Bawa was widely regarded as the father of Sri Lankan Architecture and was the flag bearer for the architectural style of Tropical modernism and was the driving force behind its spread in Sri Lanka along with India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Japan, Fiji, and Singapore. His personal experiences caused his life to take a drastic turn that directed him to architecture.
He went on to work on a wide range of projects such as hotels , schools, clubs, offices, and government structures throughout his career. A rubber plantation spread over 15 acres of land was bought by Bawa for his country home, which he developed throughout his life, which he would go on to call Lunuganga. This vast landscaped paradise was an experimental canvas for him. The landscaping had a striking influence on the Italian Baroque gardens, Japanese garden art, English Landscape Gardens, and the ancient water gardens of Sri Lanka.
This amalgamation of various landscape styles is spread on a combination of flat and hilly terrain with a spectacular water interface. The gecko roman statues and other installations placed all over the estate draw the eye through the string of built forms woven through the landscape. Bawa had envisioned the parliament building surrounded by water on all sides. The structure was built on a manmade lake with staggered and asymmetrical planning.
The structure has a cascade of roofs with the centrally placed main pavilion having the highest elevation and five satellite pavilions. The floating island structure and the copper-clad pyramid roofs create a sense of grandeur that the parliament building demands. Having a man-made water body in a tropical country with high humidity poses the challenge of adding to it.
The structure, however, counters it by the efficient ventilation and the large no. The entrance of the building is a long road called the ceremonial drive which later on splits towards the two entrances for the parliament members and the staff. The benchmark of luxury five-star hotels was set by Bentota beach resort.
The hotel is located between two beaches and near the Bentota river. This design is quite simple yet receives the praise of architects all over the world due to the subtle structural elements.
The design derives inspiration from Buddhist temple architecture , retains the dutch fortifications, and also incorporates elements from Sinhalese traditional architecture. The main plan is a simple square that evolves into a trapezoid as we progress vertically due to the cantilevered edges on the top floor.
The planning is done around a central courtyard which is entirely occupied by a reflection pond. The pond has a Champa tree on a small island in the middle. Kandalama hotel is yet another luxury facility built on uneven rocky terrain as the chosen site was on the rock surface atop the ancient Kandalama tank.
The simplistic design focused on minute details. The structure was designed in such a manner that it hangs onto a cliff while facing the monumental Sigiriya rock. The university campus was developed on hilly terrain. The campus consisted of over 50 blocks and the campus was planned on an orthogonal grid aligned in the north-south direction.
The structure and the materials incorporated were from the Porto-Sinhalese architecture. The blocks were connected with covered loggias or corridors. The numerous pavilions in varying sizes are placed around the garden courts and verandas in succession. The circulation despite the grid is designed along varying contours. Bawa designed a deconstructed version of a classic colonial villa. Seema Malaka is a Buddhist temple complex constructed on lake Beira. It was originally constructed in the 19th century and redesigned by Bawa after the original structure slowly sank.
It is an architectural monument devoid of flashy ornamentation that serves as a place for rest and meditation. The campus comprises three overwater platforms connected to each other and the land by bridge-like boardwalks. The entire structure has a coral white base and signature blue pyramid roofs.
He reduced buildings to a series of scenographically conceived spaces separated by courtyards and gardens. His ideas are providing a bridge between the past and the future, a mirror in which ordinary people can obtain a clearer image of their own evolving culture Geoffrey Bawa created this tropical garden idyll. The Italian inspired gardens, with spectacular views over the lake and tropical jungle, has been transformed into a series of outdoor rooms creating a huge feeling of space with vistas that have been carefully chosen to emphasize their beauty with points of architecture and art; from entrances, pavilions, broad walks to a multitude of courtyards and pools.
Geoffrey Bawa created this tropical garden idyll. A garden is not a static object, it is a moving spectacle, a series of scenographic images that change with the season, the point of view, the time of day, the mood. So Lunuganga has been conceived as a series of separate contained spaces, to be moved through at leisure or to be occupied at certain times of the day.
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