interconnected, we’re all becoming increasingly aware of our impact upon it. The butterfly effect states that every flap of a butterfly’s wings can create a hurricane across the ocean; so every decision we make can ripple out to affect the planet we call home. Here at Tri we’re strong believers in looking after our little patch of blue and green; safeguarding the natural world for future generations. This doesn’t have to mean hardship and deprivation — here are five simple ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

1. EAT LOCALLY
Everyone knows that nothing tastes better than coconut water gulped from a coconut cut directly from the tree; or bananas, ripe and spotted, picked from the palm. Eating locally means enjoying food which is fresh, in season and packed with nutrients, and supporting your local farmers, whilst avoiding food miles and endless packaging. Win-win! The food concept at Tri is entirely designed around eating locally and enjoying the bounteous produce available in our lush corner of the Earth. When you’re back at home, why not try to eat with the seasons? There are few things tastier than a late-summer blackberry straight from the bush…

Credit: @xkflyaway

2. REDUCE SINGLE USE PLASTIC
Taking hundreds — even thousands — of years to break down, single-use plastics are clogging up waterways across the globe, causing environmental degradation, swirling ocean gyres and harm to wildlife the world over. The solution is simple: opt out. Here at Tri, we use our own filtered water in reusable glass bottles, and eschew plastic straws in favour of sustainable home-grown bamboo. Why not take your bamboo straw home with you? Opt out of plastic straws and enjoy a taste of tropical paradise with every sip!

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3. CUT DOWN ON YOUR MEAT INTAKE
Eating mindfully does not stop with the vegetable drawer. Tri’s menus focus primarily on locally-sourced plants, fish and seafood, to create delicious dishes with a true Sri Lankan flavour, avoiding more resource-intensive meats such as beef and lamb. It’s easy to maintain this sustainable living focus when you arrive back at home: just switch that steak for a fresh fillet of fish, or try to stick to plant based dishes for a few days each week. Simple!

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4. DITCH THE CAR
Turn off that engine: here at Tri we love getting out into nature. Co-founder Rob often starts his day with a cycle into work, or an early-morning hike through the lush greenery surrounding Koggala Lake. Ditching a gas-guzzling car for pedalling or hiking up and down hills will improve your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen your legs and help to save the environment to boot.

Credit: Chris deLorenzo

5. SWITCH OFF
Reducing our electricity use is one of the simplest steps to living more sustainably. One of the things our guests love most about Tri is the ability to completely disconnect from the outside world. Switching off will not only reduce your electricity use, but give you a mental break from our fast-paced, never-stopping world. Use the time to enjoy a yoga class or get out into nature. Take a break, and just breathe.

Yogashala (4)

Image credits: @xkflyaway, Chris deLorenzo, Coke Bartrina

The Origin of Tri’s Name

What’s in a name? Lara Drummond, demonstrates she has a Masters in Religious Studies from SOAS University – the School of Oriental and African Studies – when she explains the etymology of Tri here, and how the hotel’s name came to her…

Much as we all love long, exotic, mysterious hotel names, when it came to christening our contemporary design hotel, we were looking for something short that had meaning. It needed to span East and West, have spiritual and scientific significance, and be pertinent to modern architecture and of our eco-ethic.

‘Tri’ came to mind during my yoga practice as I stood in trikonasana – the triangle pose. Ancient Sanskrit is an Indo-European language, and so the root word ‘tri’ means three to both Eastern and Western ears. The number three is considered auspicious – even sacred – in most mystical traditions. Buddhism centres on the triratna, its three jewels are Buddha, dharma [his teachings], and sangha [monastic community]; Hinduism venerates Shiva whose main attribute is the trishula or trident; Christianity is a trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as alluded to by the crossing hand gesture – these are only a few examples.

Triangles were venerated in ancient times as a sacred shape and in Plato’s Theory of Everything he posited the triangle as the primary plane surface. In architecture, the use of the triangle is common because of its inherent strength – and you feel a strength in your body in yoga when the distance between the feet is the same as the distance between pelvis and leg, so the dragging of the feet apart is equal to the pull of gravity, and the result of this is stability.

Intended to be pronounced phonetically, ‘Tri’ is meant to be a play on the English word ‘tree’. Hugging the gentle hill that constitutes our promontory on Koggala Lake, Sri Lanka’s largest natural lake, the structures that make up Tri are built in a nautilus-shell spiral pattern, in keeping with the golden ratio. Our Koggala Lake hotel centres around the huge banyan tree that towers on the hill’s crown. The banyan tree is the little sister of the Bodhi fig tree, under which Buddha reached enlightenment, which is considered sacred to Buddhists (Sri Lanka’s main religion, and most prominent here in the Southern Province).

The tree features hugely in any spiritual context, representing the connection between Heaven and Earth, the giver of life and vitality. Mystical and philosophical traditions the world over use tree imagery, namely the Tree of Life, a many-branched tree which illustrates the idea that all life on earth is related. So when we checked and the domain for www.trilanka.com was still available, the decision was final. And Tri was born.

Sustainable Intelligent Architecture

Shanghai-based A00’s architect Raefer Wallis is a trailblazer in sustainable design, and as his achievements with Tri demonstrate, he has an unrivalled appreciation for contemporary architecture, renewability, and sustainability.  Born in Quebec, Canada with New Zealander heritage, Wallis obtained a Masters in Architecture from Montreal’s McGill University – then head to Asia where he was behind China’s first carbon-neutral hotel, URBN Shanghai.

 “My mantra is: Big picture first, details after. Landscape first, people after.” —Raefer Willis, architect.

A00 wanted to create architecture that is as striking as it is ‘invisible’ because of the way the buildings fall away from view to allow the beauty of the site, and surrounding landscape, to be the focus. The land’s natural spiral shape conjures the mathematical Fibonacci sequence and this was the inspiration that guided the hotel’s layout. It seemed only fitting that the sacred nuga tree that sits atop the hill would be the focal point of a golden ratio spiral – this helped them position all the independent structures around the hill.

Since Rob Drummond was always a fan of the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, he was also interested in having modular buildings and collaborated with A00 to create a unique property for Sri Lanka. Architect John Lautner, too, was also an inspiration – he is the architect behind the ultimate villas fit for a Bond villain, including Sheats Goldstein Residence, the futuristic-looking house that features in The Big Lebowski.

Using the landscape was a critical aspect of the design, this allowed eight suites to be ‘hidden’ along the hillside without any interruption to the views, while also allowing each suite to feel utterly private, with its own look out over Koggalla Lake. Green roofs and solar panelling are just some of the features that betray Tri’s sustainability and with the contemporary glass and pale-wood constructions, the characterful cladding is cinnamon wood – a byproduct of the local spice trade which exports the bark. The green sloped roof hides the solar water heaters while the interiors include white polished terrazzo, local granite, and earth rendered walls.

The water tower, which houses has two guest bedrooms, is covered with a cinnamon-stick-screen skin, and sits within a reflection pond that also mirrors the golden ratio silhouette. Creeping vines that were planted along the base of the walls are already flourishing. Hidden next to this tower is the open-air, yoga shala, which hides its three stories housing the library and spa, from a sudden drop in terrain.

The main pavillion structure serves as the main social hub – its 10m cantilevered roof represents some of the most striking architecture of Tri. It acts as the dining space, poolside lounge and the reception area, while allowing guests to a swim in an infinity pool with the best possible Koggalla Lake views.