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upolr
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architcctrrre throtrghout Asia an(l is unanimorrslv acclainrecl
bv cor.rr.roisseurs r>f lrcIritccture rvorlchvide . Surprisingll , horvever,
his architccture is not u.ell linown ()utsicle thc region. and ltas not
rcccivctl thc irltcrnational xttention it clesen'es.
Ila$'a u'as born i[r 1919 in $'hat was thcn the l]ritish colonl of
(.eylrxr. His lhthcr rr'as u rvealthy and successfirl lawrycr. of Nluslim ancl English percntagc. rvhile his m<>thcr was of mixccl (icrman.
Scottish and Sinhalcsc (lescent. In l9lU l.rc wcrrt to (lanlbriclge to
rcacl Er-rglish. betirre stucly'ing l,aw in Lonckrn, rvhcrc he was callecl
to the Bar in l9-i-1. Altcr'Worlcl V'ar II he joinecl a (.olombo larv
flrm. but Irc s<>on tirecl of the legal prt>f'ession ancl in 19.1(r set ofT
on tN() 1'eurs of trar-el that took hinr througl-r thc Far East. across
thc I'nited Stutes ancl finallv to Europe. In Italv hc tovcd rvith tl-rc
iclea of settlir-rg dt>wn perrnancnth' xncl resolr.ccl to bllv a villa ove rIookir-rg Lakc Garda. Hc was norv 2ll ancl had spcnt one-thir(l of
his lit-e awav from Ccllon. Not onlv hacl he beconrc nrorc ancl morc
Europeun ir1 outl()ok, but l.ris ties to (.er.lon ncrc lrlso u-eakening;
both his parcnts u'cre clercl ancl lre harl tlisposccl of the last of ltis
(lolombo propert\'. Thc plan to buv an ltalien r-illa caure to nothing. hou'cver. and in 19.ifl he returnccl to (.cr krn s'here hc bought
an aband<lnetl nrbber estate xt Lunugrngx. ( )n thc \outh-\\'est coast
between (,ol<lmbo ancl Gltllc. His rlrcanr \\:r\ t() crcatc lln Italian
garden fiou a tropical rvilclerness. httt Itr .',, rrt i ru11q1 11.,',, his icleas
werc conll)romisecl b1' l;tck 0f tcchrtie ,ll k:l, r$ Icrlsc.
In 1951 lrc *'as al)prcnticc(l t,,ll IJ lir:r:. thc solc sun'iving
partllcr of tl.tc Col<lmbo archit((tLr:.i. i':.,.:r!r Etl$ltrds. Rcid anrl
Ilegg. Vrhcn I{eid cliccl surlclcrtlr .: rc.,:..,:t: ll.r\\;r rctllrne(l to England ancl. afier spcr.ttlir.tg. -r \1.::..' \ .. -"-: -'lL (nr()llcd xs a stu:'.l,rr'r \\'llere he is re
clent at the Arcl.titccttrr:il \..,
urban plot. The Bentota Beach Hotel of 1968 was Sri Lanka's first
purpose-built resort hotel, combining the conveniences required by
demandiflg tourists with a sense of place and continuity that has rarely
embarked on
.11
Bawa on Bawa
"Hou'euer tnucb one tries to explain arcbitecture in u,or"ds, I
do ttot tbink tbis is possible as it is only tbe final built object tbat
can be judged, understood arld liked or disliked."
Geoffrey Bawa has always been reticent about talking about his
architecture and prefers instead to build and also to encourage people
to experience the built work. However in a few rare interviews and
writings he brings forth some insights into the thoughts and processes
that seem to define his work.
Bawa has always seen the practice of architecture a^s an immensell,
personal thing in which one explores and puts together the various
experiences and incidents of one's own life in response to given
circumstances of client needs, site and available resources.
"Obuiousllt tbe arcbitecture tbat otxe does contes out of tu'o
tbings - tbe need of the person and tbe htpes of nwterials at'ailable
for use. Utimately tbe rest colnes out of -'t,ourself. \'otr build u'bat
lou thi?xk is an ansuer and tubiclt git'es .t,ou pleasilt'e. I tltirtk u'e
all buildfor ourselues. At least J,ott krtoLt' tt'ltat -t'ott ttant to do. It's
uersatiotls."
Here more than anything else shows his inimitable personal
approach to moulding his immediate surroundings to give pleasure
to its user. The essence ofthe garden predates his architectural training and nurtured his attitude to architecture without an overt theoretical iustification for anything that was done. The process was one
of serendipitous involvement with the landscape. A discovered view,
a possible lowering of a hill to reveal another, and a building of another
stair or another terrace - another sign of the hand of man.
"I like buman interuention... like in a landscape uhen people
cottriue to mould it to tbeir moods."
It was enough that what was built or moulded managed to engage the user's mind in a pleasurable way. The natural environment
is seen alrnost as if it were cla_v in a sculptor's hand. This is moulded
within its physical limits to produce a series of pleasing vistas, views
and spaces. With simple geometric intervention, sometimes a mere
line, Bawa 'civilises' the wildest stretch of jr-rngle, and the careful placing ofan artefact, in the case oflunuganga. a pot placed in the middle
irtto consideration."
This attitude has meant that Bawa has always been deeply sceprical about form making for its own sake. Shown a design of an airport that had a strong form that suggested a bird and therefore flight
and asked if he could do it,
"l don't knout.... I can neuer imagine it as a q,mbol, I can imagitrc it as a platx or a Ieeling of going tbrougb to an aeroplane. Tbe
,finalform comesfrom doing it, actually u'alkilxg tbrouglr... I haue
Sri
Jayawardenapura (1982), the building which is in essence a monument and thus seemed to provide the agenda for a strong form, Bawa
imagined various sequences of movement through the complex,
particularly that of the central promenade that takes the speakers
procession from outer veranda to inner vestibule through to the end
of the central chamber. Along with the other pattems of movement,
the building that results is a complex asymmetric form that breaks
down the bulk of this vast complex, and is reminiscent of its historic
predecessors in the royal and monastic buildings of Sri Lanka.
A major factor in defining his approach to design and the final
design of a particular proiect is the site.
"Obuiouslly ifyou enjoy buildingyou can't do itfrom arx office.
You ba ue to go to tlre site because tbe site is altogetber important.
Wbetber it is a big building or a small building 1ou must be inuohted u'itlt the site.
Tbe site giues the most pouerful pltslz to a design along u'itb
tbe brief. Witbout seeing tbe site I cannot Luork. It is essential to be
tbere. After tuo bours on tbe site, I baue a mental picture of tobat
u'ill be tbere and how the site u,ill cbange and tbat picture does
not cbange."
Lanka.13
tures, Bawa moved easily into the use of local materials available
around him and the assembly of which was not conceptually dissimilar.
At the farm school he built in Hanwella for the Good Shepherd
congregation in lg$,Bawaha6 achieved a humane modem complex
of buildings using available local skills and materials - brick, plaster,
14.
for the steel corporation (1967) he uses the potential for pre-cast
concrete panels to great effect to build an airy breathing pavilion
jutting out into a large pond. In the clubhouse built for Madurai Coats
in Madurai, local stone splitting techniques and masonry skills are used
to good effect along with recycled doors from old Chettinad houses.
"I baue built in India, Indonesia and Mauritius. Tbey are all
dffirent in essence, from uhat I do in Sri lanka because all tbe
materiak used and the metbods of construction are establisbed in
tLrose countries. If you take tbe local materiak and tbe generalfee
oftbe place into account, ubicb I enjoyed doing, tbe resultant building automatically becomes regional. I do not make it regional and
a^s a creed. I just build u-tbat I am asked
to build.
Wbatlrightens me is tbat regionalism is tbougbt to be a lessening of ciuilisation. It is not! Pbilip Jobnson's hotne in Connecticut
USA is as regional as a mud but in uhereuer it lies. It is not a good
tbing to say, but it all comes from a lack of general education.
Eacb projea is a uery pafricular response to a culture it's in particularly in respect to tbe materiak. Understanding Bali is aery
differentfrom SoutLr India. Stone is tbe ruaterial of Soutb India and
timber of Bali. Most decisions are obuious in tbat ua!. At least obuious to me. Design encompasses a cultural sensitiuiA. I respond
to it tbrougb tbe site and tbe materials of tbe site. AnJ) otber response
is bogus to me."
All this also implies the importance that is made to climate in the
work. The material used and the forms that the craftsmen are capable
of making have in them an intrinsic respect for the climate that they
are in.
in which form is articulated as a function of movement and experience of the context, either as grand landscape or tight urban space,
enveloped in the materials and skills available to him. Architecture is
sen as a line that defines and marks the presence of man in the
landscape and then dissolves into the background to make way for life.
Channa Daswatte (october 1998)
Geoffrqt Bawa passed au'a-t' on -lla)' 2-. ).)t)-1. He u'as 84 years old.