Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, had built a prototype of ‘tropical modernism’ in his hometown after his studies in Architectural Association School of Architecture, UK. Beyond the engagements of Bawa that his work is praised for ‘site of memories’ or either the pioneer of tropical modernism, does it form as Monsoon Aesthetics or it indeed represents a postcolonial method via architecture that could be read as another kind of Occidentalism?

Art for Art's sake. Somehow seems like a defend for Bawa. As a research practice, the field trip in Sri Lanka explores the architectural elements of Bawa and also discusses about the dissmulated, the compromised, and the politics falling behind the work of Bawa. It intends to raise the questions: Whom do Geoffrey Bawa’s architectures serve for? How do the tectonics of architetcure corelate with the emotional aspect?

The 9-days trip included the site visit and the academic exchange with several local architects, architecture schools, and institutions. The outcome of the individual research practice presents as a series of visual documentation, hovering between Sri Lankan people’s daily life and modern architectures.

Location

33 lane
University Of Moratuwa
Institute for Integral Education
Chinthaka Wickramage Associates
Sri Lankan Parliament Building