Renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa not only lived in Sri Lanka for several his life, he also made indelible mark around the country's hotels. Andrea Black explores his unique and innovative style.
Designing Paradise
I'm perched on the cliff within the six-hectare Lunuganga Estate, on the west coast of Sri Lanka. A table and chairs are set up within nearby jackfruit tree, plus a giant bell – once accustomed to summon staff to provide gin and tonics – is suspended in one of its branches. This is when, from 1948 until his death in 2003, architect Geoffrey Bawa would sit, overlooking a lake the same shape as a butterfly.
Depending around the time, Bawa's standpoint would shift. Mornings might be allocated to the southern terrace, looking across the vista toward the beautiful Dedduwa Lake. Come sunset he may wander over to another seat beneath a huge frangipani tree. Word is the fact that Bawa never dined indoors, rather insisting that “meals ought to be taken outside, underneath the shade”.
It's right here, relating to this former cinnamon and rubber estate, that the former lawyer would test out landscaping and architectural structures. It's also where he drew up some of the plans that will not only transform the architecture of Sri Lanka, but alter the way we all experience resorts and hotels in South-East Asia – as well as a number of other tropical, beach-side destinations. It's what made him choose to abandon his law career and go back to the united kingdom to study architecture. At Lunuganga, Geoffrey Bawa had become the father of Tropical Modernism.
Bawa designed in a Modernist architectural style (less ornamental, more functional) but employed local materials and techniques which were better suited towards the environment in Sri Lanka. Think open spaces with overhanging pitched roofs, which allowed the breeze circulation through while still offering defense against tropical rain. Designs would often feature reflecting pools and interior courtyards, and use of location was paramount. Landscaping while using verdant tropical foliage, with lake and forest vistas, was of equal importance. Consequently, the outdoor would merge while using indoor, as well as the buildings would sit harmoniously while using surrounding landscape.
In addition to the impressive gardens and structures at Lunuganga – that exist off a winding road through Bentota, a couple of hours south of Colombo – you can see (and remain in) among the five suites Bawa created on-site. Unfortunately I'm just on the garden tour, not staying the night, therefore i need to be quite happy with a gaze when the windows are.
Across within the jackfruit tree, a home is made into the hillside – and through the large windows, you are able to spy the architect's interior design. Among the vaulted ceilings and skylights, it's evident he loved monochrome – and he also utilized antique Sri Lankan wood carvings.
On sleep issues of Lunuganga is Cinnamon Hill House, the ultimate major construction to occur around the estate. It features a sitting area, entrance hall, two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, plus a separate pantry and staff area.
Dotted within the gardens are giant Ming Dynasty period jars, in addition to statues of ancient greek language and Roman gods. It had been Bawa's want his ashes to become scattered inside the gardens so he could eternally benefit from the view across Cinnamon Hill. Maintained through the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, there's two tours daily Body at 9.30am and something at 2pm, each lasting to have an hour.
I'm certainly one of eight on my particular tour. The others are staying onsite at Lunuganga, or close by in the Bawa- designed Paradise Road The Villa. It's clear that Bawa was prolific within this country, and fans will get his works right across Sri Lanka – from homes and hotels to varsities and office towers. He even designed government buildings, such as the Sri Lankan Parliament Complex – an accumulation of copper-roofed pavilions within the administrative capital of Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, located towards the south-east of Colombo.
After touring Lunuganga to see where Bawa began his architectural career, we stay in Bentota to possess lunch at Paradise Road The Villa – and to take a little check out our fellow tour-goers' accommodation. It's a 15- room beachside hotel housed in the 'Mohotti Walauwa' – Sri Lanka's first boutique hotel, which Bawa converted in the 1970s. The impressive property boasts courtyards, lush greenery and Bawa's favoured black-and-white motif. Their Villa Cafe is housed in a newly built pavilion, and serves a delicious selection of signature dishes, for example crab curries and fresh seafood platters.
After lunch we venture inland to Geoffrey Bawa's brother Bevis' house, referred to as Brief Garden. It immediately becomes obvious that both brothers were attempting to outdo each other using their garden designs. A tamed jungle, Brief Garden features long, winding pathways opening onto incredible vistas, as well as an abundance of nude sculptures among the foliage.
If the Bawa gardens represent the brothers' personalities, Bevis, who was a landscape designer, are the greater hedonistic
