Bawa geoffrey biography of rory

Geoffrey Bawa was born in in Ceylon to wealthy parents of mixed European and Ceylonese descent. He came late to architecture at 38 years. 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 , 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.

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After qualifying at the Architectural Association, London in , 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.

Ulrik Plesner and K Poologasundaram were significant partners. The former a young Danish architect, worked closely with Bawa from until 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 and the Ruhunu University near Matara in the s.