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An exhibition of the work of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawaopens at the RIBA on March 6 (runs until April2). Ronald Lewcockdiscusses Bawa's highly individual approach to building and argues thathis designs transcend the dichotomy between interior and exterior.

AS designers search for essen-tials in the art of architecture,it is refreshing to turn to thework of men who have beensteadily following their ownbent for decades, producingbuildings of common senseand quality, and ignoring to alarge extent fashionabletheories and fads. Britain hasits own share of such men, likeWalter Segal and more recent-ly Richard MacCormac, butwe might wish there weremore of them. Geoffrey Bawain Sri Lanka is such anarchitect, and one of greatdistinction.Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon,was for many years regardedas "the jewel in the IndianOcean". After independencein 1948, the former British,former Dutch, former Portu-guese colony was judged tohave as prosperous an eco-

BM:ARCADIA INSRI LANKAnomy, based on the export oftea, coconut and rubber, asany country in the developingworld. It was soon after thattime that Geoffrey Bawa, then32, put up the shutters of hislaw practice in Colombo anddecided to follow the directionof his private preoccupation.and enrol at the ArchitecturalAssociation. After qualifica-tion, he returned to Colomboto practise as a partner in thefirm of Edwards Reid & Begg.His clear-sighted, unpre-judiced view of the architec-ture of the island, with itsBuddhist simplicity in the ruraland religious buildings, and itscolonial practicality in urbanarchitecture, produced someremarkable buildings that areas satisfying today as whenthey had just been finished.One house, that for Ena deSilva (1962) initiated an entire-

ly original form of a classicstyle of colonnaded, courtyardhouse, with tiled roofs andshaded courtyard paved withriverstones. Its large size isdeceptive, for it is built to theedge of its site. This was thearchitect's first tour de force.It was followed by a housefor a doctor in 1963 which wassubsequently acquired by thearchitect's firm for use as anoffice. It is altogether granderthan the de Silva house, with aformal entrance court, a ba-lanced plan, and a successionof spaces culminating in whatis now the architect's office,with a wide garden courtbeyond.At the same time the Mon-tessori School for St Bridget'sConvent in Colombo (1963)was designed, and a few yearslater, the Farm School atHanwella. Both were econo-

mical in their design andconstruction, yet had consider-able character derived fromthe originality of their design.The Hanwella Farm School,forms a particularly satisfyinggroup of orange-tiled,whitewashed buildings along alow ridge. Here orphan girlswere trained in all aspects offarming. It was judged impor-tant that the buildings "relateto buildings in the countrysidewith which the girls werefamiliar" and which might berepeated economically.Geoffrey Bawa nextembarked on larger projects.The Bentota Beach Hotel of1969 is sited like a fortress onthe banks of a large calm riveras it enters the rough sea; it isapproached through a podiumof rubble stone, executed withthe same exquisite masonry ofthe ancient buildings of theTop left, Bawa's style: hisvintage Rolls-Royce with atraditional Sri Lankanbackdrop; left, section andplan ofthe architect's oflice,1963. Opposite page: top right,central courtyard of Bawa'soflice - perfect fusion ofinterior and exterior spacelleft, Bawa's skill as architect,gardener, decorator andcollector combine to producesuch exquisite set pieces as thiscourtyard corner; far right,the architect's studio, a worldofwater, shade and calmwhich acknowledges thedazzling heat and light outside.

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island, then up a flight of stairsinto a long space with a ceilingentirely of golden batik, whichfaces into a wide court andpool. The main rooms andbedrooms of the hotel havefine woodwork and light tim-ber verandahs.ln later buildings he handlesreinforced concrete with thesame attitudes he has to theuse of brick, tiles and timber.The frames are always clearlyexpressed inside and out, andare used to articulate walls andspaces. The finest examples of

this are probabty the Neptuneand Triton Hotels (1974 and1981) with their broad sweep-ing spaces, though the archi-tect himself is fond of theSerendib Hotel (1969).Bawa's designs really startwith nature. Tremendouspains are taken to site thebuilding carelully. In the Tri-ton Hotel. one of the latestand most characteristic of hishotel buildings, a curving driveon both sides of the greatentrance lake gives a stunningview through an immense

open lobby across a wideswimming pool to the beachand ocean beyond. High innercourtyards on both sides of thelobby are surrounded by corri-dors and are reminiscent ofcolonial domestic buildings,with coloured plastered wallsand broad white plasteredframes around small windowopenings.In the Parliament buildingof Kotte (l9tt2), Bawa hascombined his understanding ofthe traditional architecture ofSri Lanka with the approach

he has developed towardsreinforced concrete to give agreat structure five storeyshigh the scale and articulationof much smaller, more familiarbuildings. Surrounded by aman-made lake and with anumber of small pavilionsdemarcating the edge of theisland. the Parliament buitdingis approached by a greatceremonial causeway. The re-lationship of the pavilions toeach other, and their place-ment on the tiered terraces,leads to a cohesive whole.

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Below, early sketches for theParliament House, Kotte,19801 centre. banners flyingover Kotte for a modern andtruly regional architecture;bottom, the huge copper roofsof the Parliament pavilionsseen across from theman-made lake and architectdesigned woods - the buildingwas completed in three years;right, the glittering, galleriedParliament Chamber - comingfrom one of the world's lushestislands. Bawa is unafraid ofdecoration and colour.

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The apogee of GeoffreyBawa's work so far is un-doubtedly his new Universitvof Ruhuna at Matara, which isas yet not complete. Here hehas created a skein of stairsand walkways draped over asteep hillside. He has capturedevery conceivable view, andwhere there was none. created

his own. One climbs upthrough the buildings and lookdown over incredible orangetiled roofscapes below and.beyond. the Indian Ocean.Modern and traditional nrat-erials match and blend perfect-ly, and the whole is organisedwith the strictest discipline bya highly disciplined mind.

Turning from these gran-diose schemes to the simplerbuildings does not bring anydiminution of quality. Irrnumerous small houses and insuch building groups as theClub at Madurai in SouthIndia (197.1) and the AdultTraining Centre at Pilyandala(1981) Bawa shows again how

the :kilful u:e of proportionrnateriul: lntl cclkrur. combinetl s ith the clarity of simplfornr:. can crcate tremendouarchrtecturll satisfaction an,deli,'rht.C)n unrrther level are thexpennrcntal buildings. sucas the nuninral steel and glasCerlon Perilion at Expo 7[

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and the project for the Bank ofCeylon in Colombo (1981),which was unfortunately notbuilt.It is hard to imagine aninterior designer ever contri-buting to a Bawa design.Inside and out everything hasbeen either designed or chosenand placed by him: fromfurniture and curtains, downto the ashtrays. Bawa alsoloves landscape design, and itwas his enjoyment in makingof the garden at Bentota thatconvinced him that he wantedto train as an architect. Thatgarden continues to grow tothis day, pieces of jungle lefthere and there, but in between'civilised' by artifacts andplants that lead the eye acrossexpansive lawns. The traininghe thus gave himself in thecreation of deliberate visualexperience shows continuallyin his buildings, which inciden-tally also attempt to relatespaces and elements back tonature wherever possible. Thecumulative effect of this con-cern with visual connections isthat the best of his architecturetranscends the dichotomy be-tween exterior and interior.and achieves a unity of build-ing and landscape which isoften breathtaking.Bawa's architectural vocab-ulary has fevv geographicallimits. It is derived from hiswide experience of manycountries, and - more oftenperhaps - from the influenceof numerous amusing peoplewith whom he has struck arapport wherever he has been.His influence is spreading, andarchitects from all over theworld seek him out in Colom-bo, visit his works and areinvited to his office.Architectural Rerlew February 1966,August 1970, April 1978. Mav 1983.A&U Jrne 1978. lune l9tt2.

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Left, lobby of the Triton Hotel,Ahungalla, 1981, across thepool at night; below, view fromunder the great projectingeaves across the beach to thesea.

Right, plan of the Triton Hotel:the planning of the hotel waslargely determined by the long,narrow site: the sea is visibleacross pools and polished lobbyfloors from the entrance roadlas with all Bawa designs, thebuilding is open to the naturalworld.

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Above and left, elevation andplans of the Ena De Silvahouse, Colombo, 1962-Bawa's first majorcommission. The courtyardwas planned around the largemango tree. All materials arelocal apart from the steelreinforcement for the firstfloor slab and supportingframe. Walls are of brick andplaster, the roof is tiled. Anelephant as well as a tractorwas used in the house'sconstruction; left, the maincourtyard of the De Silvahouse; below, the YahapathEndera Farm School,Hanwella, 1966. The siting ofthe buildings along a ridgeallows far views from allwindows. The school is anorphanage and comprisesconvent, farm buildings, maincentre, dormitories andkitchens.

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Right, drawings ofthe chapelat Hanwella Convent; below,interior of the main centre atHanwella; centre right,traditional pitched roofsproviding shade and breeze atHanwella; lower right, thepriest's house with itsmagnificent roof and deeplyshaded verandahs; bottomright, distant view of theorphanage.

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Top left, courtyard of the MillsClub, Madurai, India, 1974 -built entirely of granite usingancient stone-splittingtechniques; second courtyardat Madurai making use of 18thcentury columns and parts ofdemolished houses from theChettinad district; above,Expo Pavilion, Colombo, 1970;below, sections throughBawa's latest project, the newSri Lankan university ofRuhuna at Matara, apicturesque composition of farpavilions,

The RIBA wishes to acknowledgewith thanks the support andgenerosity'of His Excellency J. R.Jateuardene, President ol SriLanka. which helped to make theRI BA's exhibirion possible.The RIBA also wishes to thank.Ai rlan ka : B allas t N edamInternational BV : The BritishCouncil : The CommonwealthI n s t i t u te : K i n gs b ury ConstructionCo Ltd: Mitsui and Co Ltd; MitsuConsrruction Co Ltd; AskerMoosajee; The Visiting Arts Unitof G reat Britain. Photographers :Geoffrey Bawa; Christoph Bon;Richard Bryant; Martin Henry;M i tsuo M atsuo ka. Exhibitio np romo te r and organiser :Cltristopher Beaver.

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