biography

Bawa's childhood days Geoffrey Bawa was born in 1919 in Ceylon to wealthy parents of mixed European and Ceylonese descent. He came late to architecture at 38 years. After reading English at Cambridge and Law in London , he was called to the Bar in 1944. After the war, Bawa joined a Colombo Law firm, leaving it shortly after to travel widely for two years, almost settling in Italy . However, he returned to Ceylon in 1948, though now with a more European perspective. He bought an old rubber estate off Bentota called Lunuganga. His dream of transforming tropical chaos into an Italian garden stalled for lack of expertise. This proved the catalyst for change. He became apprenticed to the architectural practice of Edwards Reid and Begg in Colombo . After qualifying at the Architectural Association, London in 1952, he returned to steer Reid's practice. An ensuing close association with a coterie of like-minded artists and designers, including Ena de Silva, Barbara Sansoni and Laki Senanayake, produced a new awareness of indigenous materials and crafts, leading to a post colonial renaissance of culture. Youth Ulrik Plesner and K Poologasundaram were significant partners. The former a young Danish architect, worked closely with Bawa from 1959 until 1967. The latter was an engineer who was with him for the next twenty years, establishing the practice as the most reputed and productive in the island. Their portfolio covered a great range of briefs, establishing prototypes for each area in the process. Bawa's standing was endorsed when he was asked to design the new Parliament at Kotte in 1979 and the Ruhunu University near Matara in the 1980s. These projects brought wider international recognition but left him exhausted. He was 70 and ending his partnership. He started designing with a small, young team from his Colombo home where many ambitious plans were made though not built. Some ideas from these test beds bore fruit in three later hotels: the Kandalama, the Lighthouse and the Blue Water. Bawa worked into his eighties, producing modernist masterpieces that are highly evocative of tradition. His last house was a retreat on the cliffs of Mirissa. In 1998, a massive stroke left Bawa paralysed and robbed him of the ability to speak. Led by Channa Daswatte his office continued the projects that were in hand. Geoffrey Bawa died on 27th May 2003 and was cremated on the Cinnamon Hill at his beloved Lunuganga.
AWARDS 1919 Born 1941 Bachelor of Arts (English Literature Tripos) Cambridge 1943 Barrister-at-Law, Middle Temple , London 1956 Diploma in Architecture, Architectural Association, London 1957 Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1958 Partner of Messrs. Edwards, Reid and Begg, Colombo 1960 Associate of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects 1967 Pan Pacific Citation from the Hawaii Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for “A Singular Individuality and Excellence in Design” 1969 President, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects 1982 Recipient of the Inaugural Gold Medal at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects 1983 Recipient of the Pacific Area Travel Association “Heritage Award of Recognition”, for “Outstanding Architectural Design in the Tradition of Local Vernacular Architecture”, for the new Parliamentary Complex at Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte Elected Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects 1985 Conferred title of “Vidya Jothi” (Light of Science) in the Inaugural Honours List of the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 1986 Teaching Fellowship at the Aga Khan Programme for Architecture, at MIT, Boston , USA Reserve Judge at the International Competition for the Indira Gandhi Memorial, New Delhi Advisor to the Government of Fiji on Restoration of the Old Capital Guest Speaker at the Second Regional Seminar of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture on “Architecture in South Asia ”, Dhaka , Bangladesh 1987 Guest Speaker at the ARCASIA Forum on “My Architecture”, Bali , Indonesia 1989 Member of the Master Jury for the Fourth Aga Khan Award for Architecture Guest Speaker at the Malaysian Institute of Architects, Singapore Institute of Architects, Commonwealth Association of the Architects International Conference, “Architecture and Tourism”, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1990 Guest Speaker at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Conference, “Architecture in Isolation”, Perth , Australia and Kuala Lumpur 1993 Conferred title “Deshamanya” (Pride of the Nation) in the Honours List of the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 1996 Keynote Speaker at the XIII International UIA/UNESCO Seminar on “Affordable Educational Spaces for All”, Bombay , India (February 1996) Awarded “The Grate Master's Award 1996” incorporating South Asian Architecture Award, promoted by the Architect of the Year Award, India 1998 Asian Innovations Award, Bronze Award – Architecture, Far Eastern Economic Review (October 1997) 2001 The Chairman's Award of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in recognition of a lifetime's achievement in and contribution to the field of architecture 2002 Awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), University of Ruhuna ( 14 th September 2002 )