This paper aims to investigate from a broader point of view as in 1958 the theme of development of Tokyo into the sea by reclaiming lands of her coasts became the occasion for the productions on several projects which witnessed the innovative potentials and the talent of a new generation of architects, such as the members of Metabolist Group and Kenzo Tange, who had a great impact on the further development of the modern Japanese architecture. Those proposals were a mirror of their original vision of the modern city, which was mainly inspired by many cultural and socio-economical factors present at the time in Japan, such as the uncontrolled spread of the cities, the radical transformation of Japanese society and the massive alteration of historical urban landscapes due to post-war urbanism and economic growth, as well as the search for a new urban form and design methodology more concerned about the preservation of the natural landscape, and directly linked with the new possibilities offered by ocean engineering and new building technology.

Post-independence architects of Sri Lanka practicing after 1948 reinterpreted outdoor transitional spaces such as verandahs and courtyards integral to traditional houses, which were multifunctional living and circulation spaces that created physical and social interactions and thresholds. This paper considers four selected precedents: two case studies of single-unit urban house designs of pioneering Sri Lankan architects with modernist influence as examples for 1950s and 60s houses in comparison with two case studies of traditional house types. The study explores the change in spatial patterns through graphical analysis of plan forms to understand the shift in socio-spatial role. In post-independence Sri Lankan modernist houses, the multifunctional role of semi-outdoor spaces common to traditional houses changed to a single function in most spaces with fewer connections to other living areas. Outdoor spaces, previously free and undefined, were incorporated in the house with designated functions from gardens to lightwells to utility. Compared to the traditional typologies, the modernist influenced urban house examples exhibit a considerable change in spatial patterns affecting the socio-spatial role of outdoor transitional spaces.