New Influencers in Sri Lankan Interior Design
AOD’s comprehensive degree studies in interior architectural design creates new talent impacting the interior design business; story of AOD alumni Asanka Laksh and Dimuthu Edussuriya and their trail to success with own studio AD Design Inc.
Young interior designer duo Asanka Laksh and Dimuthu Edussuriya have been making their way up in the business for close to a decade, since completing their education with AOD. With a firm foundation of education delivered through AOD’s internationally recognized (BA) Hons interior design degree programme delivered in partnership with the prestigious Northumbria University UK, both Asanka and Dimuthu are fully qualified design professionals with a keen sense of entrepreneurship that drives them to succeed with their own studio AD Design Inc.
Both ventured into the non-traditional career path of design after their secondary school education, and are reaping the benefits of that bold decision today, as they find success in the highly lucrative and exciting interior design specialties of residential design, hospitality and leisure. Asanka and Dimuthu are now living their dream, leading their own design studio and team while influencing the local interior design business with their fresh talent.
Asanka Laksh is an Architectural Licentiate (ARB) and a director at Formation Architecture, bringing in fifteen years of expertise to the practice with his great sense of style. Meanwhile, Dimuthu Edussuriya who specialises in 3D visualisation and graphic design parallel to interior design, brings in thirteen years of experiences with a confident sense of the more technical aspects of the practice. They joined forces to launch AD Design Inc. studio back in 2014. Being designers trained to maintain an updated and modern worldview through constantly fuelling their sense of curiosity, Asanka and Dimuthu have a good sense of trends, movements and styles that appeal to markets whether in Sri Lanka or abroad. Asanka and Dimuthu have a genuine passion to create stylish and functional spaces that make a positive influence on the psyche of its inhabitants and they tackle both small and large scale projects from the point of interior architectural consultancy to design, project management to construction and finishing. With intelligent planning and professional practice done with a true sense of integrity, which they have been prepared with during their education at AOD, Asanka and Dimuthu are able to make any project profitable and beneficial for themselves and the client; their successful past projects in several Colombo residences and modern apartments in Galle are testament to this.
Their most recent undertaking, which was a hospitality project for the new hotel Triple “O” Six on the Mirissa coast, combines design trends of contemporary, postmodern and classic-contemporary styles. Asanka and Dimuthu created the space with bespoke designs for standard and superior rooms plus suites, bringing in a rustic oceanic theme fused with a flair of local culture by incorporating lighting fixtures, furniture choices, artifacts and interior accessories that are connected to Sri Lankan heritage which resonates perfectly with current travel markets. This excellence in design and creative thinking that is sensitive to culture, environment and market needs was instilled into them during their education at AOD.
The interior design programme at AOD pushes designers to be much more than professionals with a sense of style, and promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and research which are today’s professional expectations. By creating an educational environment that approaches the study of interior design from all angles, AOD ensures that their graduates are fully capable of seeing space in terms of function, style, materials choices, furnishings, colour, lighting, building systems, health and safety etc. The programme being taught by a multi cultural faculty from across the globe also means that these graduates emerge as professionals with an expanded worldview that is culturally diverse and rich with international exposure. This aspect is also further enriched by study tours around the country and international educational visits to global architectural hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong plus major design capitals like New York.
AOD Principal Karen McLeod stated that the programme has been devised in partnership with Northumbria UK and considering in the gaps and needs of the interior design business in Sri Lanka “we ensure that our graduates step into the industry as professionals who can deliver exactly what the market is demanding for. Plus, our commitment to present interior design education as a truly global experience allows our graduates to approach any international project or job with confidence”.
