Shayari de Silva (ed.)

Geoffrey Bawa

Drawing from the Archives

The architecture of Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003) was revolutionary. The Sri Lankan architect succeeded in fusing sensitivity for local context with the technological discoveries and design principles of modernism in his work. A pioneer of bioclimatic architecture, Bawa incorporated materials and layouts specific to Sri Lanka’s monsoon climate and storied architectural history into his modernist designs. Although he never built outside Asia, his work and way of thinking resonate far beyond the region.

Gathering essays by scholars and writers across a multitude of disciplines, this volume spotlights the beautiful architectural drawings of Bawa’s practice. Illustrated with more than 200 drawings and photographs, many of which published for the first time, the book delves into the central, multipronged role of the medium in Bawa’s work. It also explores the identity of post-independence Sri Lanka, which Bawa helped to shape aesthetically and ideologically.

The architecture of Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003) was revolutionary. The Sri Lankan architect succeeded in fusing sensitivity for local context with the technological discoveries and design principles of modernism in his work. A pioneer of bioclimatic architecture, Bawa incorporated materials and layouts specific to Sri Lanka’s monsoon climate and storied architectural history into his modernist designs. Although he never built outside Asia, his work and way of thinking resonate far beyond the region.

Gathering essays by scholars and writers across a multitude of disciplines, this volume spotlights the beautiful architectural drawings of Bawa’s practice. Illustrated with more than 200 drawings and photographs, many of which published for the first time, the book delves into the central, multipronged role of the medium in Bawa’s work. It also explores the identity of post-independence Sri Lanka, which Bawa helped to shape aesthetically and ideologically.


"It is a handsomely produced volume that pairs a series of texts with photo essays, focusing on just eight projects it offers targeted insights into Bawa’s architecture and its multiple contexts without pretending to be comprehensive" 

– Drawing Matter

"A curated selection of beautifully reproduced documents and images from across Bawa’s career, from the late 1950s to mid-1990s."

Places Journal


 

Edited by Shayari de Silva

With contributions by Sean Anderson, Geoffrey Bawa, Channa Daswatte, Jyoti Dhar, Tariq Jazeel, Meghal Perera, Suhanya Raffel, Shayari de Silva, Michael Snelling, Shirley Surya

Design: Thilini Perera

19 × 28 cm, 7 ½ × 10 ¼ in

248 pages, 201 illustrations

hardback

2023, 978-3-03778-705-2, English
CHF 50.00

Shayari de Silva

Shayari de Silva portrait

Shayari de Silva is an architect and graduate of the Yale School of Architecture who focuses on curatorial and editorial projects. She joined the Geoffrey Bawa Trust as Curator of Art & Archival Collections in 2018, where she manages the Bawa Collections, including the programs around exhibition, publication and conservation. In 2022, she was appointed chief curator. Shayari co-edited “Perspecta 51: Medium”, the Yale architecture journal published by MIT press in 2018 and she has worked at the Yale Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art, where she was a Bartels Scholar in Building Conservation.