Deshamanya

Geoffrey
Manning Bawa
(1919 - 2003)
 Educations and Career
● Born on 23 July 1919 in Sri Lanka
● Studied at Royal College , Colombo
● Studied English and Law, 1938, at St Catharine's College, Cambridge gaining
a BA and went on to study law at Middle Temple, London becoming a
Barrister in 1944
● After the death of his mother, he left the profession and soon left in 1946 to
travel for two years, almost settling in Italy .
● By 1948 he returned to Sri Lanka. Bawa bought an abandoned rubber estate
at Lunuganga, planning to create an Italian garden from a tropical wilderness
● In 1951, he was apprenticed to H. H. Reid,partner of the Colombo
architectural practice Edwards, Reid and Begg.
● In 1952 Reid died, but Bawa’s aspiration in architecture made him enroll in
Architectural Association in London. There he gained a Diploma in
Architecture by 1956 and in the following year he became an Associate of the
Royal Institute of British Architects.
● In 1957, he returned to Sri Lanka qualified as an architect and took over
Reid’s practice.
Philosophy

● Works with a sensitivity to site and context.

● The one behind the style ‘ Tropical
Modernism ‘ .
● Fused vernacular architecture with modern
concepts
● Water was a key body in his design
 WORKS
● Sri Lankan Parliament
● The Kandalama Hotel
● Jetwing Lighthouse
● Seema Malaka
● Horagolla stables
 Sri Lankan Parliament
● Located at Kotte, 8 km east of Colombo
● Commissioned by President J R Jayawardane in 1979.
● Style used was Regional Modernism
● Respects Sri Lankan vernacular architecture
● It is an asymmetric group of colonnaded pavilions with
striking copper roofs ‘floating’ on a man-made lake.
● The site was originally a marsh and was dredged to
form a small island to support the structure and a wide
shore with dense tree cover.
● Traditional building materials and ones which adapted
to local climate were used to keep cost down
● Traditional wood and stone columns, reminiscent of
ancient palaces and temples support the copper roof.
● The chamber, the focus of power, lies within the main
pavilion with balconies and galleries rising 3 stories.
● Bawa used modernist framework to support indigenous
components of post architecture and produced a
building of great beauty and harmony.
● Parliamentary complex is considered Bawa's most
symbolic work.
 Jetwing Lighthouse

● 5 star franchise hotel belonging to Jetwing Hotels,

located in Galle, Sri Lanka.
● The post modern minimalist hotel reflects the 17th
century Dutch fort at Galle, in that it looks down on
the ocean from a rocky promontory.
● A semi circular drive leads visitors to a traditional
stone facade.
● A small portal opens to an enclosed Piazza which
features a spiral staircase with sculpted balustrading,
topped by a blue tilted Moorish dome.
● The room appears to reach the vast blue Indian
ocean beyond.
● The room features teak floors, hand carved
furnitures and original paintings.
● Bawa made a number of natural boulders, the
focus of the hotel, framing views of them from
the air conditioned dining room and the open air
lounge.
● The hotel has 85 rooms, 3 restaurants, 2
outdoor pools.
The kandalama Hotel

● Located in Sri Lanka

● Vision was to create a living space that blended
harmoniously with the natural world around
● The project takes into account the characteristic
dry climate condition of the area
● It have two wing structures- Dambull, Sigiria
● In Sigiria wing - 4 superior rooms, one
magnificent royal suite, 10 suites, 30 Deluxe
rooms, 30 luxury rooms.
● In Dambulla wing- 2 luxury suites, 1 suite, 3
panoramic rooms, 3 luxury rooms and 71
superior rooms
● The building construction is conceived by use of
reinforced concrete structures, whoes pieces
beams, beams and slabs are defined int the
manner of large network of black printed
woodwork
● Interior design pose- nods to local traditions
 Seema Malaka
● Buddhist temple located in Colombo, Sri Lanka
● Mainly used for meditation and rest rather than
worship
● Seema Malaka was redesigned by Bawa in 1976
when the original structure sank.
● The temple is constructed on 3 platforms over
water, which are connected to the mainland with
pontoon bridges.
● All these platforms have numerous seated Buddha
statues.
● The 4 corners of the side platforms have small
shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Ganesh
Horagolla Stables

● Horagolla Stables is the country house of

Sunethra Bandaranaike.
● The building consists of 2 sections, the
original stables and the new wing, both
forming an 'L’ shape
● Openings were introduced in the form of
doors and windows
● The new wing contains an additional
bedroom, dining area, pantry, and open
kitchen.
● The materials used for construction were
recycled materials from either the original
building or demolished homes
Group 8
Members
● Nithin
● Jeevan
● Fasna
● Hrithwik
● Lakshita