There is a renewed interest on tourism and tourist destinations in Sri Lanka. While we have some architecturally significant hotels we have very few tourist destinations of any architectural or urban design value. Entrance to few wild life parks come to mind. All the other tourist destinations feel cheap and disorganized. Here is an example of a typical Japanese tourist destination in Shizuoka.
The construction of Hotel Lanka Oberoi, which was the original name of the Cinnamon Grand, began in 1973. The hotel commenced operations in 1975. It was the first hotel located outside India of Oberoi Hotels. The hotel was constructed on the land where the Bishop of Church of Ceylon resided until the 1970s. The atrium of the hotel was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Until then, only Hyatt Regency Atlanta had such an architectural feature. The atrium in its original state displayed large Batik flags draping from its roof.
Saitama New Urban Center (Saitama Shin-Toshin) is a business district in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Japan. Among the buildings located in the district is the Saitama Super Arena.
Photos: Rajitha Katugaha
