Geoffrey Bawa Trust
This podcast is produced by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, the organisation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, one of the most influential Asian architects of the 20th century. Episodes draw on the Trust's archive of material about Bawa and his practice, offering oral histories, lectures and discussions. It also explores wider conversations on art and architecture in Sri Lanka. The show serves as both a research resource and a platform for critical discourse around Bawa's work.
Episodes
Craft Room and Design Store
Audio description of the Craft + Chill Room and Design Store at the Ways of Knowing Exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Eight: The Keepers of his Garden
Audio description of the Keepers of his Garden short film on show at the Ways of Knowing exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Seven: Tree Talks
Audio description of the Tree Talks installation at the Ways of Knowing exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Six: Baalamurunga to BG352
Audio description of the Baalamurunga to BG352 installation at the Ways of Knowing Exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Five: Garden within a Garden
Audio description of the sensory path in the garden of the Bawa Space.
Stop Four: Garden as a Cloud
Audio description of Dr Clara Kraft Isono's Garden as a Cloud installation at the Ways of Knowing exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Three: Mapping Landscapes
A audio description of the Mapping Landscapes installation at the Ways of Knowing Exhibition at the Bawa Space
Stop Two: Araliya and Sky
Audio description of Barbara Sansoni's Araliya and Sky reddha at the Ways of Knowing exhibition in the Bawa Space.
Stop One: Curatorial Introduction
A curatorial introduction to the Ways of Knowing exhibition at the Geoffrey Bawa Space
What to Expect at the Ways of Knowing Exhibition
Desicription of what to expect when visiting the Ways of Knowing exhibtion at the Geoffrey Bawa Space
Bawa Space Previsit Information
Audio description of what to expect when visiting the Geoffrey Bawa Space
Welcome to the Ways of Knowing Audio Guide
Instructions on how to use to Geoffrey Bawa Space audio guide
Tree Talks: Bird Calls
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.
The strength of an ecosystem can be measured by the diversity of the birds
Tree Talks: Garden Rituals
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.
This episode is in reverence to Lunuganga, to capture the essence of the g
Tree Talks: A Tree Story
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.
Architect Aquila Peris shares tales about the garden and his time spent th
Tree Talks: Shaded Divinity
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.
The Moonamal tree placed so meticulously on the crest of Cinnamon Hill law
Tree Talks: Plant Pigments
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.
This episode is an exploration of pigment extractions and the human connec
Tree Talks: Rooted Histories
*Clarification [03:54]: Plant matter in general dates back four hundred to five hundred million years, not water lilies specifically.
In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, jo
A Very Particular Response: A Conversation on the Making of the Kandalama Hotel
Taking Geoffrey Bawa’s approach that the architectural response to a place was specific to its particular topography and climate but also its larger environmental, social, and political context, we explore the interplay between architecture and the environment with a conversation on the making of the Kandalama Hotel with Project Architect Dilshan Ferdinando, engineer Deepal Wickremasinghe and form
Medium Design: A conversation with Keller Easterling
A conversation with architect, theorist and writer Keller Easterling, where knowing how, rather than knowing that, can provide potentials for working. Keller is a professor at Yale University and her work has been published and exhibited extensively. This conversation was moderated by the curator of the Art and Archival Collections of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, Shayari de Silva.
This conversation i
Publishing and Architecture: A conversation with Lars Müller
The Geoffrey Bawa Trust is delighted to host renowned designer, publisher and educator Lars Müller for a conversation about making books. Lars works out of Zurich and has been publishing since 1983, with a focus on books on architecture, design, photography, art and society.
The Gift: Closing Conversation
In 2019, as part of the artistic programme commemorating Geoffrey Bawa’s 100th birthday, Lunuganga hosted a series of installations by artists and makers from Sri Lanka and abroad, in a series where the garden was explored as a site of hospitality and a place of encounter. Each artist responded to Bawa’s practice and his garden through a unique, site-specific work developed over an almost two-year
Maps and Modernism
'Conversations Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives' is a virtual series of discussions between scholars who have engaged with the Bawa Archives and contributed to the upcoming publication 'It is Essential to be There: Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives'. The publication will accompany the forthcoming exhibition of the same name. Stay tuned for more information on both the book and exhibit
Reports, Resorts and Recollections
'Conversations Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives' is a virtual series of discussions between scholars who have engaged with the Bawa Archives and contributed to the upcoming publication 'It is Essential to be There: Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives'. The publication will accompany the forthcoming exhibition of the same name. Stay tuned for more information on both the book and exhibit
Archives And Places
'Conversations Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives' is a virtual series of discussions between scholars who have engaged with the Bawa Archives and contributed to the upcoming publication 'It is Essential to be There: Drawing from the Geoffrey Bawa Archives'. The publication will accompany the forthcoming exhibition of the same name. Stay tuned for more information on both the book and exhibit
Oral Histories: Dr. K. Poologasundram
The brilliant engineer Dr. K. Poologasundram began consulting with Geoffrey Bawa informally in 1960 while the latter was working with the State Cement Corporation and by 1966 they were equal partners at Edwards Reid and Begg. They would go on to run the firm together for 3 decades. Dr. K. Poologasundram’s engineering prowess helped bring Geoffrey’s designs to life and in our interview he reminisce
Oral Histories: Amila de Mel, Channa Daswatte, Jaime de la Peña & Sumangala Jayatillaka
This special episode on our Oral Histories podcast series features a conversation with 4 close friends–architects Amila de Mel, Channa Daswatte, Jaime de la Pena and Sumangala Jayathilake. The conversation takes place at Number 11, Geoffrey Bawa’s residence, in the office; the same space in which they all worked with Geoffrey as young architects in the late ’80s and early ’90s. They discussed thei
Oral Histories: Channa Daswatte
Channa Daswatte is the current Chairperson of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts. Channa worked with Geoffrey in his later years, starting with the landmark project which is the Kandalama Hotel. He was also an equal partner in Geoffrey Bawa Associates, which was founded after the closure of Edwards, Reid & Begg.
Channa, together with Murad Ismail, then went on to set up the practice MICD Ass
Oral Histories: Philip Fowler
Philip Fowler was one of the four young Indian architects who were hired by Geoffrey Bawa’s practice, Edwards, Reid and Begg in the 1980s to assist on the design of the new Sri Lankan Parliament. Philip ended up staying on for 7 years; working on the Triton Hotel, the Druvi de Saram house and the Horagolla Stables, amongst other projects.
He returned to India in 1987 and joined Sankar & Associate
Oral Histories: Suhanya Raffel & Michael Snelling
Suhanya Raffel and her husband Michael Snelling; Suhanya is the executive director of the M+ Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, and a Trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts. She has previously held many senior positions at major art institutions in Sydney and Brisbane. Growing up in the Raffel House that was designed by Geoffrey, Suhanya reflects on her friendshi
Oral Histories: David Robson
British architect and educator David Robson authored a number of publications on Geoffrey Bawa and he has also been documenting the architectural landscape in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia.
David recalls meeting Geoffrey for the first time at the age of 25, when he came to Sri Lanka from England as a lecturer for the Department of Architecture, which was under the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Co
Oral Histories: Dominic Sansoni
Dominic Sansoni knew Geoffrey Bawa from a very early age, as his mother, artist and textile designer Barbara Sansoni, was a close friend and collaborator of Geoffrey’s. Dominic spends much of his time adding to and cataloguing his extensive archive of work, spanning the last 30 years from Sri Lanka, India, Mauritius, the Maldives, Nepal, Yemen and others
Dominic discusses—often in amusing detail
Oral Histories: Ismeth Raheem
Ismeth Raheem on the programme. Ismeth studied architecture first at the University in Sri Lanka and subsequently at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen. He worked at Geoffrey’s firm, Edwards, Reid & Begg between 1968 and 1976, on a number of key projects such as the Connemara Hotel in Madras, the Serendib Hotel in Bentota and the Agrarian Research and Training Institute in Colombo. He also de
Oral Histories: Saskia Pintelon & Pierre Pringiers
Saskia has lived in Sri Lanka since 1982, and the island continues to be a source of inspiration for her work. Her paintings are very personal and yet encompass a wide range of universal concerns through layered imagery. She has exhibited in galleries and biennales in Asia and Europe. Saskia is joined by her partner Pierre Pringiers, a Belgian industrialist and yachtsman.
Saskia and Pierre spent
Oral Histories: Laki Senanayake
Laki Senanayke’s prolific body of work spans a wide range of media which includes painting, architecture, sculpture and landscape design. More recently, he dived into digital art. Laki began his career as an architectural draughtsman. After losing his first job because he established a trade union, he started working for architect Valentine Gunasekera. At age 18, Laki began working with Geoffrey B
Oral Histories: Anura Ratnavibhushana
Anura Ratnavibushana worked with Bawa at Edwards, Reid & Begg during the 60’s and 70’s. Eventually, he left the firm to set up his own practice in the 80’s although he continued to maintain his close connection with Bawa. In 2009, he distilled his passion for architecture and education into a book: “Creating Simplicity—Sri Lankan Tropical Architecture—Design & Landscaping”. This publication is cop
Oral Histories: Sunethra Bandaranaike
Sunethra Bandaranaike, was one of Bawa’s clients (he designed her famous Horagolla Stables home) but more importantly, she was one of his close friends. Sunethra is also a former Chairperson and Trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts. Last May, we spoke to Sunethra at her Colombo home. With her flair for storytelling and a focus on detail, she recounted the first time she met Bawa; thei
The Gift: panel discussion
The Gift: A site-specific installation series at Lunuganga. Panel Discussion featuring the participating Artists
Dominic Sansoni
Lee Mingwei
Chandragupta Thenuwara
Dayanita Singh
Moderated by:
Suhanya Raffel, Executive Director of M+, Hong Kong, and Trustee, Geoffrey Bawa & Lunuganga Trusts
Sean Anderson, Associate Curator of Architecture & Design, MoMA, New York
Shayari de Silva, Curator, Lunug
Kengo Kuma Memorial Lecture 2019
Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture 2019 by Kengo Kuma.
J. Fransisco Serrano and Juan Pablo Serrano Orosco Memorial Lecture 2014
J. Fransisco Serrano and Juan Pablo Serrano Orosco, Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture 2014
Kate Otten Memorial Lecture 2013
Kate Otten Memorial Lecture 2013 by Geoffrey Bawa Trust
Bijoy Jain Memorial Lecture 2012
Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture for 2012 by Bijoy Jain
Cecil Balmond Memorial Lecture 2010
Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture 2010 by Architect Cecil Balmond, in Colombo, Sri Lanka
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