GEOFFREY

BAWA
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

MANISHA
SHARMA
3rd YR. B.ARCH
LIFE AND TIME:
BORN: 1919,COLOMBO.
DIED: 2003.
FAMILY: FATHER-LAWYER MUSLIM-
ENGLISH PARENTAGE;
MOTHER- MIXED GERMAN-
SCOTTISH DESCENT.
EDUCATION: 1941-B.A DEGREE(ENG.)
CAMBRIDGE UNIV.
1943-BARRISTER AT LAW,
MIDDLE TEMPLE ,LONDON
1956-DIPL. IN ARCH.,
ARCH. ASSO. SCHOOL,LONDON.
PROFESSION: 1957-ASSOCIATE,ROYAL INSTI. OF BRITISH
ARCHITECTS.
1958-PARTNER,EDWARDS,REID AND BEGG
ARCHITECTS,
COLOMBO.
1960-ASSOCIATE, SRILANKA INSTI. OF
ARCHITECTS.
1967-AMERICAN INSTI. OF ARCHITECTS.
1969-PRESIDENT,SRILANKA INSTI. OF
ARCHITECTS.
PHILOSOPHY: “ ONE CHANGING ELEMENT OF A
BUILDING IS –
ROOF-PROTECTIVE,EMPHATIC AND GOVERNING
AESTHETIC.
A BUILDING IS ONLY A ROOF,COLUMNS AND FLOORS-
ROOF DOMINANT,SHIELDING,GIVING CONTENTMENT OF
SHELTER . ROOF-ITS SHAPE ,TEXTURE AND PROPORTION
THE STRONGEST VISUAL FACTOR.”
“THOUGHTS ON DETAILS,PROP. OF ROOMS,DOORS
AND WINDOWS,THE HEIGHTS ND PITCHES OF
ROOFS,HOW
WORKS:
 SiteLocationCountry33rd Lane Colombo, Western
Province Sri Lanka A.S.H. De Silva House Galle, Southern
Province Sri Lanka
Agrarian Research and Training Institute Colombo,
Western Province Sri Lanka Banyan Tree Hotel Tanjung
Pinang, Riau Province Indonesia Bashir Currimjee House
Port Louis Mauritius Batujimbar Pavilions Sanur, Bali
Province Indonesia Bentota Beach Hotel Bentota,
Southern Province Sri Lanka Bishop's College Colombo,
Western Province Sri Lanka Blue Water Hotel Colombo,
Western Province Sri Lanka Chapel for the Good Sheperd
Convent Bandarawela, Uva Province Sri Lanka Club
Mediterranee Nilaveli, North Eastern Province Sri Lanka
Club Villa Hotel Bentota, Southern Province Sri Lanka
De Soysa House Colombo, Western Province Sri Lanka
Fitzherbert House Tangalle, Southern Province Sri Lanka
Hilton Hotel Colombo, Western Province Sri Lanka
Hotel at Pondicherry Pondicherry, Pondicherry State
India House for Chris and Carmel Raffel Colombo,
Western Province Sri Lanka

 House for Dr. Bartholomeusz Colombo, Western Province

Sri Lanka House for Lidia Gunasekera Bentota, Southern
Province Sri Lanka Hyatt Hotel Sanur, Bali Province
Indonesia Jayakody House Colombo, Western Province Sri
Lanka Kandalama Hotel Dambulla, Central Province Sri
Lanka Larry Gordon House Wakaya Fiji Lighthouse Hotel
Galle, Southern Province Sri Lanka Lunuganga Bentota,
Southern Province Sri Lanka Madurai Club Madurai, Tamil
Nadu State India Manager's Bungalow Maskeliya, Central
Province Sri Lanka Martenstyn House Colombo, Western
Province Sri Lanka Modi House Delhi, Delhi metropolitan
area India New Parliament Kotte, Western Province Sri
Lanka Osmund and Ena de Silva House Colombo, Western
Province Sri Lanka
P.C. de Saram Terrace Houses Colombo, Western
Province Sri Lanka Poddar House Bangalore,
Karnataka State India

 Polontalawa Estate Bungalow Polontalawa, North

Western Province Sri Lanka Pradeep Jayewardene House
Mirissa, Southern Province Sri Lanka Ruhunu University
Matara, Southern Province Sri Lanka Sarabhai House
Ahmedabad, Gujarat State India Serendib Hotel Bentota,
Southern Province Sri Lanka Singapore Cloud Centre
Singapore Singapore Spencer House Colombo, Western
Province Sri Lanka St. Bridget's Montessori School
Colombo, Western Province Sri Lanka
State Mortgage Bank Colombo, Western Province Sri
Lanka Triton Hotel Ahungalla, Southern Province Sri
Lanka Wijewardene House Colombo, Western Province Sri
Lanka Yahapath Endera Farm School Hanwella, Western
Province Sri Lanka Yala Beach Hotel Yala, Southern
Province Sri Lanka ..
ARCHITECTS HOUSE,1958
BAWA MOVED IN QUARTER
OF PRESENT HOUSE IN 1958,
WEN HE LEASED AND
ALTERED THE 2nd OF 4 SMALL
HOUSESIN A BYLANE OFF OF
A BYLANE,OFF OF
BAGATELLE RD. COLOMBO.
THE 1st HOUSE HAD LIVING,
BEDROOM,SMALL KITCHEN,
A SERVANTS ROOM AND
BATHROOM.IT WAS 3rd
HOUSE DOWN THE LANE.4th
WAS VACANT AND SO
DINING ROOM AND SECOND LIVING WERE ADDED.

ALL FOUR HOUSES NOW

CONSTITUTE THE
PRESENT HOUSE.
THE 1st OF THE HOUSES
WAS DEMOLISHED AND A
NEW STRUCTURE BUILT
TO CONTAIN A LIBRARY
ON THE 1st FLOOR
AND GARDENS ON 2nd AND
3rd LEVELS.
DRAWINGS:
ST. BRIDGETS MONTESSORI
SCHOOL,COLOMBO,1964
EXTREMELY LOW COST SCHOOL FOR VERY YOUNG
CHILDREN. AIM WAS,FOR THE CHILDREN TO FEEL AS
FREE AS POSSIBLE AND TO CREATE A WORLD WHICH
THEY COULD IDENTIFY WITH AS THEIR OWN.THE
“CHILD WORLD” OF CLASSROOM AND VERANDAH
GOES UPTO 3-FEET-CUPBOARD AND BALUSTRADE
HEIGHT-AND ABOVE THIS THE BUILDING IS ENTIRELY
OPEN.
STRUCTURE CAN BE VISUALLY UNDERSTOOD BY
ANY 4-YEAR-OLD,AND 1st FLOOR SLAB AND WIDE
ROOF GIVE THE NEEDED SENSE OF SHELTER- FROM
BOTH SUN AND RAIN. THE IMPRESSION IS THAT OF
BEING UNDER A WIDE AND SPLENDID TREE.
STANLEY DE SAREM
HOUSE,COLOMBO,1972
HOUSE BUILT ON FRONT LAWN OF
LARGE HOUSE OF DE
SAREMS.COLLECTION OF BOUGHT AND
INHERITED ANTIQUES, MAINLY 16th
AND 17th CENTURY.DE SAREMS BEING
OLD FRIENDS ,THE DESIGN WAS
ALMOST “TALKED “ INTO ITS FINAL
FORM SO THAT THESE ANTIQUES BE
MOST APTLY PLACED.
A HOUSE WELL SET BACK FROM
ROADWAY TO SITE RIGHT UP AGAINST
THE PAVEMENT MADE BOTH SECURITY
AND PRIVACY PRIME
CONSIDERATIONS. LARGE INTERNAL
COURTYARDS TO COMPENSATE FOR
LOSS OF GARDENS.
CHRONOLOGY OF WORKS:
1950,GARDEN ,LUNAGANGA, BENTOTA.
1958,PAUL AND PRINI HOUSE,COLOMBO.
1959,CARMEN GUNASEKERA HUOSE,COLOMBO.
1960, DR. DE SILVA HOUSE,GALLE.
1962,ENA DE SILVA HOUSE,COLOMBO.
1963,PIN AND PAM FERNANDO HOUSE,COLOMBO.
CLASSROOM EXTENTION FOR BISHOPS COLLEGE,COL.
1964,CHRIS AND CARMELL RAFFEL HOUSE,COLOMBO.
ST. BRIDGETS MONTESSORI SCHOOL,COLOMBO.
1966,CHARTERED BANKS HOUSES,COLOMBO.
BLUE LAGOON HOTEL,NEGOMBO.
AIRLINE OFFICE INTERIOR,COLOMBO.
 1967,ESTATE BUNGLOW,BERUWANA.

1968,STEEL CORPORATION OFFICES,ORUVELA.

1969,ARCHITECTS HOUSE,COLOMBO.
BENTOTA BEACH HOTEL,BENTOTA.
1970,CEYLON PAVILION EXPO ,OSAKA,JAPAN.
1971,SERENDIB HOTEL,BENTOTA.
1974,MADURAI CLUB,SOUTH INDIA.
1976,NATIONAL INSTI. OF MANAGEMENT,COLOMBO.
1977,PANAMA HOTEL,PANAMA.
1979,CLUB VILLA,BENTOTA.
1981,MARTENSTYN TOWER,COLOMBO.
1982,OFFICES FOR H.T.L THOMPSON LTD,COLOMBO.
1983,CONVERSION OF OLD PARLIAMENT INTO
PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARIAT AND
ARCHIVES,COLOMBO.

1985,ROYAL OCEANIC HOTEL,NEGOMBO.

1987,DRUVI DE SAREM HOUSE,COLOMBO.
1988,EXTENTIONS TO INTEGRAL EDUCATION
CENTRE,PILIYANDALA.
1989,SINGAPORE CLOUD CENTRE,BOTANICAL
GARDENS,SING.
1991,BANYAN TREE RESORTS,INDONESIA.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS:
 1982-GOLD MEDAL AT SILVER JUBILEE OF SRILANKA
INSTI. OF ARCHITECTS.
 1983-PACIFIC AREA TRAVEL ASSO. HERITAGE
AWARD.
 1985-CONFERRED WITH TITLE “VIDYA JYOTI”.
 1986-EXHIB.”THE WORK OF GEOFFREY BAWA” BY
RIBA AT LONDON AND LATER IN
NEWYORK,BOSTON,COLOMBO.
 TEACHING FELLOWSHIP AT AGA KHAN PROG. FOR
ARCH. AT MIT,BOSTON.
 1989-MEMBER OF MASTER JURY FOR 4th AGA KHAN
AWARD FOR ARCH.
 1993-TITLE “DESHMANYA”(LIGHT FOR NATION).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
 Sources on Geoffrey Bawa "
Remembering Geoffrey Bawa, 1919-2003", by
ArchitectureWeek, ArchitectureWeek No. 149,
2003.0604, pN1.1. "Geoffrey Bawa Appreciation",
by ArchitectureWeek, ArchitectureWeek No. 84,
2002.0130, pN1.1. "Aga
Khan Award for Architecture", by
ArchitectureWeek, ArchitectureWeek No. 81,
2001.0905, pN1.3. David Robson. Geoffrey Bawa:
The Complete Works. London: Thames & Hudson,
November 2002. ISBN 0500341877. — Available at
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