A. N. S. Kulasinghe


Arumadura Nandasena Silva Kulasinghe was a Sri Lankan Civil Engineer and founder of several engineering organisations in Sri Lanka.

Early life and education

Kulasinghe was born in Udammita in Ja-Ela on 26 October 1919. He first studied at Wadduwa English Boys College and then moved to Mari Stella College, Negambo thereafter he entered to St. Benedicts' College Kotahena for his advanced level studies. He entered the Ceylon Technical College to study for the BSc in Engineering of the University of London, there he won the Sri Chandrasekera Scholarship. Graduating in 1936, he gained Associate Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1946.

Career

In 1940, Kulasinghe joined the Norton Bridge Hydro Power Project as a Technical Assistant. In 1944, he joined Colombo Harbour as a junior assistant engineer. Kulasinghe focused on cost technologies, innovative construction techniques and utilisation of local resources in his Engineering pursuits. His pioneering efforts and contributions in the areas of Pre-cast concrete, Pre-stressed concrete, alternate low cost construction material, ferro-cement boat building, applications of the Shell design theory in the construction are applied in several key engineering structures in Sri Lanka.
In 1962 he became the founder chairman and general manager of the State Engineering Corporation of Ceylon while serving as Director of State Hardware Corporation, Ceylon Steel Corporation, Lanka Leyland Ltd., Colombo Low Lying Areas Reclamation Board, Ceylon Tyre Corporation and Council Member of Ceylon Bureau of Standards; Member, Board of Regents Vidyalankara University. Having been appointed as Chief Engineer, Colombo Port Commission in 1963 he was appointed Commissioner of the Colombo Port Commission in 1968. He retired from the State Engineering Corporation in 1971 and left the country returning in 1977.
He was a devout Buddhist and helped construct the Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya and the Buddha Jayanthi Chaithya at the Colombo harbour. Also, the Polgolla Bund, State Engineering Corporation head office and the Colombo Planetarium were also designed by Kulasinghe.

Personal life

In 1946 Kulasinghe married Dulcie de Silva. They had two sons.

Notable positions held