
Field of Study:
Architecture
Home Institution in the U.S.:
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Host Institution in Sri Lanka:
University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, and University of Peradeniya, Galaha Road
Start Month/Year in Sri Lanka:
December 2024
Duration of Grant:
Nine months
Madeleine August
Madeleine August is an architectural designer with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She is passionate about the role architecture plays in fostering a more equitable future. She is particularly focused on community-based planning, place-based design, and heritage conservation. Madeleine has received several awards, including the Robert James Eidlitz Fellowship. Prior to her Fulbright grant, she gained valuable experience working at architecture firms both in the United States and Morocco where she further honed her expertise in sustainable and culturally sensitive designs.
Madeleine’s Fulbright project is documenting the ways that Ambalamas, Sri Lankan wayside resting places built as shelters for pilgrims, traders, and travelers, are being used today. Ambalamas were built as non-sectarian social spaces, designed to be low-maintenance, long-lasting, and open to all. They are an architectural remnant of pre-colonial ideas of shared land, community values, and cultural identity, and were built every 6–8 miles, forming a generous social infrastructure. During and after colonialism, road infrastructure and technological advancements have changed the way people travel around the country, and Ambalamas today are used in a variety of ways.