Shigeru Ban's Sustainable Vision for Restored Village of Kirinda Makes the Final Three at MIPIM Real Estate Summit Awards in March BOSTON, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Colliers International, the global real estate services firm, has been recognized for its ground-breaking project of rebuilding Kirinda village in Sri Lanka after the tsunami of December, 2004. The company has been selected by an international jury as one of three finalists in the residential category of the 17th annual MIPIM awards. MIPIM is the world's premier real estate summit, convening the most influential decision makers in the market, and the awards ceremony will take place March 13th-16th in Cannes. The renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban donated his time to produce a sustainable vision for the village that embraces local traditions and materials and conforms to the highest environmental standards. Working with the Sri Lankan government and consulting closely with the local population, the Colliers Kirinda Trust has sought to accelerate community regeneration and social healing while preserving the religious and cultural fabric of the village. Kirinda village is also the first village or town in Asia to have 100% solar powered street lamps throughout the neighborhoods of Kirinda where Colliers rebuilt the center of the village. Forty-five street lamps have already been installed in February 2007, and 20 more are on the way. The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, has lauded the impact of the project. "I would like to express, on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka, heartfelt thanks for the contributions Colliers, Shigeru Ban and partners have made to rebuild the community in Kirinda," he remarked. "They took an extremely professional approach, developed the highest standard of designs, used the most appropriate local materials and consulted our experts and the local population to ensure that the end product matched displaced families' needs. This project has become the benchmark for ongoing Tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka -- and Colliers has quite rightly received international recognition and acclaim for its work here." The Colliers Kirinda Trust has raised almost $1 million so far, primarily from within Colliers International, to finance the reconstruction. All fifty houses have been finished. The Trust plans to work in the village for a further three years on sustainability schemes. Web site: http://www.colliers.com/ http://www.collierskirinda.com/ http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/ http://www.colliersusafoundation.org/
