Sri Lan Sty Trode Sand Arc

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THE SERENDIPITOUS ISLE 1

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Sri Lanka Style

TROPICAL DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
Channa Daswatte
photographs by Dominic Sansoni
Published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.,
with editorial offices at 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12,
Singapore 534167.
Text © 2006 Channa Daswatte

Photos © 2006 Dominic Sansoni
All rights reserved. No part of this publi-

cation may be reproduced, stored in a
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ISBN: 978-1-4629-0656-7 (ebook)
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FRONT ENDPAPER
A man bears a tray of jasmine as an offer-
ing to the tooth relic in this eighteenth-
century painting in the entrance corridor
of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
BACK ENDPAPER
A Sinhalese woman dressed in Portuguese
style appears at a window in a nineteenth-
century painting at the Kataluwa Temple
near Galle.
PAGE 1
A nineteenth-century office chair and jack-
wood sideboard in the Club Villa, Bentota
(page 190).
PAGE 2
The bazaar-like sitting area in the Cinnamon
House, Galle Fort (page 92).
PAGES 4–5
The grand staircase leading up to the Galle
Face Court Dome, Colombo (page 74).
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Contents
6 The Serendipitous Isle
14 Vernacular and Colonial Inspirations

22 Galle Fort Hotel
28 No. 87
32 The Dutch House
38 Mudannayake House
42 Horagolla Stables
48 An Artist’s Residence
54 Iluketiya Bungalow
60 The Hill Club
64 Galapita
68 Island Eclecticism
74 Galle Face Court Dome
80 Lighthouse Street House
88 Galle Face Court Apartment
92 The Cinnamon House
98 79, Leyn Baan Street
104 Eden House
110 Helga’s Folly
116 Contemporary Interpretations

122 Alfred Place House
126 Havelock Town House
132 House on 33rd Lane
138 Hameed House
142 Weeraman Walauwe
146 Anjalendran’s House
148 Retreats and Resorts

154 Lunuganga
164 Kandalama Hotel
172 The Boulder Garden
176 Kahandakanda
184 Brief
190 The Club Villa
194 A Garden in the East
198 Aluvihare Walauwe
204 Apa Villas
208 Acknowledgments
The Serendipitous Isle
As the haze of twilight descends on Kandy material together. The only bounded enclosed RIGHT
Intricately carved and
(“mountain”), the citadel of the last kings space in many of these traditional dwellings painted pekada column
of Sri Lanka, called by many Sinhalese people was perhaps to store things. Even today, most capitals and ceiling
support the even more
Mahanuwara or the “great city,” the oboes Sri Lankan village houses have no more than
highly embellished roof
and rolling drums that mark the evening one enclosed space. structure at the Temple
worship at the sacred Temple of the Tooth The village houses and dwellings of of the Tooth in Kandy.
Relic reverberate throughout the valley. On the populous were of the simplest possible
the northern slope of this valley, in a place construction and design: wattle-and-daub
of worship planned and built by missionary (warichchi) structures carefully covered over
teachers of an Anglican Christian school, the with mud and cow dung and roofed with
sound of evensong melds with that of the plaited coconut fronds. Traditionally, only
temple drums. This is a typical example of the building of the feudal élite and religious
the fusion that is contemporary Sri Lankan structures had lime-washed walls and clay
style. The chapel for Trinity College is built shingle roofs. Thus, while these buildings
of warm honey-colored granite that was stood out against the lush green landscape,
brought in from a quarry 5 miles (8 km) along with the brilliant saffron robes of the
away by elephants, and designed by the monks, those of the majority of the people
British Vice-Principal Gaster. Started in blended back into the landscape. Essentially
1922, it simply copies and uses for a differ- a non-urban architecture, these vernacular
ent purpose the most common of vernacular structures were placed with great skill in rela-
Sri Lankan buildings—the open pavilion. tion to each other on the landscape. This is
The pavilion is the quintessential Sri epitomized by the thirteenth-century temple
Lankan building. From the simple wayside and monastery of Lankatillake outside Kandy.
shelter (ambalama) that dots the pilgrim Whilst residential interiors of traditional
routes, to the drumming halls of the pilgrim- houses were plain and contained only the
age centers, right up to the very center of beautifully crafted utensils and objects of
government, the Magul Maduwa (Hall of everyday life, the interiors of religious and
Royal Audience), open-sided pavilions with ritual buildings were in complete contrast.
huge overhanging roofs were the central Dealing with the supra mundane, these
spaces for life in Sri Lanka. The salubrious interiors are a fantasy of color and pattern:
climate only required that a dwelling function here, polychrome walls and statues compete
as an umbrella, protecting its occupants from with brilliantly colored temple hanging
the sun and rain, while allowing air to enter. cloths and curtains.
These spaces contained nothing more The accommodation of ritual functions
or less than the objects that were essential in other buildings was accompanied by tem-
for everyday life. Each object, however, was porary decorations such as the Rali Palamas,
beautifully crafted to suit its purpose and the literally “bridges of waves,” made from bright-
means of the occupant. A palpable sense of colored calico, usually the traditional colors
peace and discipline pervaded the atmos- of red and white, and bamboo frames. Other
phere. This was a result of a complete control temporary decorative structures accompany
and discipline of making space and putting various ritual functions such as funerals,
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weddings and curative practices like the Sanni
Yakkumas and Bali ceremonies that are per-
formed to avert disease and other disasters.
These are amplified by the brilliant colors
of the costumes. The temporary decorations
that accompany Christian religious feasts,
such as arches of coconuts and flowers, some-
times remind one of northern Spain or Portu-
gal, from whence Catholicism was introduced
to the island in the sixteenth century. Others
are adaptations of Eastern practices such as
the decoration of a mast that represents a
tree of flags, which derives from the Eastern
practice of decorating sacred trees. Strings
of mango leaves over a door with a pair of
banana trees in fruit mark Hindu households
on the religious holidays of those believers.
The colonial tradition, like in most other
Asian situations, adopted local building meth-
ods and techniques. These resulted in sensible
buildings that addressed the issue of living
in a tropical environment. The colonials also
introduced principles of classical order to the
construction of houses. Both in planning and
detail, classical principles began to be absorb-
ed by Sri Lankan builders. By the end of the
eighteenth century, Sri Lankan architecture
was a unique blend of local construction tradi-
tion and Western classical planning principles.
This pervaded the whole gamut of architec-
ture, from the smallest wayside shop to the
most extravagant mansions of the local ruling
class, the Ratemahatayas and Mudliyars.
Although the monsoon climate of the
Indian subcontinent seemed both beneficial
and beautiful, the heat and humidity, aided
by termites and fungus, destroyed even the
most solid of materials. This spurred crafts-
men to employ easily renewable material
on decorations. One of the simplest materials
available for finishing a house on this coral
reef-rimmed island was lime wash or hunu.
Occasional color came from the use of a
mud-based samara or yellow ochre paint.
Doors were painted with a variety of vegetable
dyes stabilized with dummala resin.
RIGHT
The cool interior of the
former horse stalls at
the old manor house of
Horagalla (page 42) has
been converted into the
main sitting room, with
four main areas for sitting,
two up and two down.
At one end of the room,
a small cement-finished
staircase leads to the
upper levels which are
connected by a bridge-like
part of the original hayloft.
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The British colonial period saw a con- designed his own eccentric but truly local
tinuation of this tradition at one level, where house. Through his designs for furniture and
the fusion of Portuguese and Dutch conven- gardens for other people, the local élite adopt-
tions were allowed to continue in everyday ed his style and sensibility.
buildings. However, in buildings of state, Around the same time, Bevis Bawa, one
current British tastes were imposed, as else- of the ADCs to the then governor of Ceylon,
where in the Empire. The fall-out from this inherited a property from his father and decid-
was the introduction of a further layer of ed to live a life of leisure in the country and
eclecticism in Sri Lankan style and architec- create for himself the elegant house and gar-
ture. Invoking a clause in the Kandyan den of Brief. Here, he let loose his fantasies
Convention of 1815, in which the last inde- and incredible talents as an amateur architect,
pendent Sri Lankan kingdom was ceded to interior designer and gardener, abandoning
the British, the British monarch was made form and interior design principles in a lascivi-
protector of the faith of Buddhism and por- ous embrace of landscape, sunshine and rain.
traits of Queen Victoria appeared over the The old introverted plantation bungalow was
central entrances to Buddhist shrine rooms. completely opened out and wrapped around
Gothic cathedrals housed vast polychrome in pergolas and verandas to create space that
statues of the Buddha, whilst Victorian is no longer inside or outside. Around this, he
Italianate façades adorned mosques. laid out his own fantasy of a tropical garden:
During the twentieth century, more and hidden belvederes in lush tropical vegetation,
more outside influences flooded in and the moon gates and courtyards paved with cement
Sri Lankan style continued to absorb and stones on which leaf impressions were frozen
evolve. Numerous individuals influenced this in time. The lifestyle of Bevis Bawa attracted
development. Comte de Mauny, the Euro- a large number of eclectic travelers to his
pean aristocrat who settled in Sri Lanka in house where he entertained them and regaled
the 1920s on an island off the southern coast, them with his incredible wit and tales.
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Amongst them was Donald Friend, the culture in regular portfolios of photographs OPPOSITE
The entrance to the San-
precociously talented Australian artist and in newspaper supplements. Wendt’s photo- della or Garden Room
writer, who came for the weekend in 1957 graphs publicly celebrated all that was beauti- at Lunuganga (page 154),
and stayed on for several years in Bevis’s ful in what was still in the 1930s and 1940s the legendary garden
estate of Geoffrey Bawa,
garage; he was later to live in Bali for fourteen a traditional culture. is flanked by two antique
years. His artistic contributions are dotted Wendt was instrumental in bringing to- columns recycled from old
buildings—as are the rest
around Bevis’s garden and that of his brother gether the 43rd Group. This group of artists of the architectural ele-
Geoffrey. Bevis eventually wrote a regular and writers met to explore the problems of ments in the building.
piece for a local newspaper on gardening and, introducing modern art within the context
ABOVE
like the count, went on to design and plant of a traditional and non-Western culture. The original entrance
several outstanding gardens for friends and The work of Ivan Peiris, Justin Dereniyagala hallway at 79, Leyn Baan
Street in Galle Fort (page
later for larger institutions. One that survives and George Keyt, amongst others, began a 98) now doubles as a for-
him is that of the Sigiriya Village near the style and school of Sri Lankan painting that mal dining room. Its walls,
hung with a collection
ancient archaeological site of the same name. celebrated the everyday. of paintings done for the
Lionel Wendt was a unique figure in the A fringe member of this art group was owner by an Indonesian
artist, are complemented
early realization of Sri Lankan contemporary Andrew Boyd, who started as a tea taster by mirrors in rustic frames.
art and design. A gifted pianist, he took up but went on to become one of the first mod-
photography and went on to become one of ern architects of Ceylon before returning to
the most prolific and best-known practitioners Britain after the war to work for the Greater
of that art in the country. His immense energy London Council. His interest in architecture
fired the imagination of many contemporary was largely inspired by Sri Lankan vernacular
artists, in particular George Keyt, who worked buildings, which he described in a series of
closely with Wendt on several occasions. articles in Sri Lankan newspapers. He was
Wendt’s eye for detail in recording the beauty struck by the similarity of simple traditional
of his country and its people drew the atten- buildings to the clean functionalism of the
tion of the public to their own style and modernist style.

This interest in traditional architecture sought out and recorded many vernacular RIGHT
The turrets and gothic
was further developed by Minette de Silva. buildings. Their work resulted—almost fifty fantasy on the rooftop of
Coming back to practice in Sri Lanka after years later—in the wonderful book The the Cinnamon House (page
92) offer stunning views
her studies at the Architectural Association Architecture of an Island. Their research also over the tiled roofs of the
in London, and striking up a friendship with fed back directly into the designs which Bawa Galle Fort and out to sea.
Le Corbusier, who called her “my little bird,” and Plesner produced during their productive The turrets of the Anglican
Church in the Fort seem to
she set out to discover ways of making and partnership in the period 1959–1965. Perhaps have been the inspiration
doing things which would be both new and Bawa’s most evocative works from this time for these.
vital and, at the same time, essentially Sri were the Ena de Silva house in 1960 and the
Lankan. These first attempts at a deliberate Bentota Beach Hotel of 1969. His inclusive
fusion encouraged local craftsmen to engage and eclectic style was to set the trend of de-
with contemporary buildings. Winding mod- sign and style in the 1960s and 1970s. His
ernist staircases lined in lac-work balusters, biographer Brian Bruce Taylor described Bawa
ethereal carved screens separating otherwise as one of the supreme examples of an archi-
flowing space, and lamp niches built into tect of our times: “Highly personal in his
load-bearing walls built of earth blocks approach, evoking the pleasures of the senses
(kabook) evoked a unique modernist Sri that go hand in hand with climate, landscape
Lankan style. Local handlooms designed and culture, Bawa brings together an apprec-
and executed by de Silva and an English iation of the Western humanist tradition in
designer friend adorned her walls and door- architecture with local needs and lifestyles.”
ways. This search for a modern Asian identity Some of the artists and crafts people
in design and style resulted in her collaborat- who worked with and around Geoffrey Bawa
ing, along with her sister Anil and Mulk Raj helped to create a new style of the everyday.
Anand, in the Modern Art Research Group The vibrant colors of a Barbara Sansoni
in Bombay, which published one of Asia’s fabric are still a watchword of Sri Lankan
first art magazines, Marg. design. The contemporary batiks by Ena de
In 1948, a young lawyer turned world Silva virtually invented a Sri Lankan tradition
traveler returned from his wanderings to within this ancient art form from Southeast
settle down to a more sedate life in his native Asia. Laki Senanayake was someone who
Ceylon, which was then slowly drifting in its straddled the world of architecture, fine art
own inimitably gentle manner towards inde- and craftsmanship. Originally an architectur-
pendence. Having bought a small rubber plan- al assistant of Geoffrey Bawa, he became a
tation on a promontory by a lake, Geoffrey collaborator of Ena de Silva and went on to
Bawa promptly cut down the rubber trees in become one of Sri Lanka’s most respected
order to make his own version of an earthly artists and landscape designers.
paradise. A few years on, after some prodding Contemporary Sri Lankan style is a
from a visiting cousin, he decided to embark fusion, as it has always been, befitting the
on a career in architecture. At the conclusion island’s status as an entrepôt of Indian ocean
of his formal education, Bawa returned to trade from times immemorial, the island of
Sri Lanka to start a career that was to reshape the legendary Tarshish from which was ex-
the ideals of Sri Lankan architectural and ported the jewels for Solomon to woo the
design thinking. In addition to his vast experi- queen of Sheba. It is an all-inclusive style
ence of architecture and style culled from his that continues to change and realign itself to
travels, one of his first clients, who wanted a the various movements and patterns of world
“different” house to those being built at the culture, but reinventing itself with a unique
time, showed him around several of her ances- Sri Lankan twist.
tral homes. This, along with memories of his Contemporary designers draw from as
own childhood homes, awakened his interest many influences and inspirations as anywhere
in local architectural traditions. else in the world. However, the essential in-
This interest in his roots was taken up gredients that best accommodate life and style
by his young partner, Danish architect Ulrik in Sri Lanka still shine through, with spaces
Plesner, who early in his career, in 1957, left open to the environment, and with an
had moved to Sri Lanka to work in the office emphasis on simplcity in the disposition of
of Minette de Silva. Plesner had grown up space and in décor. Similarly, the stock in
with the Sandinavian modernism of the early contemporary design emporia at first glance
1950s, which valued simple abstract function- appears the same as that in other stores
alism and honest use of natural materials. worldwide. However, a closer examination
With his friend Barbara Sansoni, Plesner gath- reveals a serendipitous combination of
ered together a group of young architects who elements that is uniquely of the island.
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Vernacular and
Colonial Inspirations
innamon. The very sound of the word buildings and furniture survive to this day.
C conjures up images of tropical allure. In
the sixteenth century, the trade in the queen
However, Dutch colonial style in Sri Lanka,
while retaining some influences from the
of Eastern spices, Cinnamonium Zeylanicum, Netherlands, is a distinctly recognizable
was the sole prerogative of the kings of Ceylon fusion, influenced by developments in their
and Arab traders, but with the rise of the two most important Dutch overseas posses-
Ottoman Empire and its control over land sions, Batavia and the Cape in South Africa.
routes to the East and the subsequent discov- Batavian influences include the use of tiles
ery of sea routes, Western traders began to and stucco and the sweeping high-pitched
deal directly with the East—with marked roofs, while some architectural elements and
repercussions on the history and culture of much of the furniture share features with that
Sri Lanka, many apparent to this day. of the Cape. Early Dutch-period doors, for
November 1505 was a critical moment instance, are austere and bear resemblance
in the history of the country. The life of the to the joinery of the farmhouses of the Cape,
inhabitants, indeed the very composition of whereas later examples are finer with smaller
its people, would change dramatically. Swept panes of shuttered glass.
by monsoon winds, three Portuguese caravels What mostly remains from the Dutch
under the command of Lorenzo de Almeida colonial period are residential buildings, many
found landfall near the port of Colombo. of them town houses built within the fortress
Their now-legendary journey to meet the towns, others suburban villas. The town houses
King of Ceylon, Bhuwenaka Bahu IV, at usually comprise four main living spaces
Kotte, the then and present capital of Cey-
lon, would begin 500 years of links with the
colonial powers of Europe. Having won con-
cessions from Bhuwenaka Bahu to establish
a small warehouse in the solely Arab port of
Colombo, the Portuguese went on to build
a fort and, eventually, to take control of the
maritime areas of Sri Lanka.
Old prints and illustrations of the Portu-
guese city of Colombo show a Mediterranean
city of churches and closely built urban streets
within the fortified area. The houses reveal
classic northern Iberian features, with heavy
bases and timbered upper parts. Although
very few physical artifacts remain from this
era, either in Colombo or in other areas under
Portuguese suzerainty, the Portuguese legacy
is apparent in the baroque churches of the
Catholic faith and in the religious icons with-
in them. What endures is the Portuguese
tradition of building and its distinctly Indo-
Portuguese style of furniture, which were to
profoundly influence succeeding colonial
cultures, and its language and food, which are
today very much a part of Sri Lankan culture.
By 1658 the Dutch, who had intrigued
the kings of Ceylon, now retreated to the
mountain stronghold of Kandy, where they
developed their own lifestyle and culture,
and managed to drive the Portuguese out
of Sri Lanka. Much to the regret of Kirthi
Sri Rajasinghe, the King of Kandy, the Dutch
decided to remain in the country and develop
and eventually monopolize the spice trade.
As with the Portuguese, Dutch styles of build-
ing, their food and language have become an
integral part of Sri Lankan vernacular culture,
and large numbers of distinctly Dutch-period
16 SRI LANKA STYLE
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running from the street to a back courtyard laterite laid in a mud or mud-and-lime mortar PREVIOUS PAGE
Pargetting or plasterwork
garden, joined by a service wing, a series of and then heavily plastered with coral lime, in low relief is common in
spaces along one side of the courtyard. The which was then either lime-washed or washed most nineteenth-century
religious buildings on the
front veranda or istppuwa—the stoep of the with samara, the distinctly ochre color preva- coastal plain. Here, the
Dutch—that opened directly on to the road, lent in many old buildings. Sweeping timber- façade of a Buddhist tem-
usually leads through a narrow high hall, framed roofs supported by round columns ple bears myriad encrus-
tations, including a coat
flanked by two rooms, into a great zaal or were finished with a covering of half-round of arms derived from the
hall, which in turn opens to a veranda facing sinhala terracotta tiles laid on thin timber colonial British but with
lions on both sides and
the inner garden. The main living rooms are slats—now synonymous with Sri Lankan a stupa surmounting the
always generously proportioned, with high architecture but possibly first introduced shield.
roofs sealed off with timber planks. The sub- by the Arabs and later adopted by both the
BELOW
urban villas have a similar, though less rigid, Portuguese and Dutch. Doors and windows This painting, in the style
arrangement of spaces than their urban coun- were made from heavy sectioned jackwood of the southern school,
clearly shows traditional
terparts. The formal geometric plans of these joinery. Although the details have changed seventeenth-century dress.
houses may have been influenced by the Pal- over time, these elements are clearly visible Sarongs from Burma and
somana cloth from the
ladian fashions sweeping northern Europe, in the architecture in other Dutch colonies East India trade are worn
but may equally have been influenced by tra- of the period and in parallel architectural as lungi, along with
Western-inspired jackets.
ditional Sinhalese manor houses and palaces. developments in Europe. The few civic build-
The tortoiseshell hair
Dutch-period architecture was very much ings that do survive from the period have a combs indicate the high
distinguished by its use of simple, vernacular distinctly utilitarian appearance, a plain no- status of these men.
materials. Thick walls were made of stone or nonsense architecture to serve the puritan
17
Calvinist culture and work ethic. In the Dutch who were happy simply to trade for ABOVE
The main dining space of
churches that survived, however, the distinct spices, the British set about creating a planta- the Dutch House in Galle
baroque style then prevalent in European tion economy on a massive scale. British colo- (page 32) is the back veran-
da. Overlooking a courtyard
ecclesiastical architecture is manifested. nial style is best exemplified in the still-extant planted with soursop trees,
Dutch-period furniture is particularly plantation bungalows and planters’ clubs in the veranda is sparsely fur-
noteworthy. The spindly Indo-Portuguese style the hill stations of Sri Lanka where the British nished with reproduction
seventeenth-century Wolf-
gives way to a much heavier and exuberant administrators attempted to re-create a life endhal chairs and modern
baroque, which has come to be considered as close as possible to that of home. Bunga- steel tables. The kitchen is
located at the end.
distinctly Sri Lankan, although some styles of lows set in immaculate lawns trimmed with
furniture are found in the Cape colony and petunias, foxgloves and other temperate plants
Batavia. The style, however, falls short of are still a part of the scene in the hills.
becoming rococo. even though a Dutch shell The early bungalows were very plain
motif finds its way into most of the furniture affairs: simple two-roomed structures with a
of the period. Huge four-poster beds spread veranda. The arrival of British wives changed
and hung with pure white linen lined with all this. The British traditions of the country
Flemish lace are a notable feature of the inte- house were emulated in the plantation bunga-
riors of the period. The art of making this lows, especially the formal dining room, draw-
lace, known as beeralu, survives in many of ing room and suites of rooms for guests. By
the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. the early twentieth century, the British bunga-
At the end of the eighteenth century, the low was a well-developed establishment built
British displaced the Dutch as the colonial on two principles. One was the paramount
masters of Sri Lanka. Initially, the existing importance of verandas all round the house
Portuguese and Dutch building traditions as the space in which to relax and also to
persisted, largely because the building indus- meet local or native acquaintances, who were
try was controlled by Portuguese Burghers, never invited into the house proper. The other
but as the nineteenth century progressed the was the location of staff quarters at a distance
British began to impose the styles of their from the main house, connected to it by a
empire. While neighboring India indulged in corridor, but placed on the leeward side of
the full flight of Victorian fancy, the British the winds so that spice-laden cooking smells
in Ceylon preferred to use neoclassical styles would not carry to the main house. These
in their public buildings, and include adapta- ideals were followed in every British-period
tions to local climatic conditions. Unlike the bungalow whatever its external stylization.
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Starchy clubs, such as the Hill Club in Lanka. For government buildings, however, ABOVE LEFT
The attic bedroom in the
Nuwara Eliya, also epitomize British colonial the neoclassical style was favored as being Artist’s Residence in Galle
style. Built in a sub-Lutyens “country lifestyle,” most suited to the vision of a rational empire. (page 48) is furnished sim-
ply, with a muslin curtain
the Nuwara Eliya continues to maintain a men’s The Kandy High Court (1860) and the draped over a bamboo rod,
bar, to insist on ties and jackets at dinner, and Colombo Museum (1877), both built by an old Dutch planter’s chair,
to place hot water bottles between the bed- the chief Public Works Department architect an earthen pot and a reed
mat on the unpolished
covers. The sweeping fairways of the Nuwara Smither, epitomize this attitude. The PWD wooden floor.
Eliya Golf Club and its wicker furniture, crisp also built a valuable stock of standard design
ABOVE RIGHT
starched linen, afternoon teas and dinners buildings for the Ceylon government railway, The bed platform in the
of roast beef with over-boiled vegetables are which still gives the railway a unique identity. center of the attic is cov-
ered with mosquito nets.
ubiquitous reminders of the British period. As late as 1930, the buildings for the State
Light filters in under the
During this time, furniture became less Assembly, later the Parliament and now the exposed half-round tiles
heavy and more decorative, although the new Presidential Secretariat, also designed by and timber framework
of the roof.
bureaucracy also demanded huge quantities the PWD, used an Ionic order to embellish
of plain and functional furniture. Highly the grandeur of the structure.
decorated transoms above doors and windows Although architects like Edwards, Reid
replaced the plainer designs of the Dutch. and Begg used the Classical style for their
After his visit to Ceylon in the 1890s, the town hall design in 1925, by the early twenti-
feathers of the Prince of Wales began to eth century they happily used Art Deco for
feature in many designs. Even temple archi- office buildings such as the Princes Building
tecture changed to exuberant displays of in the Fort, and for apartment buildings such
encrusted vegetation pargetted on to every as the Galle Face Court, and employed Arts
possible surface. Queen Victoria herself and Crafts styling for estate bungalows such
gained the status of a minor deity, presiding as Adhisham, and even a neo-Sri Lankan style
amidst the foliage as part of the exuberant for the extensions to the Temple of the Tooth
makara thorana that form the ceremonial in Kandy and that of Kelaniya.
archway over entrances into Buddhist shrines. Parallel to the development of urban
The later British period, however, saw a architecture, Sri Lankan vernacular styles
return to simplicity, particularly in bungalow also derived from the various building prac-
construction, while the influences of the Arts tices of several historic periods. The oldest
and Crafts movement in Europe and also the and most resilient is the rural village dwelling.
Art Deco movement began to be felt in Sri Other styles have been permutations and
VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 19

modifications of building methods adopted edged tile. In most rural temples, the wood-
and perpetuated by the various ethno-cultural work takes on a high level of craftsmanship,
groups that have made the island their home which reached its apogee in the great royal
through the centuries, in particular rural temples. The interiors are brilliantly painted
and urban dwellings and places of worship. with stories illustrating moral and spiritual
Associated with these were travelers’ rest life, the main means of instruction. In both
buildings and temporary shelters built in the the Hindu and Buddhist faith, where devotion
fields during early planting or harvesting, and is a personal issue, there is no organized wor-
structures for ritual ceremonies of healing ship, thus the interior, devoid of any furni-
and life-cycle events. ture, often had either a smooth cow dung
Sri Lankan rural houses developed from floor or terracotta or granite tiles to sit or
the materials from which they were construct- kneel on for personal devotion in any chosen
ed. The simplest houses consisted of warichchi corner of the shrine. Movable furniture is
walls—a skeleton of jungle wood and bamboo absent except for perhaps an elaborate table
wattle filled with mud—covered with deep that would be used to place flowers, lamps
overhanging roofs of jungle timber overlaid and incense before the deity. Preceding the
with plaited coconut fronds or paddy straw entrance of most shrines was an open pavil-
thatch (illuk). The floors and often parts of ion, which was the principle place of devo-
the walls were then covered with cow dung tion, and also the drumming hall where the
to prevent termite attack and to purify the offering of sound was made to the deity be-
dwelling. The whole style is one of smooth ing worshipped and concurrently announced
curves that seem both visually and physically the times of worship. Early Islamic mosques
molded to accommodate human life, and followed the pattern of the open pavilion
which also create a soft gradation in light preceded by a courtyard for ablutions. The
and shade. Doors and windows consisted of large pitched roof of the main hall of worship
large, well-defined members that were shaped was not unlike a drumming hall of a Buddhist
with an adze and joined together with timber or Hindu shrine. These open pavilions, along
pins. The door sash itself tended to be of a with the verandas in dwellings and the way-
single plank pivoted on a bottom timber and side resting pavilions, epitomize the essence
a top timber, which were a part of the door- of outdoor tropical living where the only pur-
frame. The few enclosed rooms were usually pose of buildings was to provide shelter from
used for sleeping by female and younger direct sunlight or torrential rain. The Magul
members of the family, and for storage. Maduw (Hall of Public Audience) in the
Almost no loose furniture is to be found historic capital of Kandy is one such open
in these houses, and the high plinths of pavilion, where no skill or expense was spared
the verandas that kept out rain and jungle to make it suitable for its purpose as the place
creatures, and the thick half walls that often of the royal presence.
defined the edges of a veranda served as Temporary structures for various purposes
seating. The occupants invariably slept on are an integral part of Sri Lankan life. Given
the floor on reed mats that were rolled up that most dwellings are traditionally rather
and hung on loops of coir rope—the paduru small, any ceremony such as a wedding or rit-
Ana—from the rafters. The only other posses- ual healing ceremony demanded that a tem-
sions were utilitarian items, always beautifully porary maduwa be erected and decorated with
crafted, mostly for kitchen use. Elaborate coconut fronds and other leaves. Guests to the
wooden rice bins were built in the main living royal court in medieval times were accommo-
space or around the courtyard of many hous- dated in elaborate versions of these pavilions.
es. More valuable items and clothes were Major Davy describes the accommodations
stored in wooden boxes. Many of these ver- that were provided for them by the King of
nacular items are highly sought after as deco- Kandy on their visits to that city in 1802:
rative elements by collectors and some feature “These became the precursors under Dutch
in the houses in this book. rule of the rest houses for travellers that are
Shrines and the dwellings of monks and found in the outlying provinces of the island.”
the aristocracy employed the same building The building materials of early urban
principles and materials, except that the exte- houses were also more permanent, with rocks
rior walls were often covered with hunu lime and mud replacing wattle and daub, and the
wash, the exposed woodwork was of much exteriors almost universally lime-washed or
higher quality, and the roof would be covered covered with samara. A greater concern with
in flat clay shingles with patterns made visible individual privacy resulted in many more sleep-
by the use of a straight-edged and a pointed- ing rooms, and the stratification of society
20 SRI LANKA STYLE
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was reflected in the separation of activities As the nineteenth century progressed, rural ABOVE
The design of the veranda
such as sleeping, entertaining and cooking. Sri Lanka homes began to imitate the styles of of the Hill Club clubhouse
During the early twentieth century, vernacu- urban dwellings. This was partly because people (page 60) closely follows
those found in Indian colo-
lar houses began to show European influences sought to imitate what were seen to be more
nial hill stations. The con-
in the incorporation of columns and doors. sophisticated styles and partly because the same tinuous gables coming off
Turned beeralu wooden columns or Tuscan craftsmen worked in both spheres. By the end the sloping roof allow for
light to penetrate into the
brick piers were used to support veranda roofs. of the century this hybrid style was very much inner rooms of the club.
Windows and doors with glass and timber in evidence in the vernacular architecture of The design of the outdoor
chairs is a local invention
shutters also contained what were very clearly Sri Lanka, particularly in the coastal regions. and their comfort belies
European decorative motifs. The austerity of Similar developments occurred in the the awkward shape.
early Dutch and Portuguese architecture gave design of interiors and furniture. Many com-
way to eclectic Baroque and high Victorian monplace items of furniture today were first
frivolity. Tuscan piers with plain walls gave introduced to Sri Lanka in the sixteenth cen-
way to Gothic arches and elaborate pargetted tury by the Portuguese. This is evident in
walls. Straightforward eaves of layered tiles the various terms used for them in the local
gave way to fretwork valance boards with languages: mesa, almariya, janelaya. The first
highly elaborate encrustations. Only the steep chairs introduced by the Portuguese incorpo-
pitched roof remained, raised even higher rated elaborate Sri Lankan carvings. Dutch
by the Dutch to allow for cooler interiors. furniture was much heavier, with large chairs
The floors were almost always made of large and elaborate four-poster beds being com-
terracotta tiles set in lime plaster with highly mon. Heavy dowry boxes to store linen and
polished plain or pigmented cement, that other household goods are very much of what
were cool to the feet. is now perceived as Sri Lankan.

Galle Fort Hotel

GALLE FORT | ARCHITECT: CHANNA DASWATTE
A row of tall louvered panels set between The classic Dutch-period town house ABOVE
Columns and louvers mark
white Tuscan columns in Church Street, fast plan was adapted in the conversion of the the front of the Galle Fort
becoming the most fashionable street in the mansion to a hotel. The veranda, originally Hotel. The café on the
veranda opens out directly
old fort city of Galle, marks the Galle Fort wide open to passersby in the street in front,
to the street. A small board
Hotel. Created from the old town mansion was enclosed on either side with pivoted on one of the columns
of a wealthy family with links to the jewelry louvered panels. The louvers not only provide displays the daily menu.
business, its most recent incarnation was as the right amount of privacy for diners in the RIGHT
a jewelry factory. When the present owners veranda café, but allow sunshine to stream in Classic Dutch-period cabi-
nets and tables, 1930s-style
bought the building, it was a warren of parti- through the gaps, producing a delightful play armchairs and replicas
tioned rooms with a courtyard full of tempo- of light. The main hall was opened up and of nineteenth-century sofas
rary buildings made of sheets of corrugated restored to its original glory, complete with complement the honey-
colored walls and floor in
metal and cement blocks forming furnaces its high kitsch archway reputedly designed the main hall, entered via
for melting the metal to make the jewelry. by the Comte de Mauny of Taprobane Island the original ornate doorway.
Soft light from the skylights
Since then, driven by the passion that comes fame. The two rooms on either side of the washes the walls from gaps
from truly falling in love with a place, and a hall serve as a bar and a stylish dining room. left in the ceiling panels.
very good eye for detail—and with a little help A large hall beyond forms the main lounge
from an itinerant architect—the building has of the hotel. In all these rooms, glass skylights
been transformed into a place with immense allow the sun to stream on to the walls, an
charm, one that reveals its own history and effect that was inspired by the holes in the
the eclectic tastes of its owners. roof in the original dilapidated building.
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The hall opens on to a terrace at the back ABOVE

The library, filled at one end
of the house and the breathtaking sight of the with comfortable sofas and
25 foot (7.5 meter) high colonnade, which poufs, is an ideal retreat
for a quiet read. Light for
composes one of the wings of the house. Poss-
reading comes in through
ibly added during an early twentieth-century the open widnows, shuttered
renovation, the oversized columns support at night. A stunning antique
shop display case holds
a small upper story that in proportion looks books. The old jackwood
more like an attic but is indeed “Le Grande floor is covered with coco-
nut fiber rugs, their colors
Suite de la Comte de Mauny”—the most complementing the tones
expensive room in the hotel and arguably of the floor, walls and ceil-
the largest hotel suite in Sri Lanka. ing. The small miniature
paintings on the walls depict
Some of the other rooms in the hotel vignettes of Sri Lankan life.
take their names from the style in which they
LEFT
have been refurbished. The grand two-level The entrance to the library
Admiral Cheng Ho Suite, named after the is a modern reproduction
inspired by an original door
Chinese admiral who visited Dondra Head from another house in the
in 1406, is decorated with Chinese heirloom Galle Fort. The arch is typi-
furniture. The aptly named Portuguese Bar- cal seventeenth century.
racks Suite features a double bath in the

bedroom! A new wing of rooms has been
added to balance the existing ones and pro-
vide additional accommodation, along with
a pool in the central courtyard.
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RIGHT
The other end of the library
is simply furnished with
an elegant nineteenth-
century table and chairs.
Coconut fiber rugs cover
the entire length of the
jackwood floor.
BELOW
The Grande Suite de la
Comte de Mauny on the
upper floor of the north-
west wing comprises a
lounge, shown here, and
two bedrooms. The suite
is named after the famous
count who built Taprobane
Island and also reputedly
made the early twentieth-
century additions to the
house. However, the style
of the building’s interiors
is decidedly Georgian.
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LEFT
The rooms in the new west
wing in the inner courtyard
follow the spirit of the exist-
ing buildings. The bedrooms
open directly on to the tim-
ber floored balcony on the
upper floor and the pool ter-
race on the lower floor. The
tall verandas offer a pace
of life now to be found only
in such courtyards as these.
ABOVE
The exaggerated colonnades
of the northeast wing are
an early twentieth-century
eccentricity on eighteenth-
century foundations.
RIGHT AND FAR RIGHT

Old jackwood flooring glows
in the morning sun. Chinese
pomegranates sit on a
Sri Lankan brass monk’s
food stand on a nineteenth-
century jackwood pettagama
or storage box. The modern
china is made in Sri Lankan.

LEFT
A nineteenth-century oil
press made of granite
forms a centerpiece in
the forecourt of the small
house. The activities of
the household, including
alfresco dining, can spread
out on to the gravel yard.
From here, also, the occu-
pants can enjoy the early
light that picks up the mist
rising from the lake and
the marsh garden beyond.
No. 87
BENTOTA | ARCHITECT: GEOFFREY BAWA
No. 87, Galle Road, Bentota, was once a shop A long painted wall on the main road
house facing the main road. It stood across to Galle marks No. 87. Dark blue and white
the road from another elegant two-story shop gates open on to a heavily planted and shaded
house of the same late eighteenth-century entrance court. The open pavilion at the
vintage. Both were rescued from almost cer- entrance is part garage, part dining area. At
tain demolition and oblivion by Lydia Duchini the far end is the artist’s studio and a small
Gunasekera, an Italian sculptor. Together with elegantly furnished bar. From here the rest of
Geoffrey Bawa, the renowned architect whom the buildings are revealed, centered around
she had met when he commissioned a sculp- an old tamarind tree on the expansive lawn.
ture of a bishop to adorn the ground level The two-story building across the lawn con-
of his classroom block at Bishop’s College in tains two bedrooms and a sitting room on the
Colombo, she set out on a mission to rescue ground floor with a gallery of early photo-
the beautiful houses. graphs by Sri Lankan Lionel Wendt.
No. 87 was bought, along with the land The second house sitting up against the
behind it leading to the edge of a large marsh. Galle Road also contains two bedrooms, but
The house opposite was also bought, but care- is also the formal dining area. A small kitchen
fully demolished and the salvaged material and pantry are attached and become a barrier
used to reassemble the building at No. 87, between the main living spaces and the noise
but close to the Galle Road. The single-story emanating from the Galle Road.
shop house was then turned in on the prop- Both houses are exquisitely reassembled
erty and a large pavilion added to house the from old parts, with the exception of the large
artist’s studio, garages and staff quarters. expanses of glass in the wall spaces between
Having been through several incarnations the doors and windows. The ancient timber
with different owners, the present owner has doors and windows are set in glass to allow
lovingly restored the buildings, housing within the houses to be better lit. Everywhere there
them an exceptional collection of artifacts, is meticulous attention to detail in the restora-
and also added a marsh garden. He and tion. At the far end, the lawn ends in an open
his family now use No. 87 as an occasional vista over a large lake and an expansive garden
weekend retreat. fashioned out of the surrounding marsh.
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ABOVE
Antique columns on the
veranda of the small house
frame a peaceful, mono-
chromatic garden bathed
in late afternoon light.
LEFT
The single-story house is
framed by two huge bread-
fruit trees (Artocarpus
incisa). The white walls
stand in stark contrast to
the gray shingled roof,
the stained wood window
shutters and the green
surroundings.

30 SRI LANKA STYLE
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ABOVE
A seventeenth-century
door framed in glass in
the two-story second
house is an ideal place
from which to view
the marsh garden in the
distance through an
antique brass telescope.
LEFT
Morning light streams
in through an upper floor
window in the second
house to light up ancient
floor boards, a weathered
nineteenth-century timber
bench and three framed
photographs taken in 1935
by famed Sri Lankan pho-
tographer Lionel Wendt.
The white walls form
a neutral canvas for the
play of light and shadow.

The Dutch House

GALLE | ARCHITECT: CHANNA DASWATTE
The Dutch House in Galle is part of a chain present condition. In the restoration, period ABOVE
Late evening sun casts
of bungalows that have been converted into features of Sri Lankan architecture were con- long shadows on the
stylish inns along the south coast of Sri Lanka. sidered along with a healthy respect for the immaculate croquet lawn,
viewed from the veranda
Originally built as Doorenberg (“Thorn Hill”) almost Palladian proportions of the house.
at the back of the house.
in 1712 during the period of Dutch East Ill-advised additions and partitions made over
India Company administration, the house the years were pulled down and the grand
may have served as a retirement residence or proportions of the house revealed. An addi-
country seat for an important official. From tional wing, now called The Ballroom, was
the front of the house, there are breathtaking added, in the process creating a semi-enclosed
views of the old fort of the Galle Commadant courtyard looking out over a croquet lawn. A
and the sea beyond. small swimming pool was also added, but over
The owner, who already had a guest house the edge of the hill among the trees, behind
on upper Dickson Road across from Dooren- a stand of royal palms bordering the garden
berg, had always admired the crumbling old of the neighboring manor house.
house that was for a long time an orphanage Doorenberg is now approached via a
run by the Anglican Church. With all the forecourt of red gravel and a low wall, which
orphans grown up and gone, the place was reveals the magnificent view of the old town
barely inhabited and in a dilapidated state. in the distance and provides a fitting fore-
A proposition was made to the local church ground to the simple and austere façade. A
authorities, agreement reached, and Door- hedge of white hibiscus forms a screen to
enberg was then beautifully restored to its the private gardens of the suites. The sparely
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RIGHT
A low cement wall borders
the red gravel driveway to
the house, here graced by
an early twentieth-century
Rover convertible. The
fort can be seen in the dis-
tance through the trees.
BELOW
The Ballroom suite, so-
called because of its lofty
proportions, is a modern
addition, but built along
the same lines as the ori-
ginal old house. Dutch-
period doors and windows,
salvaged from demolition
sites, and Dutch furniture
give a period feel to the
suite. Polished cement tiles
echo the pattern of the
terracotta tiles found in the
original house, which were
discovered upon excava-
tion but were unusable
due to years of neglect
and chipping when subse-
quent floors were laid.
RIGHT
Crisp cotton contrasts with
soft linen in this bedroom.
The four-poster bed is of a
seventeenth-century Indo-
Portuguese design from Sri
Lanka’s Portuguese colonial
period. The high bed head
and end and the turned
wooden spindles are pecu-
liar to the furniture of the
time and were a mark of
fine craftsmanship. A com-
fortable sitting area adjoins
the bedroom.
BELOW
A similar four-poster bed
dominates the bedroom
of the Ballroom Suite.
Trade cloth hangings from
the nineteenth century
flank the door separating
the bedroom from the
bathroom beyond. The
oche palette is carried
throughout the house as
are the polished pigmented
floor tiles which were
based on the originals.
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RIGHT
Light throws the curved
forms into silhouette and
bathes the bathroom of
the Ballroom Suite. The
pigmented cement finished
surfaces glow with a wel-
coming warmth.

furnished veranda leads into the hallway with Each room in the house has a different
its seventeenth-century chairs and locally color scheme, inspired by paintings by the
made brass chandelier, a copy of one hang- old Dutch masters. The great silk full-height
ing in the old town hall in Cape Town. curtains in the bedrooms add operatic grand-
The ambience of the interior has been eur befitting the proportions of the house.
achieved through a clever mix of colonial Old prints and modern paintings hang side
furniture and practical modern designs. The by side in all of the rooms.
muted palette of ochre, derived from tradi- Arriving guests are greeted by the all-
tional wall finishes such as samara and lime female resident staff and treated with all the
wash, and the faded yellow polished cement care and attention reminiscent of a visit to
floor tiles give this house a truly peaceful feel. a grandmother’s house!
LEFT
In the bathroom in the
Eastern Suite, a modern
polished cement vanity top
inset with cement basins
is juxtaposed with an
antique bathtub on claw
legs. A typically Dutch
curved wall at the far end
conceals the shower and
toilet. An unusual feature in
the bathroom is the window
seat, which allows the
bather—or a companion—
views of the garden or a
place to sit and chat.
RIGHT
The living room of the
Western or Blue Suite
opens out to the garden.
A copy of an eighteenth-
century Wolfendahal chair
(named after the church
in Colombo where they
were used as pews) sits
in front of a British-period
console that doubles as
a writing desk. A colonial-
period chaise longue,
covered in blue fabric,
makes for comfortable
lounging.
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Mudannayake House
COLOMBO 7 | ARCHITECT: UNKNOWN
The Colombo suburb of Cinnamon Gardens The entrance to the formally designed ABOVE
The symmetrical Ionic
was once a leafy paradise of low, creeper-clad house is defined by a large porte-cochere and columned porte-cochere
walls and generously sized gardens. Few of a veranda bordered by large, gleaming white is typical of the grand
the houses in the area have, however, survived Tuscan columns and balustrates. Dark-stained houses of the nineteenth
century that lined the shad-
the onslaught of modern political and eco- doors open off the veranda to a grand central ed avenues of the elegant
nomic pressures. Those that have are most hallway, which forms the main reception areas, Cinnamon Gardens suburb
of Colombo.
likely to be occupied by an embassy or be demarcated by more white columns. Beyond
the residence of a high-ranking diplomat. the central hallway, a staircase leads to the RIGHT
The ground-floor veranda
Among the most beautiful of all is the Prime upper floor. Cool marble floors composed is furnished with reclining
Minister’s office on Flower Road. Also on of large white slabs intersected at the corners wooden chairs and white-
Flower Road is the Mudannayake house, one with small black squares form a continuous painted cane furniture—
both ubiquitous colonial
which is still lived in by a family in the great surface from the veranda right throughout accouterments.
tradition of British colonial houses in Sri the reception areas. White painted walls and
Lanka. Built in the early part of the twentieth high ceilings add further to the open, spacious
century, the house exemplifies the eclectic feel of the ground floor of the house.
classical style which developed in the tropical The upper floor houses most of the private
colonies. It has large verandas with seemingly spaces, such as bedrooms, although a veranda
Ionic columns but the architecture is, in fact, overlooking the terrace over the porte-cochere
an amalgam of colonial and local architectural is used as a dining area. This space captures
traditions and influences. the essence of tropical living, with breezes
38 SRI LANKA STYLE
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from the lush green front garden wafting ABOVE

A table set for a formal
throughout. All rooms, both upstairs and dinner party catches the
downstairs, have verandas that provide shade light of the setting sun. The
profusion of palm trees and
from the sweltering tropical sun and protec- other tropical vegetation
tion from the monsoon rains. outside forms a magical
In complete contrast to the house’s com- backdrop.
manding façade, its bold columns and high LEFT

ceilings, the furniture is fine and delicate, The marble-floored veranda
at the entrance to the house
typical of that favored by the British. The is sparsely furnished with
ground-floor entertainment rooms are fur- nineteenth-century style
wooden chairs and white-
nished with classic ebony furniture which is painted cane furniture. The
set off to good effect in the whiteness around. lush vegetation surround-
Simpler hardwood furniture occupies the rest ing the veranda provides a
cool contrast to the white
of the house, with some painted cane furniture building which sparkles in
on the verandas. Collections of contemporary, the bright sunshine.
mostly Sri Lankan, art adorn the walls and

add color to a muted palette.
The whiteness against the lush green,
the cool marble floors and sparsely furnished
interior epitomize the classic colonial style of
the British period. The gracious proportions
and simple planning lend colonial houses
of this tradition a calm, serene atmosphere.
40 SRI LANKA STYLE
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RIGHT
Pink-hued terrazzo walls
and floors are a perfect
backdrop for a free-stand-
ing green enamel bathtub.
The elaborate gilt-painted
legs and brass taps add
a touch of luxury.
BELOW
The reception rooms are
both spacious and grace-
fully appointed. Heirloom
ebony furniture, softly
lit by the glow of crystal
chandeliers, helps to create
an old-world charm.
Potted palms and ceiling
fans add to the colonial
air, while marble floors
contribute to the timeless
quality of the rooms. The
pot in the foreground is
a fine example of seven-
teenth century kitchenware
exported from China and
found in all centers along
the sea trade routes.
Horagolla Stables
NITTAMBUWA | ARCHITECT: GEOFFREY BAWA
The outward appearance of the stables at the ABOVE

A charming pavilion in the
old manor house at Horagolla on Kandy Road western garden marks the
is one of a well-proportioned and elegant central axis of the house.
Although newly added to
classical manor. Originally built to house the
the house, it is composed
six thoroughbred horses of one of the highest of four old columns and
native officials of the land under the British a door salvaged from an
eighteenth-century Dutch-
colonial administration, Sir Solomon Bandar- period house.
anaike, whose family went on to dominate
LEFT
national politics for the better part of post- The oculus at the end
independence Sri Lanka, the original buildings of the entrance veranda
were built on a grand scale, with a hayloft and focuses the attention on
the axial quality of the
quarters for grooms and others who looked space.
after the animals. Politics obviously did not
RIGHT
leave the family much time for riding and the An old clay pot used for
old stables fell into disrepair. The magnificent salting fish makes a bold
statement on a low table
building was saved in the nick of time by Sir made from a single plank
Soloman’s only grandchild not involved in of para mara (Samanea
politics. With the help of architect Geoffrey saman). Polished cement
floors provide a neutral
Bawa, she carefully restored and converted backdrop in the original
the old stables into a weekend retreat. stall area, now the main
living room.
In the process of transformation, Bawa
added a porch in the same design as the rest
of the house with a bedroom above, and a
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ABOVE
A small painted image
of the Buddha from the
Kandy period, surrounded
by a stylized halo, is one
of the many artifacts from
this period that are part
of the art collection in the
living room and veranda.
RIGHT
The old horse stalls, still
labeled with the names of
their former occupants,
form the main living room
of the converted stables.
Clusters of comfortable
sofas and armchairs on
the ground floor and in the
former hayloft are inter-
spersed with well-chosen
antiques. In the sitting area
here, a modern upholstered
sofa is surrounded by
black and white cane chairs.
Above, leather butterfly
chairs are casually arranged
in front of a painting by
Saskia Pingiers, flanked by
a pair of satinwood and
ebony cupboards.
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ABOVE
The half-round terracotta
tiles that cover the veran-
da are visible through the
gaps in the traditional
timber frame roof.
RIGHT
A painted panel, part of a
nineteenth-century temple
ceiling in the tradition
of the Kandyan school of
painting, hangs over a
sofa in the main veranda.
The colors and style of
the painting, which depicts
a narrative of one of the
birth stories of Buddha,
are typical of the period.
46 SRI LANKA STYLE
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service wing, which also contained an addition- LEFT
An eighteenth-century
al bedroom. The house is now approached column, reused in the
through the gardens of the old house along garden pavilion on the
western lawn, comes from
a narrow and chicaned carriageway bordered a roadside house which,
by hibiscus. The main entrance under the like many others, has given
way to development.
porch leads into a hallway with a low roof,
lined with rubbings of the famous gal potha BELOW
or stone book in the sacred rectangle at An unusual ceiling panel
from a temple depicting
Polonnaruwa, and then on into the main part the Buddha in the compa-
of the house. A small stairway off the hallway ny of his disciples hangs
over an eighteenth-century
leads to a guest room over the entrance. box in the main veranda.
Beyond the main house, a veranda wraps The small bronze sculpture
of Shiva astride his bull
around two sides of an impeccably kept lawn. is by local sculptor Tissa
This unites the old building on the left with Ranasinghe.
the new wing on the right. The veranda of
the new wing contains a dining area, with a
kitchen and other service areas behind, and
a guest room at one end. The veranda beside
the old wing ends in a circular hole in the
wall matched by another on the porch wall
that sets up the main axis in the house. The
horses’ accommodation in the old stable was
converted into a magnificent sitting room,
and the quarters of the stable hands and staff
converted into two grand bedrooms and
bathrooms. A veranda on the other end leads
into a second lawn with a garden pavilion.
An Artist’s Residence
GALLE | ARCHITECT: UNKNOWN
The various colonial periods in Sri Lankan ABOVE

The tile-roofed, colonnad-
history exerted a tremendous influence not ed house is almost hidden
only on civic architecture and the mansions from view by the wild
garden with its profusion
of the colonial masters, but also on the con- of fruit trees, palms and
struction of country houses belonging to local other tropical species.
gentry, which exhibited many colonial traits
LEFT
along with local traditions. This may well have The pavilion amongst the
been deliberate or merely because the build- trees is an extension of the
attic. The far end is cover-
ers and masons of the period simply built like ed in mats made from the
that, automatically incorporating a fusion talipot palm, providing
easy and relaxed seating.
of elements and styles from various periods.
These country houses were almost formu- RIGHT
laic in plan, with a colonnaded veranda in The plain polished cement
veranda, with its edge high-
front leading to a large central hall bisected lighted in white, is a cool
by an archway or two and with two or four oasis in the midst of the
surrounding vegetation. The
rooms opening off it. The back of the hall, extension, built at right
in turn, opened on to another veranda. The angles to the main axis of
the house, is sometimes
verandas and central hall all had high roofs,
used for dining.
and above the hall there was often a timber-
boarded attic, which created a ceiling for the
hall below and provided the necessary insula-
tion from the heat. A small stairway often led
into the attic for use as storage.
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One such house, located on a wooded hill The attic and its extension over the ver- ABOVE
The hall is almost empty
outside Galle, is occupied by an Italian artist. anda act as both studio and meditation space except for a single chaise
Set in a “wild” garden, the entrance veranda for the artist. Here, the low roof and soft light, longue against the back
wall. The old terracotta
is bare except for a table for reading or dining the timber-framed roof and exposed half-
floor tiles are cool to the
placed in an extension to the attic, built at round tiles contribute to the intimate atmos- feet and are comfortable
right angles to the house. Another local adap- phere, while the open veranda extension enough to sit on. Fine
muslin curtains over the
tation, a square Tuscan column with cham- allows for contemplation of the garden from doorways cut the harsh
fered edges, supports the deep eave and the above. The low railings and mats encourage glare of the sunlight.
upper-level extension. The hall is sparsely one to sit on the floor, as is the case in most
furnished, accentuating the architecture and other parts of the house which have minimal
the importance of the two arches that separate formal furniture. The house is mostly adorn-
the space. The original terracotta floor tiles ed with collections of paintings and objets
create a warm glow in the otherwise white d’art rather than functional furniture and
lime-plastered room. Four rooms open off domesticity. The décor suggests simplicity of
this space, one with access to the attic. A back style with nothing but the essentials coming
veranda supported by simple wooden columns between the enjoyment of the pure and ele-
opens out into the rear part of the garden. gant spaces of the old house itself.
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ABOVE
A small glass skylight
inserted between the half-
round roof tiles lights the
painted timber staircase
leading to the office above.
LEFT
A collection of seashells
nestles in an old terracotta
curd pot. The framed
nineteenth-century post-
cards show various views
of old Ceylon.

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LEFT
The bed platform in the
attic, draped with mosquito
netting, is strategically
placed to enjoy the view
along the whole length of
the upper-floor veranda.
Two painted ceiling planks
flank the doorway. A foot-
stool and reed mats are
the only other furnishings
on the veranda.
RIGHT
The study-studio in the
attic is filled with soft, low
lighting from both the
gaps in the tiles and the
low windows. The boarded
floor is unpolished. An
Indian kilim adds a touch
of color to the otherwise
neutral tones in the room.

Iluketiya Bungalow
ILUKETIYA | ARCHITECT: CHAN SAU YAN
The hinterland of the south coast of Sri Lanka

is an area of tropical verdure away from the
hustle and bustle of Galle Road and its ribbon
of urban and suburban sprawl. Here, life slows
down to a pre-industrial pace.
Overlooking a small lake and paddy fields,
and set among tranquil gardens and the cinna-
mon plantations that are a part of this area, is
Iluketiya, a bungalow inspired by the simple
dwellings of the small-scale farmers who own
and work the land. Although the bungalow
is new, it draws its inspiration from several
indigenous forms, but also resolves some of
the problems that these houses often have,
such as poor interior lighting and the lack of
open large spaces that are today considered
necessary for modern living.
The materials used in constructing the
house include traditional plastered brick walls
painted white on the inside and ochre on the
outside. Half-round tiles sit exposed on the
rafters in the verandas and outside areas, but
are hidden by simple timber plank ceilings
in the interior. Extensive use has been made
of old doors and windows salvaged from late
nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Sri
Lanka houses. The house is also filled with
numerous antiques, art and artifacts from
various parts of Asia.
Central to life in Iluketiya is a large,
formal sitting room filled with an exotic
collection of sturdy bamboo furniture from
Linda Garland in Bali, Chinese tapered cabi-
nets, modern steel coffee tables and quirky
chandeliers. A Balinese painting fills the end
wall. Flooded with natural light, the room
opens on three sides to the tiled, colonnaded
verandas that surround it and to profusely
planted gardens and long pools filled with
lotuses and other water plants. Perforated
wooden panels above the paneled doors and
RIGHT
Stone steps lead to moat-
like pools surrounding
the living pavilion. Deep
verandas and eaves and
surrounding vegetation,
together with the water,
provide relief from the
intense tropical heat.
A brilliant bougainvillea
adds a splash of color.
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the high roof not only provide decoration
but also allow natural ventilation and reduce
glare, making the house remarkably cool in
the tropical heat. Groups of chairs on the
veranda—as well as the stone steps leading
down to the ponds—provide ample seating
for the occupants and their visitors.
The fourth (rear) side of the living room
opens on to a courtyard, which links it to
the rest of the living quarters and the service
areas of the house. Inspired by a traditional
courtyard, this one, however, is filled with
water, with the soothing sound of water trick-
ling from an overflowing pot, its reflection
adding beauty to the pool. Bedrooms sur-
round this courtyard. All the bedrooms, fur-
nished with the minimum of furniture, also
open on to private views of the surrounding
gardens. Large doors and windows let in
the scents and sounds of the tropics.
At the far end of the courtyard, a two-
story entertainment annex opens up with a
double-height vestibule leading to an attic
reached by a wooden staircase. The attic
comprises a spacious sitting room opening
out to a veranda, and an adjoining library
and billiards room. The sitting area is fur-
nished with a stunning Afghan carpet and
floor cushions covered in handwoven Baluchi
rugs in bright tones of fuchsia and pink,
heightening the brilliance of the light spilling
in through the stained-glass window on the
gable end of the room. The built-in seating
on the adjoining veranda is similarly furnish-
ed in pink. The billiards room off the main
seating area is more formally appointed.
Chairs for watching play in progress line the
walls surrounding the central table. Both
rooms, however, boast the same beautiful
views of the garden and countryside.
LEFT
Antique timber columns
frame the greenery beyond
this informal veranda off
the annex sitting room.
The terracotta objects on
the ledge are contempo-
rary Sri Lankan work based
on ancient designs. The
white cement floor pro-
vides an effective contrast
between inside and out.

LEFT
A stone-floored double-
height vestibule is the
entry point to the annex
to the main house. The
wooden stairs, which are
also from an old house,
lead to the light-filled attic
and the library and billiards
room beyond.
BELOW LEFT
The attic leading to the
library and billiards room
is an informal sitting area.
The floor cushions, made
from a collection of Baluchi
rugs, complement the
Afghan carpet.
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LEFT BELOW
Sunlight streams into the The calm, quiet courtyard
billiards room on the upper at the back of the house
floor. The windows are derives from a long Sri
recycled from an early Lankan architectural tradi-
twentieth-century colonial tion, but is here filled with
house. The ventilation water. The edge is made
grilles of Victorian inspira- from a collection of old
tion were very much a part items as are the doors and
of the Sri Lankan architec- columns. The warm yellow
tural traditions of the peri- polished terracotta walls
od. The chairs and table have been painted with tra-
are from the same period. ditional samara paint.
Terracotta ventilation roof The glazed terracotta pot
tiles make unusual light was part of the East India
fittings on the wall. Company’s trade with
the island’s ports during
the seventeenth century.

The Hill Club

NUWARA ELIYA | ARCHITECT: EDWARDS, REID AND BEGG
Nowhere in Sri Lanka do the vestiges of shielded from the high winds by stands of ABOVE
Portraits of Queen Eliza-
colonial Britain live on as obviously as in the Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees. beth II and Prince Philip
hill country. The central massif, traditionally By 1876 a club, that essential institution and the Prince and Prin-
left bare of any settlement by the indigenous of British life, was founded and aptly called cess of Wales flank that of
the president of Sri Lanka
population, was opened up for the cultivation the Hill Club, and by 1896 the second oldest and patron of the club in
of, first, coffee and then tea from 1846. In golf club outside the British Isles was estab- the heavy-beamed reading
room. The faux leather
1860 Samuel Baker “discovered” the high lished in the valley. Although much of the upholstered chairs are
valley of Nuwara Eliya and established a farm area’s charm has now disappeared under post- based on a nineteenth-
century design. The maga-
in it. Many colonials, drawn by the healthier, colonial settlement and vegetable cultivation, zine rack and newspaper
almost English climate that allowed for a the core of the town in and around the Golf stand are late Victorian.
lifestyle much akin to that of their distant Club and the key institutions of the Hill Club,
homeland, and Nuwara Eliya (“New-ralia” Golf Club, St Andrew’s Hotel and Grand
to the British, or “Little England” as it is aptly Hotel still remain as British as they were when
referred to), came to resemble a little village first established. The faded elegance of the
from the home counties of England. The Hill Club and Golf Club, with their tradition-
plantation houses and holiday homes of those al fare of cheese toast and tea, epitomize the
who flocked to the hills during the warmest quintessential colonial style of Sri Lanka.
pre-monsoon months, including the governors The present Hill Club building dates from
of the day, stand to this day amidst pictur- the 1930s when it was built by the British,
esque gardens full of sweet peas and gladioli, Colombo-based firm of Edwards, Reid and
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LEFT
The Scottish baronial-style
Hill Club was built in the
1930s by the colonial archi-
tectural firm of Edwards,
Reid and Begg. Locally
sourced stone and fake
timbering lend appropriate
dignity to the club.
BELOW
Chintz-covered sofas and
armchairs and gilt-framed
pictures provide the reas-
surance of a home county
living room.
OVERLEAF
Starched white, brass-
buttoned jackets and crisp
white sarongs are the uni-
form for the stewards in the
high-beamed dining room.
Furnished with basic utili-
tarian nineteenth-century
colonial chairs, comfort
above beauty was more
important in the club. The
room is lent an air of so-
phistication by the immac-
ulate white table linen
and candles. It is still de
rigueur for men to wear
a tie and jacket at dinner.
Begg in a Scottish baronial style in local

dressed granite. Its imposing presence is en-
hanced by its location on a hill overlooking
the golf course and its own expansive lawns,
bordered by flower beds and scattered with
umbrella-shaded tables and chairs where one
can enjoy an English afternoon tea.
The interior of the Hill Club is an eclectic
mixture of practical furnishings surviving from
the different periods of its existence, together
with the trappings associated with the British
hill station lifestyle: fireplaces, mounted hunt-
ing trophies, framed portraits and scenes and
vases of temperate flowers. The dark wood
of the floors and furniture contribute to the
club’s grand appearance.
The stone porch in front of the club leads
into a large hallway. The men’s bar opens
directly off this space, as does the library.
These are distinctly masculine spaces origi-
nally meant for the all-male club—only in
the twentieth century were ladies allowed into
the club through the main entrance. A long
corridor at the far side of the entrance hall
connects the other spaces, including the
billiards room, dining room and lounge.
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OPPOSITE BELOW
A fishing trophy (above)
from the time when the
streams and lakes around
Nuwara Eliya were well
stocked with rainbow trout
introduced by the British
in the nineteenth century.
Old aerated water bottles
(below) adorn a self in
the dining room.
ABOVE
Red oxide floors contrast
with the green baize of the
nineteenth-century billiard
table and the basic teak
furniture. The white ceiling
with painted copper panels
is common in many colo-
nial buildings in the hill
country.
LEFT
Sturdy teak beds complete
with feather duvets and
hot water bottles welcome
guests in the spacious
bedrooms. The beds and
scroll-legged side tables
are all of late nineteenth-
century British colonial
design. The teak floor-
boards are covered with
a well-worn carpet.

LEFT
The skull and horns of
an Axis deer adorning
the wall does double duty
as a coat hook.
Galapita
BUTTALA | ARCHITECT: RUKMAN FONSEKA
The southeastern corner of Sri Lanka is A series of simple open pavilions are built
linked to the sacred site of Kataragama, the on and around the rocks on the island using
abode of Sri Skanda, the God of War, and a the traditional methods of wattle-and-daub
classic pilgrimage shrine, second only to that construction. On the highest part is the sleep-
of the Scared Mountain of Adam’s Peak. The ing pavilion. Mud platform steps go down the
area is linked with remoteness and mystery slope of the rock, allowing different levels on
associated with the god and his dalliances with which to sleep, usually on thin mattresses laid
a local Veddah maiden, Valli Amman. Here, on reed mats. On the lowest level, an antique
the last vestiges of a pastoral and a hunter- four-poster bed under a high roof gives the
gatherer culture still survive amidst the mag- impression of sleeping outside.
nificent backdrop of the southern foothills The dining pavilion is set on the ground
and the plains that lead to the east coast. Here level using part of the high rock as a sheltering
also, this far-flung corner of the island has, wall, but otherwise is totally open to the elements.
through its sheer inaccessibility, been spared On the upper part of this pavilion, on level with
the often unforgiving ravages of development. the sleeping area on the rock, is another special
A little way up the Menik Ganga, the river sleeping space reached by a rustic stepladder.
on which Sri Skanda’s shrine is founded, is an Here, bamboo and coconut ekel blinds provide
island reached via a rope bridge across the privacy in a space that is otherwise totally open
rocky ravine of the swiftly flowing river (swift, to the sky. A similar sleeping area is made in
at least, during the monsoon). On one side a traditional tree house pavilion in the paddy
of the island the river emerges as a placid, fields surrounding the property on the banks
tranquil and shallow, stone-bottomed stream of the river. Bathrooms and toilets are set apart
shaded by massive kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna) from the main living areas behind stone walls
trees. Beyond, on top of the island’s rocks for privacy. The outdoor shower spouts make
stands Galapita, literally “on top of the rock,” bathing under the canopy of leaves a natural
a highly original “natural” retreat. and romantic experience.
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ABOVE
An elephant vahanam
of the God Vibhishan or
Saman stands guard at an
entrance. These wooden
animals were used as part
of the ritual of Hindu
temples in which images
of the gods were taken
in procession atop their
respective mounts.
RIGHT
A driftwood table is the
centerpiece of the main
sitting area, a wonderful
setting for resting, talking
and savoring nature. Mud
and cow dung floors,
molded into platforms
for seating and covered
with mats and colorful
cushions, meld with the
surrounding landscape,
making it hard to distin-
guish between interior
and exterior. The old
Dutch planters’ chairs
add a touch of luxury!

ABOVE
A hand-molded goddess
stands sentinel at the
entrance to this sleeping
pavilion overlooking the
swift-flowing river.
LEFT
The main sleeping pavilion
consists of mud- and cow
dung-plastered platforms
covered with talipot palm-
leaf mats on which are laid
thin cotton mattresses.
Hammocks are an option
to sleeping on the plat-
form. Mosquito nets, for
use when necessary, are
suspended from jungle
poles, while bamboo and
reed blinds can be lowered
to form “walls.”
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RIGHT
The main sleeping pavilion
sits atop the rock overlook-
ing the Menik Ganga.
FAR RIGHT
Paddy fields bordering the
Menik Ganga contribute
to the quiet and tranquil
atmosphere of the retreat
in this remote southeast-
ern corner of Sri Lanka.
BELOW
The wattle-and-daub kitchen
is built in the style of a tra-
ditional firewood kitchen,
complete with smoke racks
for keeping things dry. The
rice winnowing trays hang-
ing above the fireplace
are used to clean rice and
other grains before they
are cooked.
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Island Eclecticism
“All the world’s a stage”

—William Shakespeare
he caravans and ocean vessels of old Although these exchanges were signifi-
T linked East and West along the intercon-
nected routes of the great land and sea Silk
cant for the development and flowering of
the great civilizations of the world, as well
PREVIOUS PAGE
Striking silhouettes of Galle
Fort from the Cinnamon
House (page 92).
Road. Silks and other precious commodities as for laying the foundations of our modern
ABOVE
from China were carried across the deserts world, no other age has been more synony- A colorful collection of
and mountains of southern Asia to the mar- mous with the exchange and availability of cushions covered in hand-
loom fabric from Barefoot
kets of Asia Minor, northern Africa and other ideas and information than the late twentieth makes a lively setting for
points, and in exchange artifacts found their century. Global communications, coupled a blue glass Indian candle
stand in the Galle Face
way back to China. Arab traders dominated with the ability to transport goods with ease Court Dome (page 74).
the ocean space, which stretched from south- across great distances, have created a culture
ern China to Zanzibar to Batavia, carrying that is sometimes hard to distinguish by its RIGHT
A marble bust sits on an
anything from rubies to spices to apes. Sri geographical location alone. This is particular- eighteenth-century jack-
Lanka, referred to by Arabs as Serendib, occu- ly apparent in the global style in interiors and wood almirah made from
single planks of wood
pied the center of this ocean space and func- living styles that prevail around the world. in the dining room of the
tioned as an entrepôt, a place for the exchange Sri Lanka has not escaped this global thrust, Cinnamon House (page
92). The base of the bust
of mysterious goods and mystic ideas, a place and at various stages of its stylistic develop- is turned coconut wood.
where Arab and Chinese boats met. ment, eclecticism has come into play in the
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LEFT
Long poles draped with
the owner’s collection
of exotic textiles, among
them Indonesian batik, are
a focal point on the wall
in the master bedroom
in the house on 79, Leyn
Baan Street (page 98).
The bed at the end is built
into the wall as a timber
platform and hung with
a mosquito net.
RIGHT
The perfect circle of the
polished cement bathtub
in the master bathroom of
the Eden House (page 104)
is backed by a delicately
covered window and two
Chinese bamboo ladders
used as towel racks. The
teak floor forms a “carpet”
beneath the tub.
life and style of its people. While a fusion of a place in their homes. Many mid-century Sri
global influences and their assimilation with Lankan houses were full of objects from vari-
traditional styles and attitudes is the corner- ous stylistic and artistic traditions. Art Deco
stone of Sri Lankan style, the eclecticism that was at home with Victorian and Chinese por-
has emerged is different in that it allows the celain. Ivory miniatures sat alongside Lalique
products of various cultures and civilizations glass under Venetian chandeliers lighting up
to co-exist within the same space, sometimes Persian carpets. In architecture, buildings
harmoniously and sometimes discordantly, such as Lakshmigiri and College House in
but always amusingly. Colombo, both built by the De Soysa family,
Eclecticism in style derives from exposure aimed at emulating an eclectic Italianate style
to the various cultures of the world, often at inspired by the fancy dress ball of styles then
first hand, and an appreciation of each object happening in Britain, whilst others copied
in itself. Each is seen to have its own merit Oriental or Moorish palaces from their experi-
in terms of beauty and enjoyment and is not ences in Andalusia. This innate need to emu-
subservient to another. Tableau are created late other cultures was also reflected in the
using various objects, and in the best exam- clothes people wore and the attitudes they
ples the whole atmosphere celebrates a place adopted. Photographs in Arnold Wright’s
or event. Well-traveled and informed individu- monumental Twentieth Century Impressions of
als create places for relaxation and enjoyment Ceylon (1907) show pictures of eminent Sri
that are global in focus and bring into play Lankan families amidst the treasures they
numerous ideas and objects that they have gathered and in the clothes they wore, witness
seen and gathered that represent their experi- to their eclectic tastes and experiences.
ences. The world is inspiration and a stage The current trend towards eclecticism
is set for its celebration. in Sri Lanka stems from the opening of the
There is, in fact, a long tradition of eclec- island’s economy in 1977 and the subsequent
ticism in interiors and architecture in Sri free flow of ideas and objects. The fact that
Lanka, stemming partly from its long history Sri Lankans travel abroad more frequently
of rule by various colonial powers but also and that the country is home to numerous
from the rise of an affluent middle class under well-traveled expatriates, has also brought
British rule. Success in business and enter- about a sea change in the contemporary
prise and the global reach of the empire that design styles of interiors. Design stores, too,
included Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, gave rise to importing objects of desire for a population
a well-traveled group of citizens who returned exposed to a wide range of ideas and thoughts
home with various luxury goods as memen- through the media, have also contributed to
toes of their journeys. These invariably found changing attitudes in design and lifestyle.
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LEFT
Late afternoon sun streams
into the sparse main living
space with its minimal
built-in furniture. A special-
ly woven rush mat creates
softness underfoot and
provides a warm ambience
in the mostly white room.
RIGHT
The imposing Art Deco
entrance staircase leading
up to the tented dome,
its teak railings curving
down to the floor, confers
a striking sense of entry.
Galle Face Court Dome

COLOMBO 3 | ARCHITECT: EDWARDS, REID AND BEGG
The dome of the Galle Face Court Apart- The residence comprises simply the circu-
ment enjoys one of the most stunning settings lar room under the saucer-shaped dome of the
of any residence in Colombo. Located on the stunning Art Deco building built by the firm
southeastern corner of the main public space Edwards, Reid and Begg in 1934. Approach-
of the city, it is not for the weak-hearted. The ed from the elevator hall below, the first sight
magnificent saucer dome, inspired perhaps of the inside of the dome is nothing short
by Hagia Sophia itself, has an almost sacred of breathtaking. The original white smooth-
presence, the repository of some high-powered finished surface has been given a fabric tent.
relic. Perhaps it is for this reason that it was More recently, the tent has given way to light
occupied for years only by the workshop of projections of images on to it, creating a stun-
a jeweler until the present occupant convinced ning effect. With the polished white cement
the owners of the apartment building to lease floors there is a feeling of lightness and free-
the space to him. The process took time, but dom. The rails of the curved stairs bend down
eventually the craftsman moved out. to the floor as if in homage to the space!
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ABOVE Behind the grand staircase, with its sturdy

The kitchen is sandwiched
between two pillar exten- teak railings, an imposing wooden mask takes
sions, its built-in polished pride of place in a niche. In the round interi-
terrazzo countertop and
teak-stripped cupboards
or, the dome’s supporting pillars demarcate
adding style and color to certain functions. Minor extensions to the
the arc. A dining table
is built on the end of one
pillars have created a niche for the library on
of the extensions. one side of the staircase and, adjoining it, a
small, arc-shaped kitchen appointed in wood.
RIGHT
The saucer-shaped dome A built-in sofa between two pillars takes up
from the bedroom terrace. another side of the space.The rest of the main
space, which is dominated by a large circular
rush mat, a red-lacquered Chinese cabinet
and a platform bed, serves a variety of func-
tions: as sitting room, dining room, guest
room, or simply a relaxing place to lounge.
To the left of the stairway, and up a few
steps, is a small bedroom and bathroom that
have been built on the adjoining roof terrace.
A platform bed, a small table to work at a
computer, a cupboard and a ladder placed
against a wall to hang sarongs make up the
furniture. This apartment is any person’s
dream location and space, but to live in it
requires a rare eclectic skill!
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RIGHT
Late evening sun paints
a wall in the bedroom in
several shades of color.
FAR RIGHT
The tented ceiling soars
up to the apex of the main
space.
BELOW
The spare bedroom is an
extension on an adjoining
roof terrace. The owner’s
collection of sarongs is
draped on a bamboo lad-
der. A small workspace is
created with a nineteenth-
century colonial table and
an antique Chinese horse-
shoe back chair. Simple
cement cubes form handy
bedside tables.
RIGHT
The specially made rush
mat dominates the center
of the dome. Adding
touches of color are bright
blue cushions on the built-
in sofa and a handsome
Chinese red-lacquered
cabinet with a bold brass
lock. Artifacts from various
parts of Asia adorn the
top of the cupboard and
pillar extension.
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ISLAND ECLECTICISM 79
Lighthouse Street House

GALLE FORT | ARCHITECT: RANJAN ALUVIHARE
Like many other houses in the city of Galle,

No. 41 is at its core a modest house built
during the eighteenth-century Dutch period
when the city was for almost a hundred years
the capital of the Galle Commandant, or the
southern province of the Dutch possessions
of what was then Ceylon. Modified over time,
particularly in the nineteenth century, the
most recent renovations have been done to
create a second home for a young bachelor
who required a place to “chill out” with his
friends. The core of the original house has
been converted into the main reception room
and an entirely new building has been added
where the old dilapidated staff and service
wing used to be, to house the bedrooms.
Entrance to the house, deceptively modest
from the outside, is via a black-and-white tiled
veranda enclosed by a low wall set with swing
gates. On the wall is a series of timber col-
umns supporting both the roof and a simple
latticework screen that helps cut out the even-
ing sun and the prying eyes of passersby.
From the plain, but unusual front doors, a
colonnaded entrance hall leads to the formal
sitting and dining room and the patio and
swimming pool in the inner court. Early
wrought-iron grilles below timber-lined sky-
lights cast shadows on the black-and-white
tiled floors of the entrance hall, lit at night
by an old carriage lamp. To the left of the
entrance hall, through the colonnade, in what
would have originally been one of two front
bedrooms is a billiards room and bar, and to
the right a quiet room for meditation. The
original zaal, the long room facing the court-
yard, is used on the left end as a sitting room
and on the right as a dining room.
The main living space is, however, the
courtyard on which most of the attention in
the renovation was lavished. A large swimming
pool is the centrepiece of this space. The pool
occupies most of the yard except for a small
area at the far end, next to the house, where
RIGHT
Late evening light reflects
off the pool, enhancing the
water theme of the court-
yard and the honey color
of the timber columns. The
latticework theme of the
front entrance is carried
through to the windows
and doors in the new wing.
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ABOVE
The grilled skylights above
the entrance hall offset the
cool dark spaces around
them. The checkered floor
and archways evoke nos-
talgic images of times
gone by.
LEFT
The billiards room and bar,
off the entrance hall, are
part of the old structure
and are in the front of the
house. A mirrored alcove
helps to create an illusion
of space in this otherwise
small room. The black-
and-white tiled floor is
a continuation of the en-
trance hall.
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RIGHT
A view of the hallway from
the front door through to
the courtyard at the back.
FAR RIGHT
Late afternoon light casts
interesting patterns on the
walls of the narrow outer
veranda. The latticework
screens between the ver-
anda posts afford trans-
parency as well as privacy.
The distressed blue paint
on the latticework and the
nineteenth-century louver
shutters—still in working
condition—was inspired
by a color often found on
colonial roadside houses.
BELOW
The meditation room at
the front of the house is
sparsely furnished with
simple wood furniture
resting on pale bleached
cement floor tiles. A large
mirror behind a stone
Buddha image from Indo-
nesia and the soft light
give the space an aura
of quiet introspection.
A large Burmese lacquer
work tray sits atop the
coffee table in front of
the Indonesian day bed.
RIGHT
The long hall, the original
zaal in the old Dutch house,
is now the main living and
dining room. A simple teak
table and chairs make up
the formal dining suite,
which is adorned with con-
temporary Sri Lankan and
Balinese paintings. An
Indonesian kitchen cabinet
glows next to two cane
light fittings at the end of
the sitting room, on pale
bleached cement floor tiles.
The black-and-white floor
theme is continued in the
cushions on a bench at one
end of the living area and
in the table napkins.
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TOP a timber pergola, which will eventually be a

The courtyard at the back
is occupied almost entirely
bower of magenta bougainvillea, is an attrac-
by a swimming pool. The tive area for alfresco dining. The courtyard
atmosphere of a water gar- gives the impression of a great water court,
den is highlighted by the
sound of water overflowing with fountains gurgling out of the cement
from the large pots that pots that mark the steps into the pool.
mark the steps into the pool.
On one side of the courtyard is the two-
ABOVE story building that has been built on the
The street entrance to the
house is through a simple
site of what must have been the original ser-
gate. The latticework trellis, vice wing of this modest house, and on the
though newly made, was other the ochre-painted wall of the adjoining
inspired by nineteenth-
century houses abutting property. The new wing houses some of the
the street—as was the service areas and the main bedrooms of the
distressed blue paintwork.
house. The addition is clearly modern but
RIGHT respects the proportions and style of the
Sharing space with the
pool—the main focus of
Dutch-period original building with which
the inner courtyard—the it shares the site.
bedroom and service wing The house is furnished with an eclectic
and the dining pergola
are supported by muted mix of simple modern furniture and the
wooden posts, contributing occasional piece purchased from other parts
to the atmosphere of tran-
quility and peace.
of the world, as well as Sri Lankan art. Un-
cluttered and without fuss, the house is a
truly relaxing retreat for the busy owner.
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Galle Face Court Apartment

COLOMBO 3 | ARCHITECT: EDWARDS, REID AND BEGG
The Galle Face Court was built in 1934 by

the Marckan Marker family in the heart of
Colombo, overlooking the green that is the
main public space of the city. Built in an age
of largesse, the apartments have high ceilings
and generously sized rooms—certainly of a
size larger than most contemporary houses
in Colombo! Most of the apartments boast
magnificent views of the city, especially the
ones on the upper floors and those facing
north, which overlook the gardens of the Taj
Samudra Hotel and the Galle Face Green.
The building itself was designed and built by
Edwards, Reid and Begg, British architects
practicing in Sri Lanka, who introduced a
liberal blend of Byzantine detailing. A second
Galle Face Court was built a little later and
is equally elegant and spacious.
The apartment shown here is located on
the top floor of the building. In decorating it,
the owners opted for an eclectic mix of old
and new infused with a decidedly contempo-
rary approach to color inspired by the brilliant
hues of Sri Lankan culture. The result is a
home that is vibrant and earthy, yet stylish
and practical.
Each room is done out in a different color
theme, which sets the mood of the space. In
the context of the whole, these brilliant colors
are used in a clever way. Viewed from one
direction, the main rooms are a soothing
white. The white-painted exposed roof struc-
ture, composed of iron trusses and boarded
ceiling, lends height and air to the space and
plays a unifying role. In the other direction,
viewed from the dining room, the spaces are
alive with color, the warm red of the dining
room contrasting with the bright ochre in
the distant lounge. The polished teak floor,
with tinges of both colors, unifies the whole.
RIGHT
The fiery red walls of the
dining room are in dramat-
ic contrast to the neutral
white of the main sitting
room. Beyond, the ochre
walls of the anteroom add
further fire to the décor.
The original 1930s fanlights
are echoed in the broad
archways separating the
almost open-plan space.
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LEFT
A modified corner version
of a traditional colonial-
period couch is piled with
cushions in vibrant hand-
woven cotton fabrics de-
signed by Barbara Sansoni
of Barefoot. The design
fabric shop has been an
inspiration to many for
color and style in contem-
porary Sri Lanka.
BELOW
Gilt-framed mirrors reflect
the brilliantly colored walls
in the dining room and
anteroom beyond, forming
changing works of art. The
round table is surrounded
by dining chairs after a
design by Frank Lloyd
Wright, but made from Sri
Lankan timber by local
craftsmen. The sideboard
is 1930s, as is the original
fan from the building.
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
Vermilion walls surround
an original 1930s fanlight.
In a corner of the ante-
room, green dracaena
leaves contrast with pink
and orange paintwork. Late
evening sun paints a wall
in several shades of color
in the bedroom. A small
brass Buddha image in
the seventeenth-century
Kandyan style sits amid
offerings of river stones
and orchids on a table in
the sitting room.
The entrance to the apartment is up a wooden sofa is piled with cushions in brilliant
flight of stairs and along an entrance hall hues. The sitting room is furnished with sim-
furnished with picture stands supporting ple white cotton-covered sofas and the dining
paintings of local life by British artist Alex room with a solid round wooden table and
Stewart. The stands and the lighting give reproductions of a 1930s Frank Lloyd Wright
the impression of an art gallery. Bright light chair. Gilt-framed mirrors hung above the
enters the hallway through a wall of glass sideboard reflect the colors of the walls be-
blocks installed at one end. hind, almost as though they were constantly
The rest of the furniture is kept to a mini- changing contemporary paintings! Strong
mum. In the anteroom to the living room, a lines and a rich riot of color make for a décor
simplified and modified copy of a traditional that is both fun and practical.
The Cinnamon House

GALLE FORT | ARCHITECT: ROHAN JAYAKODY
No. 41, Lighthouse Street was once a large created opening out on to Lighthouse Street.
house in the Fort of Galle with the typical The large front room was turned into the
plan of veranda, front rooms, hall, back ver- entrance hall and the back room converted
anda and service rooms along one side of into a small reception area. Beyond this is
the back courtyard garden. Like many others sheer fantasy—a unique spatial experience
of its type, various reasons led it to being sub- that is anything but a conventional house!
divided by its owners, and the division was A small courtyard between the existing
made by simply drawing a line on the survey structure and the extension is thickly planted
plan of the site and building a wall across. The with bamboo, banana trees and a coconut
land was divided with bitter consequences for palm! From this courtyard, a steep staircase
the beautiful house. One half was left with a leads up to a bedroom and bar above, with
miniscule courtyard and all the service build- the possibility of accessing further terraces
ings while the other was left with a part of the and rooftop gardens beyond. At ground level,
front section and no service areas. the stone paving of the courtyard continues
Most people would have demolished the uninterrupted through the whole site, inside
whole building and built a separate and more and outside, to reach the slightly elevated back
convenient house on the miniscule 2476 garden. The nearer section of the covered area
square feet (230 square meters) of land. To is arranged as a sitting area and the section
the present owner, however, this was a won- closer to the courtyard as a dining area. A steep
derful opportunity to own a pied-à-terre in flight of antique wooden stairs leads to a bed-
the Fort at a time when property prices were room on a mezzanine above the dining area.
spiraling. This fact had been overlooked by This whole house is almost like a bazaar,
many prospective buyers, simply because the filled with a fascinating cornucopia of artifacts
property was incomplete. But with a little bit and memorabilia amassed from a lifetime of
of ingenuity and some physical extension, a avid collecting. Anything and everything that
charmingly eclectic residence has been created seems to relate together is arranged with no
from “the half with a part of the front section.” restraint, sometimes bordering on deliberate
The front of the house was renovated and a vulgarity! The resulting experience is the
new and distinctive, albeit small, entrance epitome of delightful eclecticism.
LEFT
Dusk brings out the fire-
light on the rooftop terrace,
accessed via a staircase
from the back terrace.
RIGHT
A stone bowl embedded
in the floor is strewn with
fresh flowers as a gesture
of welcome in this decid-
edly medieval entrance
hall. A collection of hunt-
ing trophies fill the walls
above the door and the
arch. An exquisite eigh-
teenth century trade cloth
with a tree of life motif
hangs above a grouping
of old Dutch-period boxes.
Standing sentinel in a cor-
ner of the hall is an ashva
vahanam or horse chariot
discarded from a Hindu
temple. The unusual fan-
light in the door has been
created around a central
crystal sphere.
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LEFT
Chinese ancestral portraits
mirror the Sri Lankan ones
on the opposite wall in the
lounge area.
ABOVE
Guests are greeted by a
collection of trophy heads
on the walls above both
door and arch. Most are
made of wood but with
real antlers attached. Here,
the almost paired wooden
heads display antlers of the
spotted deer, which sheds
them annually to grow new
ones. The buffalo’s head
is the work of an early
taxidermist, as are the two
heads of female sambar
on either side of it.
RIGHT
The brass candelabra in
the lounge area was made
by local craftsmen from-
drawings of the eighteenth-
century original. Above the
linen-covered sofa, ances-
tral portraits of important
personages in the colonial
administration are mixed
with nineteenth-century
prints of cupids and alle-
gorical scenes of love and
retribution, together with a
Lionel Wendt photograph
of the sunset. The old car-
pet below the coffee table
picks up the red in the
ancestral portraits in the
otherwise ochre area.
LEFT ABOVE LEFT BELOW
From the back garden, a Entrance is through an old
steep staircase leads to a door with an unusual fan-
terrace outside the main light incorporating a crystal
bedroom, also accessible ball. The writing over the
from the bar in the front, door, honi soit qui maly
and above this a roof ter- pense, means “shame to
race offering stunning who thinks ill of this.” Mini-
views over the rooftops ature banana palms in cer-
of the old fort city of Galle. amic pots flank the door.
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BELOW floor laid throughout the cupboard in the dining
The dining area overlooks ground floor. The stairs on area is but one of the
the courtyard garden at the the side lead up to a sec- numerous fascinating arti-
back, bordered by a high ond bedroom on a mezza- facts that add interest to
wall of laterite blocks. The nine above the dining area. the house.
warm honey-colored glow The fretwork doors set in-
of the stone harmonizes to the back wall screen an
with the traditional samara outdoor bathing area. The
color of the whole building marble portrait bust atop
and the old granite block an eighteenth-century
79, Leyn Baan Street

GALLE FORT | DESIGNER: OLIVIA RICHLEY
The old fort city of Galle has seen a long line

and miscellany of residents, some of whom
came as invaders and others as traders and
investors. Most stayed on for a time and left
their mark on the houses and buildings they
constructed. The original Portuguese builders
of the fort as well as the later Dutch, British
and Asian invaders and traders left indelible
traces of their tastes and styles in an incredible
variety of buildings within the walls of the old
fort. Nowhere in Sri Lanka is this built history
of the colonial and even the immediate post-
colonial periods more clearly visible than here.
The house at No. 79, Leyn Baan Street
is a late nineteenth-century British-period
restoration on an eighteenth-century Dutch
plan, further restored for ease of contempo-
rary living in the early twenty-first century.
During the restoration, great care was taken
to highlight wherever possible the original
splendor of the house’s stained-glass doors
and antique terracotta tiles. Where this was
not always possible, sensitive alternatives
have been blended in to make the house
both comfortable and convenient.
Following the plan of the classic Dutch
town house, the formal entrance is through
a veranda at the front of the house. A solid
wood-paneled and stained-glass door opens
into a hall or zaal with two spaces on either
side, one used as a formal dining room and
the other as a sitting room. Beyond the hall,
demarcated by an arched doorway and arched
windows, is an in-between space that formed
the back veranda to the original building.
This opens into a back area now occupied
by two buildings. On one side is the original
eighteenth-century single-story staff and serv-
ice wing and on the other a two-story wing
added possibly in the late nineteenth century.
The upper floor of this wing is now entirely
taken up by the owner’s bedroom. The two
wings flank a very thin courtyard now occu-
pied by a long pond with stone receptacles
RIGHT
The terrace outside the
master bedroom is shel-
tered by a bamboo and
timber frame. The cotton-
covered bed is the perfect
spot for an afternoon siesta
cooled by the breezes that
blow in from the nearby
Indian Ocean.
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RIGHT
The upper-floor gallery out-
side the master bedroom is
constructed from fine timber
members and overlooks
the half-round tiled roofs of
the surrounding buildings.
BELOW
A massive teakwood table
from Indonesia occupies
the dining end of the hall.
Indonesian and Sri Lankan
textiles form a colorful
backdrop to memorabilia
on the cement sideboard
at the far end.
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ABOVE brimming with water. A later addition of a

The hall opens into an in-
between space that was
roof terrace, accessible from the back garden,
formerly the old veranda and the gallery of the upper floor of the
to the original back garden,
bedroom overlook the ancient rampart and
now occupied by a build-
ing from the nineteenth- modern lighthouse.
century renovation. Sri The decoration in the interior is suitably
Lankan stag heads guard
the access to the rear eclectic, reflecting the owner’s sojourns in
courtyard, filled with a other countries and her artistic taste. How-
long pond with overflow-
ing stone receptacles.
ever, the furniture and effects are arranged
and used in such a way as to exude the grace
RIGHT of an old colonial home. The formal sitting
A garage door made from
old timber door sashes area at one end of the main hall is decorated
forms a fascinating entrance with a mixture of comfortable seats, while a
from the back street on the
ancient rampart. massive rustic teakwood dining table from
Indonesia dominates the other end. The
white- painted floors in this room, along with
glass skylights, compensate for the loss of light
brought about by the second building in the
courtyard and gives the room the appearance
of an outside space in itself. The small but
comfortable bedrooms are decorated in a
variety of styles with collections gathered over
many years of travel.

LEFT
A terrazzo bathtub in one
of the guest bedrooms is
framed by a highly decora-
tive stained-glass window
from the British-period
restoration. The terracotta
floor tiles are part of the
original Dutch house.
RIGHT
The master bed, covered
with many layers of exotic
cloth and draped with mos-
quito netting, catches the
breezes from the Indian
Ocean. The stark white
lighthouse and ramparts
are visible through the
window on the right.
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Eden House
GALLE FORT | ARCHITECT: RANJAN ALUVIHARE
Eden House in the Fort of Galle is as flam-

boyant and full of joie de vivre as its owners.
The house is a celebration—an eclectic stage
set—of travel and experience and sensuality
that is only possible in the tropics. Redolent
of journeys to the East, it is indeed in the East
and at the heart of one of the great entrepôts
of trade up to the seventeenth century. It is
a fantasy brought to life!
The house, located in the original market
square of Galle, is entered through a small
courtyard off the street. A simple veranda
leads to the dramatic entrance hall, reminis-
cent of some great Moroccan kasbah. The
vaulted ceiling is softly and mysteriously lit
from a cornice above. Portraits of long-dead
and living relatives line the walls, in the style
of an English country house. In the main body
of the old house is a kitchen that swerves out
into a dining room in one of the wings. This
space, too, evokes the mysteries and romance
of the Mediterranean through a trompe l’oeil
of a stone-lined courtyard complete with a
Spanish orange tree! A sitting room occupies
the other part of the old house.
It is at the back of the house, however,
that the owners have given full rein to their
fantasies. Here, the two wings flanking the
space are a fantastic evocation of a Moroccan
courtyard. Plain plaster columns are brought
to life by trellised arches that glow at night
from concealed lighting. An ornate wrought-
iron balustrade, protruding half-round roof
tiles and brick paving laid in a herring-bone
pattern add to the flamboyant ambience. An
ancient mango tree and a coconut palm add a
green twist. Pale flagstone flooring under the
colonnades and muted walls make the space
appear much bigger than it actually is. The
upper level of one wing is a flat-roof terrace
on which an industrial chimney camouflages
a water tower. The rooms on the upper floor
of the other wing are reached by a circular
staircase and a long veranda.
The house is filled with a variety of furni-
ture and artifacts gathered from various expe-
riences and existences that the owners have
had: China, Morocco, the United Kingdom,
India and Indonesia are all represented. Ob-
jects and colors are thrown together with gay
abandon but come together in an amusing
and pleasing way, contributing to a style of
decoration that is as eclectic as any to be seen.
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BELOW
The Moroccan style of the
courtyard derives from
pointed arches fashioned
from timber latticework.
Lighting adds romantic
glamor to the space.

RIGHT
The flat-roofed terrace
above the dining room is
an ideal location for enter-
taining under the stars.
The “chimney” near by
hides the water tank.
On the opposite wing, a
balcony with an ornate
wrought-iron balustrade
leads to the bedrooms.
BELOW
The kitchen area is an inte-
gral part of the main living
area. Here, the counters
are made from solid an-
tique timber. Adding inter-
est is an old window adop-
ted as a spice cupboard,
and a set of billiard table
lights hanging above the
cooking area. Open shelves
are filled with kitchenware
and a miscellany of items.
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An Indonesian day bed with
silk throw cushions in part
of the sitting room next to
the kitchen. The contempo-
rary paintings are by Sri
Lankan artists. The lamp on
the ledge is made from an
upturned antique betel nut
tray dressed in a modern
cotton shade. In another
part of the sitting room,
bric-a-brac and other ob-
jects surround an armchair
made of water hyacinth
stems. Gracing the floor is
a tribal rug possibly from
Afghanistan via Pakistan.
An old door from a Hindu
household in the north finds
new life at the entrance to
the house and is flanked by
two magnificent brass roof
finials, also from the north.
The spiral staircase to the
bedroom wing is made
from railway sleepers affix-
ed to a concrete column.

RIGHT
A trompe l’oeil of a Medi-
terranean courtyard forms
a highly unusual backdrop
in the dining room, which
is lit by a skylight from
the terrace above. Solid
Indonesian benches form
the main seating on either
side of a long teakwood
table adorned with Bur-
mese lacquerware and a
vase of colorful flowers.
A handsome nineteenth-
century ebony and jack-
wood linen cupboard
stands against the wall.
The strong lines of the
furniture are softened
with blue swabs and blue-
and-white cushions.
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Helga’s Folly
KANDY | ARCHITECT: MINETTE DE SILVA
The hills surrounding the medieval capital

of Kandy are now dotted with residences
that take advantage of the spectacular view
overlooking the lake and the ancient Temple
of the Tooth. Nestled in lush vegetation at
the eastern end of the lake, and set well above
it, is what for a long time was known as the
Chalet Hotel. Now called Helga’s Folly, the
modernist guest house, originally designed
by the owner’s aunt, Minette de Silva, in the
1960s, has been transformed into a lush mani-
festation of an extraordinarily flamboyant and
creative lifestyle. From top to bottom, the
guest house is a reflection of the theatrical
tastes and eclectic style of Helga, its owner.
Clues as to what awaits the visitor are
apparent in the slightly overgrown road and
pathway to the guest house and the even more
overgrown entranceway and car park. The
front entrance, almost hidden among a pro-
fusion of bougainvillea and tumbergia, opens
to a hall from whence begins a veritable
Aladdin’s cave of visual delight.
The hall inside the doorway, in what might
once have been a small, uninspiring room,
now has the authority of a great hall. Large
candlesticks, overladen with years of dripping
wax, offer welcome. Dark walls create a sense
of cave-like mystery. Above all, no space or
surface is left untouched. Inspired by the rich
textures and colors of the Kandyan landscape,
every nook is a new discovery that delights
the senses, and every step must be taken care-
fully lest one loses oneself in the myriad objects
and the experiences they recall. Exquisite
antiques vie for attention with basketfuls of
plastic flowers. Modernist paintings from
the 43rd Group hang on walls papered with
pages from the gossip columns.
The adjoining salon on the ground floor
opens out to a lushly planted garden through
large French windows. Here, Art Deco carpets
and early 1930s furniture are juxtaposed with
RIGHT
Upstairs, the red dining
room at the far end is
reached through a whim-
sical ceremonial arch of
shy cherubs. In the blue
dining room in the fore-
ground, family photos are
hung over an allegorical
landscape. Teak flooring
unites the two spaces.
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RIGHT
The salon opens to the
garden through fiery red
doors. The nineteenth-
century cupboard, the
classic Galle almirah, here
with decorative ebony
trimmings and embellish-
ments, stands in marked
contrast to the simple
teak 1950s living room set
adorned with brilliantly
hued silk cushions. On the
walls, a fine collection of
Kandyan spears vies with
an assortment of paintings,
puppets, pots and other
items, including timber
deer heads with genuine
antlers, a long tradition
in rural Sri Lanka.
BELOW
Dressed to kill, the staff
stand to attention behind
a table in the red dining
room. The wall behind is
painted with a blow-up
of a traditional painting
of a king in procession.
The red background is ty-
pical of seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century schools
of painting in Sri Lanka.
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RIGHT ornately carved late Dutch-period cupboards.
The front of the guest house
is painted a dark green to Walls are hung with a profusion of graphic
harmonize with the sur- art, collections of stag horns and antique
rounding foliage. Lively
red-painted sculptures on
spears. The predominant colors of ochre and
the balcony and the red red team up with the dark furniture to create
French doors from the a warm and comfortable ambience.
salon pick up the colors
in the garden shrubs. Red in one area and blue in another char-
acterize the upper-floor dining rooms. A var-
BELOW
Inspired by the frescoes ied collection of chairs and tables are set to
of Sigiriya, Cloud Maidens different themes of color and detail. In the
float on the stairway walls
amidst celestial foliage.
red area, a blown-up version of a painting
from a Kandyan temple forms the backdrop
at the buffet, while a soft blue theme creates
a moody atmosphere in the dining room.
Each bedroom has been stamped with its
own individuality on the whim and fancy of
the owner, the objects used and the quality of
light and views available. The interconnecting
spaces and bathrooms go their own way with
one bathroom painted as an aquarium and
another entirely plastered with pages from
magazines of yesteryear. The whole house
brims with an enjoyment of every aspect of
life, where each object is valued not for its
monetary cost, but by the sheer pleasure it
gives the owner and her guests.
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LEFT
Magazine covers, post-
cards and love letters form
an intense collage in the
guest toilet with its built-
in water closet and tall
nineteenth-century cistern.
RIGHT
A set of ceiling panels
painted in the old Kandyan
style is a striking backdrop
to a seating area in the
blue bedroom, furnished
with 1930s-style chairs
and side tables and a
1960s coffee table.
BELOW LEFT
Hand-painted butterflies
flit in the light of the glass
door to the garden in the
red bedroom.
BELOW RIGHT
Copious silverware and
white table settings give
the blue dining room an
ethereal look.

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Contemporary Interpretations
n 1948 Sri Lanka regained independence Minette de Silva was not only one of the
I after 450 years of colonial rule. This event
proved to be a major catalyst for a resurgence
first truly modern Sri Lankan architects, but
was also probably the first formally qualified
PREVIOUS PAGE
The stark all-white concrete
and glass Havelock Town
House (page 126), with its
design illusions to Mies
in Sri Lankan art, literature and architecture. Asian woman architect. After training in Bombay
van der Rohe, Le Corbusier
The first public buildings to be associated and the Architectural Association (AA) School and Richard Meier, is an
with newly independent Sri Lanka appealed of Architecture in the UK, she became associ- example of a design direc-
tion gaining ground in the
to nationalist sentiments. The University of ated with Le Corbusier through meetings of suburbs of Colombo.
Peradeniya near Kandy by Shirley de Alwis, the CIAM (Congres Internationaux d’Archi-
ABOVE
and the Independence Memorial Hall in tecture Moderne) group during the 1940s Simple upholstered chairs
Colombo by Neville Wynne-Jones, appropri- and early 1950s. Back in her home country, arrayed around a glass-
ated ancient Sri Lankan styles and motifs. she was determined to follow Le Corbusier’s topped teak table harmo-
nize with the hues and
Although these buildings seemed to represent advice of drawing on her own traditions for materials of the rest of
a retreat into pastiche, they nevertheless suc- inspiration. In a series of houses built in the the Havelock Town House.
Tall sliding glass doors
ceeded in inspiring a new generation of archi- 1950s, Minette established a style of modern, open on to a narrow area
tects to re-examine Sri Lankan traditions. open-plan building with many of the living at the back of the site
planted with towering
The modern Sri Lankan house developed spaces flowing into the landscape. Wherever areca nut palms.
out of a fusion of Sri Lankan vernacular tradi- possible and appropriate, she used the work
tions and European modernist ideals. Euro- of local artisans.
pean modernism took a tenuous hold in the At the time of independence, the archi-
Colombo of the 1930s though Art Deco, and tectural profession was still in its infancy. One
“modern” took precedence over pure mod- by one, the expatriate practices which had
ernism. A milestone building, which appeared flourished before the war closed their doors,
during the war years of 1939–45, was the and a new generation of Sri Lankans left to
block of flats in the Colombo Fort designed study architecture abroad. One of the most
for Baur and Company by Goldman and significant of these was Valentine Gunasekera.
Maillart. It was Andrew Boyd, however, who Trained at the AA, Gunasekera had worked
designed the first truly modern buildings in with Eero Saarinen in the United States. In
Sri Lanka, with a house in Kandy in 1939 and his work in Sri Lanka, he attempted to adapt
another couple of houses in Colombo in 1946. modern abstract formalism to the tropical
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context. The most striking of his buildings is the 50-foot (15-meter) banners that adorned ABOVE
A Rolls Royce coupé
the highly original Tangalla Bay Hotel of 1974. the lobby of the Colombo Oberoi designed from the 1930s forms an
Also returning to the island after training by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 1974. unusual “sculpture” in the
entrance-cum-garage to
at the AA was Geoffrey Bawa, who in 1957 The most striking of her works, however,
the House on 33rd Lane.
took over the then moribund British practice was a ceiling designed for the Bentota Beach An eighteenth-century
of Edwards, Reid and Begg. Working with his Hotel. De Silva now runs a cooperative in her ebony wood sofa is paired
with a steel chair designed
associate Ulrik Plesner, he also experiment- native village dedicated to a revival of local for the Kandalama Hotel.
ed with various alternatives to the prevalent arts and crafts. Products from this and other Next to the painting
by Belgian artist Saskia
styles. After an early flirtation with “tropical efforts towards the rejuvenation of traditional Pringiers is the entrance
modernism,” Bawa discovered the virtues of crafts are very much a part of the contempo- to the studio office and the
vernacular building traditions. His most semi- rary Sri Lankan interior design scene. guest rooms and roof
terrace on the upper level.
nal work, the Ena de Silva House of 1960, is The resurgence in traditional crafts with
a fusion of these modernist planning ideals. a modern design twist is evident in the hand-
This, in turn, led to his masterly design for looms produced by Barefoot, the design
the Bentota Beach Hotel of 1968, which fused and cloth shop at 704 Galle Road, Colombo,
the traditions of a Sinhalese walauwe manor which is a labyrinthine collector’s dream.
with the modernist plan of Le Corbusier. Barbara Sansoni, with her incredible eye for
Influential also was artist and designer color, has done for Sri Lankan handloom
Ena de Silva. Her work in batik, and her col- cotton what Jim Thomson did for Thai silk.
laborations with her son Anil Gamini Jaya- Stunning designs and vibrant colors are the
sooriya and Laki Senanayake, the artist who hallmark of Sansoni’s work, which she contin-
started work as an assistant in Bawa’s office, ues with a dedicated band of designers and
produced artifacts that were used extensively weavers working in rural Sri Lanka. The
in the work of the architects at the time and sarong, the quintessential garment of Asian
summed up the new Sri Lankan spirit. An men (and women) has been transformed for-
eclectic series of inspirations, including pat- ever into a particularly colorful Sri Lankan
terns and idioms derived from ancient and version by Barefoot and is now copied by
medieval Sri Lankan flags and banners, led many other designers, including the mass
to commissions ranging from table linen to producers for the Sri Lankan market in India.
CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS 119

Other products from the Barefoot range, More frequent and continuous relations with RIGHT
This bathroom in the
and from other designers inspired by it, make foreign countries and travel abroad by an Havelock Town House
up a major component of contemporary inte- increasing number of Sri Lankans for study (page 126) is a tactile and
visual delight. Clean lines,
riors. Objects of everyday use, such as table and business have made Sri Lankan design a muted palette and natu-
napkins and bedspreads, curtains and cushion sensitive to global ideas. Changes have also ral materials inject a Zen
covers, tablecloths and towels use vibrant cot- occurred as new technologies and materials air. Separated by a frosted
glass partition, a solid
ton handlooms. These handloom products, are being teamed with more cheaply and easi- plank of teak floats over
in brilliant hues and stunning designs, have ly available local ones. An example of this is a chest of drawers to form
a vanity stand, while tim-
come to infiltrate even the most conservative the collaboration of Swiss furniture designer ber “carpets” are laid over
of Sri Lankan homes, making them an essen- Rico Tarawella and Bentota craftsmen of the a mosaic tile floor. Lighting
tial part of the contemporary design ethos. is subtle, hidden away in
Workshop, whose furniture combines modern the ceiling and in alcoves
This has also led to a revival of the local welding techniques with traditional materials on the wall.
handloom industry. Under the guidance of such as timber and leather.
Chandra Thenuwara of the National Craft In the world of architecture, the work
Council, the local handloom centers in the of Chelvadurai Anjalendran and Vijitha
provinces began to produce material that took Basnayake stands out. Light, eco-conscious
into consideration the demands of the local buildings and the use of sustainable and
market. Today, many of these centers produce easily available materials are very much a
contemporary designs that have a distinctly part of contemporary residential architecture.
Sri Lankan feel to them. These explorations Living rooms open out to gardens and court-
were further reinforced by government policies yards. Bathrooms are open-air. Sensitivity to
of self-reliance promoted by the left-of-center the environment and to budgetary considera-
politics of the immediate post-colonial period. tions is also evident in the widespread use of
Imports were restricted, as was travel abroad. recycled building materials, not only antique
This did not mean, however, that there was a doors, windows or columns, but more mod-
dearth of ideas or inspiration from the goings ern and recent materials such as railway
on in other parts of the world. Indeed, the sleepers and steel girders, timber rafters and
early 1960s restriction of goods and travel old floors, cement and ceramic tiles and even
abroad brought about a creative blossoming metal or terracotta roofing. Overall, good
in the architecture and design of the island. Sri Lankan design seems to have developed
Access to foreign magazines as well as com- an eye for sensible, practical materials as
munication with foreign visitors to the coun- much as for economy of use.
try also inspired local designers, as did the Increasing congestion in Colombo and
various expatriates who came out to Sri rising house prices have also impacted on
Lanka to live and work. the design of the contemporary Sri Lankan
All these changes prompted designers to house. With most suburban houses being
re-examinine and work with local resources. built on less than 3000 square feet (280
The handloom cloth industries, along with square meters) of land in increasingly con-
many local building material industries and gested suburbs, the internal courtyard, the
crafts people, were employed to good effect. garden and innovations to the way light and
By the 1970s a Sri Lankan ethos of using ventilation are provided to the interior have
available skills and materials to best possible become important design considerations.
advantage was part of the Sri Lankan archi- Worldwide design trends are also influ-
tectural and design consciousness. Good Sri encing interior design schemes. A major in-
Lankan design was also seen to be moving fluence on the contemporary Sri Lankan
towards buildings and spaces that were open interior is the work of designer and entrepre-
to the natural environment, and utilized as neur Shanth Fernando of Paradise Road,
many local resources as possible. Terracotta who is credited with giving Sri Lanka a “style
tiles for both floors and roofs, plain polished identity,” making local arts and crafts very
cement for floors, rush and coconut coir chic but, at the same time, “timeless.” Fer-
carpets, coconut timber columns, rafters and nando uses local skills to manufacture a vari-
structural members, handloom and locally ety of home decoration items that are inspired
manufactured batik fabrics teamed naturally by local traditional craft but, under his direc-
with landscapes full of frangipani to form a tion, with an eye on international design
unique Sri Lankan contemporary style. trends. The gallery and restaurant opened by
Since the introduction of a market econo- him in the old offices of Edwards, Reid and
my in 1977, new materials and technologies Begg have set new trends in the dining experi-
have been introduced to Sri Lanka, adding ence and found a new life for a significant
to the historically strong colonial influences. contemporary building.
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LEFT
A weathered old bench
sits below the deep over-
hanging eaves of the
loggia. The polished satin-
wood (Cloroxylon sweita-
nia) columns, raised on
elegant granite bases,
are from a time when this
timber was an abundant
building material.
RIGHT
The forecourt at the front
of the house is floored
with river stones and a
massive millstone. A roof
of half-round tiles on a
timber frame shelters the
path to the magnificent
antique temple door, the
main entrance to the house.
Alfred Place House

COLOMBO 3 | ARCHITECT: GEOFFREY BAWA
No. 5, Alfred Place, built in 1963, more than the open planning tradition of the modern
any other building of this period contains the movement is blended harmoniously with tra-
thinking of the architect Geoffrey Bawa that ditional Sri Lankan elements and materials
came to epitomize his work. Inspired by the and techniques of construction to form a
demands of the owner, artist and designer seamless whole: the inward-looking family
Ena de Silva, who came from a family steeped rooms and service areas, work spaces and
in tradition, for a house that would incorpo- guest rooms are all clearly defined and sepa-
rate traditional Sri Lankan elements—an en- rated but at the same time interconnected.
closing wall, open-sided rooms, verandas and The main spaces of the house are ar-
courtyards—as well as modern elements such ranged in layers of increasing privacy as they
as an office, studio and guest wing, Bawa move inwards away from the street. Behind
responded instinctively to the challenge of an austere plaster wall punctuated only by
the small urban site. For the first time in Sri a solid wooden door and the entrance to the
Lankan contemporary architectural history, garage, a river stone-paved forecourt forms
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RIGHT a buffer between the street and a magnificent
The study, immediately
to the left of the entrance, old door, rescued from a temple, which opens
looks over the main inter- to a narrow passage leading to the large cen-
nal courtyard. Like all the
rooms in the house, this
tral courtyard surrounded on all four sides
one is naturally ventilated by a low-eaved colonnade of satinwood and
from two sides. Louvered presided over by an ancient frangipani (Plum-
shutters replace glass win-
dows. A projecting bay eria rubra) and a shady mango.
window wraps around to Now occupied by the Belgian artist Saskia
form a desk and a setting
for a nineteenth-century Pringiers and her family, the rooms closest to
terracotta roof finial. A the road house the office, studio, garage and
painting by the occupant,
artist Saskia Pringiers,
guest suite. At the far end of the courtyard
hangs above the desk. is the main living area—a two-story building
with living and dining areas on the ground
BELOW
A single plank of para para floor opening on to the courtyard, separated
(Samanea saman) makes by a timber-lined spiral staircase leading to
a magnificent dining table
on the loggia. A mixture
the shrine room and family bedrooms above.
of nineteenth-century office Running down one side of the compound is
chairs and an eighteenth- the service area. The whole area is paved with
century Wolfendhal chair
form the seating. Enamel- varying textures of stone, from washed river
coated studio lamps light stone in the courtyard to dressed granite in
up the table at night. The
artist’s works, stacked up the main spaces. Large millstones define the
against the wall, blend into corners of the courtyard and act as casual
the setting of stone, weath-
ered timber, white plaster
seating or for drying things on. Weathered
and terracotta tiles. timber, white plaster walls and half-round
terracotta tiles are complemented by collec-
tions of ancient objects in natural tones.
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ABOVE
The seamless transition
between inside and out is
one of the joys of the house.
Built during a time of short-
age of modern materials
and of import restrictions,
the architect made innova-
tive use of the available
locally produced materials.
The dominant tiled roof
and the localized palette of
materials gives the house
its vernacular feel.
LEFT
The living room is arranged
very much like one of Sas-
kia’s paintings. The original
built-in seats and niches are
filled with objects—a Buddha
statue, a traditional drill,
textile printing blocks, a food
stand, a granite rat—that
often reappear in her paint-
ings. The writings on the
wall are inspirations and
quotations, including one
from a dear friend which
says “be free, be free, be
free from attachment, ...
should you desire to reach
the freedom of the skies.”

Havelock Town House

COLOMBO 5 | ARCHITECT: RAJI KADIRGAMAR
This imposing concrete-and-glass structure, RIGHT

A single areca palm framed
built in the inner suburbs of Colombo, is a between the columns of
decidedly contemporary statement of urban the double-height living
room emphasizes the
life in the tropics. The neo-modernist look
verticality of the space.
of the house is inspired by the works of the A matching row of palms
modernists of the early and mid-twentieth borders the wall at the
back of the site, their tops
century, such as Le Corbusier and Richard peeping over the open-
Neutra, as well as the great architects of the air deck. Early afternoon
light softens the sculptural
day, like Richard Meier. The minimal palette but neutral geometry of
of materials—white plaster walls, timber or the architecture.
polished concrete floors and frameless glass
fenestrations—creates a calm and tranquil
atmosphere, but also enables the house to
function as a superb gallery for the owner’s
collection of contemporary art.
Three modules—a smaller central mass
flanked by two larger masses—are arranged
in a U shape around an impeccably main-
tained garden filled with mature frangipani
trees, areca palms and other tropical foliage.
Frameless glass picture windows bordering a
simple and planar terrace lined with a proces-
sion of columns create a seamless extension
of the inner spaces to the outside.
The entrance to the house is via a long
passage parallel to and open on one side to
the garden on the right. A collection of line
drawings hangs over a simple console table
of para mara (Samanea saman) timber. At the
end of the corridor, a slight change of level,
indicated by four steps, marks the transition
from the entrance to the main entertainment
area. Here, the dining room and anteroom-
cum-gallery end in the magnificent double-
height living room with its bridgeway gallery.
Skylights define the circulation from the
otherwise open rooms.
Running along the back of these spaces
is a linear water court in which is reflected
a regularly planted row of areca palms. The
high walls of this courtyard allow a soft glow
of skylight and occasional rays of sunlight to
penetrate down, while the bright tropical light
from the garden comes in on the other side.
The dining room is sparsely furnished
with minimal contemporary furniture, all
set on a pale timber floor and white carpet.
Movable wood-framed glass panels become
part of the walls, allowing the room to be
closed off for intimate dinner parties. The
small anteroom between the dining and living
rooms is a gallery for a collection of black-
and-white sketches. Two simple timber
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LEFT benches and a coffee table furnish this space.

The bridge linking the ter-
race and the master bed-
This leads into the main living room with its
room overlooks the main magnificent double-height volume. Carefully
living space, which is
modulated windows reduce the glare of direct
austerely furnished with
teakwood and leather sunlight, but manage to flood it with a soft
furniture. The paintings glow of skylight. Here, minimalist contempo-
and cement sculpture of
the Buddha in the back- rary furniture made from rich tropical hard-
ground are contemporary wood is placed on a white carpet on teak
Sri Lankan.
floors. More black-and-white sketch studies
ABOVE of the human form by a Dutch artist working
Shafts of sunlight paint a in Sri Lanka animate this space. Clear frame-
picture of light and shadow
on the plain wall of the less glass picture windows bring the lush trop-
water and areca court. The ical outdoors in.
trunks of areca palms sil-
houetted against the back A sky-lit staircase leads to the upper
wall are living “art.” floors. Bedrooms occupy the first level as well
as a family room that opens on to an open-air
RIGHT
An ashva vahanam from terrace over the dining room and anteroom.
an old temple chariot A doorway on the terrace leads to the wooden
stands in the doorway of
the anteroom, marking bridgeway over the living room. Above the
a transition from indoors bedrooms, a roof deck—a stunning glass
to outdoors.
pavilion—shelters the staircase and allows
for contemplation of the rooftops of this leafy
suburb of Colombo and the tropical sky.

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LEFT
Glass skylights mark the
edge of the dining room
space which, like most
others in this house, flows
from one to another to
the outside. A painting by
Jagath Ravindra anchors
the vista through these
spaces from living room
to entrance corridor.
TOP
On the smoked glass dining
table, two wooden lion
figures from an old temple
chariot pay homage to
a bunch of Arum lilies in
a Spanish glass vase.
ABOVE
One side of the main
entrance passage is open
to the garden. A collection
of line drawings by a
Pakistani artist hangs over
the streamlined console.

FAR LEFT
An etched acrylic panel of
the Sun God greets visitors
at the front door. It is even
more effective when viewed
from the end of the long
entrance corridor on the
way out.
LEFT
The almost Mediterranean
stairway to the top is scul-
pted in plaster and glows
softly in the sunshine from
above. The brass and alu-
minum door by artist and
architect Ismeth Raheem,
leads to the first-floor guest
bedroom and sitting room.
RIGHT
In the entrance hall, an
eighteenth-century ebony
wood sofa is paired with
a steel chair designed
for the Kandalama Hotel.
Behind a painting by
the Belgian artist Saskia
Pringiers is the entrance
to the studio office and
upper-level guest rooms
and roof terrace. A dracaena
plant filters the brilliant
light coming in from the
glass skylight.
House on 33rd Lane

COLOMBO 3 | ARCHITECT: GEOFFREY BAWA
Shortly after Geoffrey Bawa had rented the long white corridor leads to the interior of
third of four small houses on a narrow cul-de- the house past a series of small garden courts,
sac off 33rd Lane, in 1959, he offered to buy where, turning at 90 degrees past three an-
all four from his landlord as and when they tique columns, a veranda and further garden
fell vacant. No. 4 was the first house to be court are seen. This is the heart of the house
bought, in 1961, and was added to the origi- where the architect held court. This is fur-
nal sitting room and bedroom to create a new nished with a long modern sofa covered in
gallery, dining room and garage. In 1968 the handloom fabric, paired with a butterfly chair
other two houses were acquired and major and a cane armchair. A small round table and
remodeling undertaken. The actual forms of an eighteenth-century Indo-Portuguese chair
the original houses are now almost impossible act as a dining and work table. The main
to discern. In their place is an introspective bedroom opens off this space, as does the
labyrinth of rooms and garden courts that give formal sitting room and dining room. When
the impression of infinite and endless space. the doors are open in the bedroom, a long
From the street, the house appears as vista connects the bed to a frangipani tree
a simple façade, its only fenestrations being outside the formal living room. The dining
a large timber-trellised garage door, a simi- room, with its epoxy-coated table and classic
lar side door and the main entrance, an modern tulip chairs, in turn opens into the
acrylic door with an etching of the Sun God back garden court.
that opens into the house. Through this door, At the front of the house, above the
in the cool, subdued light, two magnificent garage, is a two-story tower. A winding stair-
cars—a 1935 Rolls Royce and a 1953 Mer- case, starting almost in the garage, leads up
cedes—are parked on chocks. Past these, a to a sitting room and guest bedroom and
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further on up to a roof terrace. The sitting limestone sculpture sits atop an eighteenth-
room, which also doubles as a library, is lined century jackwood cupboard inlaid in ebony
on one side with hand-painted Balinese cloths and ivory. The partly covered roof garden is
and is furnished with a mixture of modern filled with plants in built-in troughs and a
and antique chairs and tables, some designed green travertine table on steel legs. Here, as
by Bawa himself. A collection of line drawings the sun sets over the horizon to the east, the
of old buildings by Barbara Sansoni hangs on candle flames provide light for a quiet drink
one wall, whilst a beautiful piece of ancient looking out over the suburbs of Colombo.
LEFT
At the end of the long
white entrance corridor is
a set of doors decorated
by Australian artist Donald
Friend. Each panel is a
view into an idyllic tropical
garden from the different
levels of a multi-storied
pavilion. A terracotta horse
and old Chettinad columns
define a pool court that
is also a pause on the jour-
ney from the entrance to
the main house veranda.
Dalmatians have been
constant companions in
the house, and posing here
is Leopold III.
ABOVE RIGHT
The most frequently used
area in the house is the
main sitting veranda. On
the modern sofa, a combi-
nation of woven fabric from
Barefoot and batik from
the Paradise Road store
is combined with gray Jim
Thomson silk cushions.
Satiric cartoons (not shown)
of Colombo society per-
sonalities by Geoffrey
Bawa’s brother Bevis hang
above a batik-topped
coffee table by Ena de Silva.
Balinese wooden birds
share the central marble-
topped coffee table with a
puffichichie pan, a brass oil
lamp and tailor’s scissors.
The small sculpture on the
rectangular side table is
by Indian artist Nandagopal.
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FAR LEFT
A table lamp in the second
guest room, its base made
from a magnetic toy, was
designed for the Blue Water
Hotel. The bentwood chair
is an original Thonet.
LEFT
A wrought-iron candelabra
turned bedside lamp lights
up the guest bedroom,
casting shadows on the
nineteenth-century timber
and paper alterpiece on the
wall. The bed is covered
with a Ritan Mazunda de-
signed bedspread from
Fab India.

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LEFT
The upper-floor sitting
room is an essay in the
architect’s style and taste.
Each object—ranging from
third-century Indian sculp-
ture to modern toys from
the Museum of Modern
Art in New York—is chosen
for its intrinsic beauty or
amusement and arranged
to blend harmoniously
together. The wall on the
left is covered in a magnifi-
cent collection of Balinese
cloths made during the
architect’s journeys to Bali
whilst building a house
for the artist Donald Friend.
The sofa is to the archi-
tect’s own design whilst
the bentwood chair is
an original Thonet. The
easy chairs are a design
adopted for the Bentota
Beach Hotel, built in 1969.

Hameed House
KOTTE | ARCHITECT: C. ANJALENDRAN
Located on a sloping site on one of the many

hills that comprise the Colombo suburb of
Nawala, the Hameed House effectively com-
bines modern and recycled elements and a
clever use of site and space to achieve a private
yet truly tropical living experience. The house
has been sensitively imposed on the landscape,
the sloping site and its situation being used to
maximum advantage. A steep rise to the east
was built up to allow for views over the sur-
rounding treetops and rooftops. On fine days
during the northeast monsoon, the silhouette
of Adams Peak is visible in the far distance.
Reached down a steep driveway, the house
presents an austere and strict façade, broken
only by a set of beautiful antique doors sal-
vaged by the owner from his family mosque,
a victim of the often mindless modernization
that affects many old public buildings in Sri
Lanka. The simple brief given to the architect,
C. Anjalendran, was to fit the immense doors
into the design, a pleasurable task given the
architect’s fascination, in his own words, with
“the continuity and the context of the tradi-
tional in relation to modern lifestyles and
aspirations.” The doors lead into the garage
and the interior garden beyond.
Internally, the house is conceived as two
large, pavilion-like verandas, one on top of
the other, to which are attached a row of
rooms. A formal sitting room at a half level
connects the two verandas. The ground-floor
veranda, entered through the garage from the
driveway, is a casual sitting area and dining
room, which opens out directly into the gar-
den. A guest suite occupies one end of this
veranda and a staircase leads off the other to
the formal sitting room on the half-landing
level of the stairs, which is formally furnished
with an eclectic mix of contemporary and
antique furniture, including an eighteenth-
century Dutch chest. Glazed doors open out
to a garden terrace on the same level.
The staircase continues up to reach the
upper-level veranda, which comprises the
family living room. A double colonnade of
concrete and antique timber columns provides
extra shade from the sun and rain, and plant
troughs bring the garden into the space. Like
the veranda below, this is totally open to the
elements with no glazing or windows. Off this
veranda, magnificent high antique doors open
into the bedrooms.
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BELOW nineteenth-century easy
An Indian printed cloth by chairs, a charming Dutch-
Ritan Mazunda of Fab India period chest and other
is the centerpiece of the collectibles harmonize
middle-level formal sitting with the clean lines of the
room. Comfortable modern architecture that make this
sofas interspersed with space one with the outside.

ABOVE
The entrance veranda,
paved in traditional terra-
cotta tiles, ends in the
dining room at the far end,
with the stairs to the next
level rising behind it.
Abundant vegetation and
the small pool in the middle
distance make the area
feel like an extension of
the garden rather than an
internal part of the house.
LEFT
A nineteenth-century cup-
board with porcelain knobs
is the focus of the dining
area. The stainless steel
and leather chairs are an
interpretation of a chair
originally made in metal
and rattan in the office of
architect Geoffrey Bawa.
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RIGHT
The two verandas are con-
nected by a formal sitting
room reached by a brass-
railed staircase. The clean
sweep of the roof gives
the whole space a sense
of generous spaciousness.

Weeraman Walauwe
WELIGAMA | DESIGNER: SASKIA PRINGIERS
Weeraman Walauwe in Weligama is the coun-

try home of Belgian artist Saskia Pringiers
and her husband, who have long made Sri
Lanka their second home. The house itself
is in the style of the early to mid-twentieth
century bungalows built by the prosperous
landowning and entrepreneurial class of Sri
Lanka. Set on a commanding site overlooking
vast tracts of paddy fields that may have once
belonged to the family, the house is essentially
composed of two parts. The early and more
formal part is the classic porch leading to a
veranda flanked by two front rooms. A long
hallway is divided into a living and formal
dining space by a decorative arch and this, in
turn, opens out to a back veranda. Two other
rooms open off the dining area. In later years,
a service wing appears to have been added,
reached via the back veranda.
The most recent renovations have involved
additions and alterations to the back of the
house where a new service wing and formal
dining room have been added, creating a pri-
vate courtyard. The biggest change to the
house, however, has been in the way it is lived
in by the artist and her family.
Entry to the compound is through a side
entrance along a lane off the main road. The
entry court is complete with garages, a boat
shed and staff quarters and is casually planted
with plants typical of a village garden. A path
across the lawn leads to the front of the house
with its view over the surrounding paddy
fields. A swimming pool with an infinity
edge, surrounded by a paved deck and grass,
sits beneath a large and spreading mango
tree. The porch of the old house denotes the
entrance and is now used as an extension of
RIGHT
The dining room is an ex-
tension of the back veran-
da. Here, polished cement
floors and dining table
are teamed with reproduc-
tions of eighteenth-century
Wolfendhal chairs. The
folded concrete staircase
leads to the guest rooms
in the attic. A collection
of antique pottery sits
atop an eighteenth-century
jackwood dowry chest.
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ABOVE the veranda. The whole central space acts as

Stones weigh down the
branches of a fragrant
a sitting room with a suite of bedrooms on
frangipani in the rear court- either side. This space leads into the extensive
yard overlooked by a pair back veranda that now connects the dining
of nineteenth-century nurs-
ing chairs and an upturned room and service area to the right and the
mortar which serves as a artist’s studio on the left. A broad-eaved
coffee table. The copper
cauldron may once have colonnaded court with a frangipani in the
boiled rice in the kitchens center is the focus of this area.
of this old manor house.
Additional guests are accommodated
RIGHT in a converted attic accessed via an elegant,
The classic and elegant accordian-like cement staircase affixed to one
front of the house is typical
of those built in the early side of the dining space, which has a match-
twentieth century by the ing cement table. The artist’s studio occupies
local élite.
an airy, almost double-height space which
may have been a former service area. Here,
the artist produces her sublime works. The
style of the house is a unique statement of
her inspiration, which is always drawn from
the milieu in which she lives. The dark, earthy
or black-and-white tones of her paintings are
clearly reflected in her taste of interior décor,
which is invariably a display of many of the
objects that inspire her work.
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A Hanukkah is placed on
an old Ayurvedic medicine
chest with a favorite quo-
tation scribbled on the wall
behind. A collection of
antique pots sits on top of
an eighteenth-century jack-
wood dowry chest under
the polished cement stairs
leading to the guest areas.
A plaster cast of the nawa
nari khunjare or the nine
woman elephant knot deco-
rates a wall beside the door
leading to the kitchen. A
detail of a painting in the
style of the southern school
depicting the Buddha and
his disciples.
BELOW
The sitting room, with its
original decorative arch
and fretwork doors, is an
elegant setting for a mix
of modern furniture and
ancient artifacts. A comfy
sofa and chaise longue
face an old granite bench
which serves as an unusual
coffee table. The painting
by the resident artist,
Saskia Pringiers, was part
of a series about identity.
Anjalendran’s House
KOTTE | ARCHITECT: C. ANJALENDRAN
The house belongs to an architect who came pride of place given to an unusual pink paint-
to the profession via dancing and origami. ing by the artist Saskia Pringiers, whose usual
This perhaps provides the key to understand- earth-colored tones seems to have bowed out
ing his architectural works. Best known for in deference to the architect’s spirit! The din-
the passion and color he brought to his works ing room occupies the opposite end of the
for the SOS children’s villages, he lives by main space. A row of built-in cupboards acts
a simple dictum of not doing for others any as a platform for a collection of bronze images
architecture which he would not do for him- of Nataraj dancing before a screen print of
self, or afford to live in. This is epitomized flames by local artist Laki Senanayake.
by the small house that he calls his own in The sanctum sanctorum of the house is
the Colombo suburb of Battaramulla. the bedroom upstairs. Approached by a steep
A colorful door sheltered by a frangipani flight of steps and through an antechamber
leads into a garage, which doubles as an office filled with Buddhist icons, the inner sleeping
during the week, in which is parked a Bajaj area is filled with Hindu iconography. The
three-wheeler. A passage off the garage leads far wall is covered with icons of Lord Krishna
into the heart of the architect’s world. A huge from the pilgrimage town of Natwara in India.
roof soars to an upper sleeping deck, while a A miniature Alexander Calder mobile gently
small veranda wraps round a courtyard, form- rotates above the classic image of Nataraj.
ing a loggia, with a bedroom on the far side. A ledge behind the bed itself is filled with
On warm, sultry nights, an orange jasmine at least a hundred different images of Lord
(Murraya paniculata) fills the courtyard with Ganesh, the elephant-headed God of Wisdom.
fragrance from its delicate white blossoms. A large batik hanging by Ena de Silva of a
These seemingly simple spaces are the bird in flight, taken from an ancient Vedic
repository of an extraordinary collection of symbol for creation, hangs behind the images.
artifacts. The furniture is simple enough, but is The architect once described his house
of interest in its own right: British-period office as a tent, and a tent it is when in fading light,
chairs blend with Dutch-period cupboards and with the art softly lit, one sits down to listen to
contemporary steel furniture. The focus of the one of his unending collection of ragas, and
sitting room is a built-in sofa behind which the house itself seems to disappear under the
hangs a diverse collection of paintings with vast overhanging shelter of the roof.
LEFT
The built-in seat and
platform at one end of the
main living space are
enlivened by an eclectic
mix of art and artifacts and
colordul cushions. The
central painting by Saskia
Pringiers is flanked by
works by Richard Gabriel
and Ivan Peiris, both mem-
bers of the 43rd Group,
and by Laki Senanayake.
The Dutch planter’s chair,
from which the architect
usually presides over
his guests, is a satinwood
copy of a nineteenth-
century original. The table
is solid para mara (Sama-
nea Saman) timber. The
sculpture of the flying bull
on the table is by Tissa
Ranasinghe.
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ABOVE
A single flight of plain pol-
ished cement steps leads
to the upper-floor bedroom-
cum-gallery. At the end of
the dining room, a screen
print by Laki Senanayake
forms a fiery backdrop
to the dancing figures of
Nataraj in front.
FAR LEFT
The dining table does dou-
ble duty as the architect’s
work table. More paintings
adorn the walls.
LEFT
A collection of objects at
the top of the stairs, lit by
sunlight streaming through
an arched window.

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Retreats and Resorts

“Tis said that the waters from the fountains of Paradise could be PREVIOUS PAGE
The main sitting room and
heard from here as it was only 40 leagues to Paradise from here” dining room sit on the
edge of the garden defined
—Friar Magnolli, papal emissary to the court of Kublai Khan by the saffron wall and the
azure pool. The 70 by 30
foot (21 by 9 meter) pool,
which is finished in dark
green polished cement, is
aradise being so close, for centuries Sri The oldest retreats in predominantly
P Lanka has been thought of as the next best
thing. When Adam was expelled from Paradise,
Buddhist Sri Lanka are, in reality, the ancient
monastic complexes. A classic example is the
large enough for users to
do laps. The hill side of the
pool has an infinity edge
that runs off into views of
it is said that he was given the island as com- second-century cave complex on the lower the jungle and Lake Kog-
gala. At the deep end (not
pensation and his first step, according to one slopes of Ritigala mountain, 25 miles (40 km)
shown), a cascade falls
legend, was on the top of Adam’s Peak, the southwest of the ancient city of Anuradha- from a carved opening.
holy mountain to which adherents of all of pura. Here, the ruins still exude an air of a
Sri Lanka’s major religions flock annually. peace and tranquility that revives the soul.
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Built by an Anuradhapura king, the stone they were devoted to various aspects of medi- BELOW
Located at Dambulla,
pathways that wind through giant trees at the tation and self-realization through rituals of 150 miles (170 km) from
base of Ritigala still call upon one to meditate. mental and physical cleansing of the mind and Colombo, Kandamala
Hotel, built on elongated
Its companion, the forest monastery Arankele, body. Bathing houses arranged around central stilts, occupies a unique
has a monumental pathway that forms the courtyards with pools of hot and cold water, site amidst rocky outcrops,
base of this beautiful ruin. With their pavilions and the paraphernalia needed to prepare in- lakes and virgin forest.
and bathhouses, cave dwellings and large gredients to treat the body, seem suspiciously
refectories, the meditation retreats of old are like modern-day spas. The architecture, how-
said to have housed hundreds, if not thou- ever, is characterized by an extreme simplicity
sands, who wished to retreat from the trials of of detail and an almost modernist honesty to
everyday life into one of meditation and self- structure and material. No carving or embel-
realization. Ruins of these monastic complexes lishment mars the beauty of a slab of granite,
reveal that they were more than simple cells which is expertly crafted to fulfil its particular
and pathways and meditation halls. Rather, role in the whole ensemble.
Such retreats still play an important role One of the earliest resorts of modern BELOW
A giant frangipani domi-
in Sri Lanka. People often take time out to times is the hill station Nuwara Eliya. Here, nates the northern terrace
retreat into a well-disciplined and structured in a beautiful valley hidden in the highest of Lunuganga, the garden
estate of the late Geoffrey
life around a spiritual theme. Modern medita- hills of the island, the British created a minia- Bawa (page 154). Planted
tion centers, sometimes a part of an ancient ture version of Scotland to which they would at the very inception of
monastery, take in guests for a few days, but retreat from the heat of the lowlands. Today, the garden in 1947 as two
small branches, the tree
other specially constructed and maintained Nuwara Eliya has lost many of its charms, was trained by Bawa to
retreats for those who seek a radical retreat, but it still attracts armies of Sri Lankan provide a perching site for
the peafowl he once kept
physically and spiritually, are found in many holidaymakers in the April season. Colonial on the estate. The two
parts of Sri Lanka. Of very simple and basic style survives in the corridors of the Hill Club nineteenth-century garden
statues define the edge of
construction, with no embellishment to dis- and on the verandas of the Golf Club. the terraces, which drop
tract the senses, these usually occupy some Although historically most Sri Lankans steeply to the water garden
of the most stunning geographical locations have taken the landscape of the island for and lake below.
in the country. The minimal life of a monk granted, there is a long tradition of garden
is reflected in the spartan spaces. design and the building of gardens for pleas-
The luxuriant vegetation and the beauti- ure. One example is the astonishing water
fully manicured landscape of the island, espe- garden of Sigiriya built, according to legend,
cially where the main occupation of paddy by King Kassaypa in the fifth century. Two
cultivation is prevalent, makes it easy to imag- modern examples of the “pleasure garden”
ine a life of plenty and therefore a possibility are the gardens created by Bevis Bawa and
for retreating from it into one of contempla- his architect brother Geoffrey.
tion of that landscape. The sheer abundance The arrival of the long-haul jet in the
of nature can easily make one believe that 1960s brought a new kind of tourism to Sri
one is in a magical land of lotus-eaters, a far Lanka. Amongst the earliest purpose-built
cry from the hubbub of modern life. It is this commercial resorts, the Bentota Beach Hotel,
combination of meditation and landscape designed by Geoffrey Bawa and built on a
that draws the many visitors to Sri Lanka. promontory in Bentota, held the magic until
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recently. Its vocabulary of vernacular materials or retreat. Visitors to the island invariably BELOW
The dining space under a
used with great sympathy on a modern build- take back with them this memory of tile, giant rock in the Boulder
ing type was widely emulated across Asia. white lime wash and frangipani. Garden (page 172) includes
a series of steps that lead
The same spirit is seen in Bawa’s other works, Here, too, the syncretism that is part of up to a second polished
including the unforgettable Triton Hotel, with the Sri Lankan ethos is evident. For none concrete platform where
its illusion of the sea sweeping into the lobby. of these elements are entirely indigenous to one can also relax. Both
areas overlook the forest
The rise of mass tourism was halted dur- Sri Lanka. Half-round terracotta tiles were and reflecting pool that
ing the late 1980s by the eruption of civil war. introduced from Iberia via the Arabs and the defines the edge of the
inhabited world.
But as peace returned to Sri Lanka, a new Portuguese; the lime wash is local; the frangi-
sort of tourism emerged, and small boutique pani is native to South and Central America.
hotels appeared to cater to the tastes of dis- However, the combination in which they
cerning travellers. This, in turn, encouraged appear within the actual spaces is inimitably
nomadic souls to seek a permanent home Sri Lankan. Add to this terracotta tile or
in Sri Lanka. This trend has led to a decade stone floors, white sarong-clad staff padding
of private house building. gently around in the warm, humid air, thick
The contemporary use of vernacular with the scent of frangipani or night-blooming
building materials in a particular combination Queen of the Night, and you have the essen-
has resulted in a recognizably Sri Lankan tial ingredients of Sri Lankan resort style.
resort style. As in much of the rest of Asia, Suites of rooms, their doorways in line with
the reuse of vernacular building traditions to each other, invariably start and end in an out-
articulate modern needs has resulted in these side space. Outdoor eating and living spaces
buildings becoming well rooted in the place. predominate, with the building itself being
Roofs covered by half-round terracotta tiles, merely a pavilion for use in inclement weath-
plastered walls washed in a combination of er. Inside, the best exude the simplicity of a
lime wash and yellow ochre or samara, com- monastic retreat, with little to come between
bined with trees bearing white frangipani, the people and the landscape, which is often
complete the picture of the Sri Lankan resort the object of contemplation.
Lunuganga
Lunuganga is the legendary garden estate of

architectural maestro Geoffrey Bawa. Started
as a garden in 1947 on the island’s west coast,
Bawa spent forty years transforming an aban-
doned rubber estate into this tropical idyll,
with elegant Italianate gardens, courtyards,
pools, walkways, pavilions, and inspirational
views over the surrounding lake and jungle.
It is experiments here that first led to his
taking up architecture as a profession, and
throughout his life it was his laboratory and
muse, “a place of many moods, the result
of many imaginings, offering a retreat to be
alone or fellow-feel with friends.” Translated
as “Salt River,” the property lies on a prom-
ontory into a backwater of the Bentota River
in spectacular setting as a “garden within the
greater garden that is Sri Lanka.” The garden
is composed around an old plantation bunga-
low from the 1930s as a series of Arcadian
vistas in a tropical setting.
Inspired by Bawa’s many journeys and
experiences of gardens in the East and West,
Lunuganga remains a unique experience of
a truly tropical Asian modern garden, a suite
of serene outdoor rooms set amid the wilder
wilderness of Sri Lanka. The main vista con-
nects the view of the backwater through the
main corridor of the house itself. To the south,
it draws the eye past a kitchen Ming jar placed
in the middle distance under a moonamal tree
to a distant dagaba on the hill, while to the
north, a pot under a frangipani frames the
view of the lake and sky. Other vistas look
over carefully tended rice paddies that become
a foil to sculpted frangipani trees on small
terraces, or stands of rubber trees framing a
row of Ming jars on the edge of a pond in the
field of jars. Small pavilions and eclectic sculp-
tures punctuate the garden, particularly the
leopard and cement ball that flank the water
gate. Many walkways through the dense vege-
tation bring into focus unexpected views and
make for contemplative walks.
RIGHT
The edge of the northern
terrace overlooks the water
garden and lake beyond.
The island, purchased by
Bawa in the 1970s to save
it from destruction by an
ill-conceived village expan-
sion program, is now an
official bird sanctuary.
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RETREATS AND RESORTS 155

The plantation house itself was complete- LEFT
The bathroom moves
ly transformed by turning it back to front. It seamlessly from inside
is furnished with an eclectic mix of objets d’art to out, where the shower
comes off the fern-filled
chosen with the architect’s meticulous eye. wall. A nineteenth-century
Seventeenth-century Indo-Portuguese chairs sculpture stands guard
sit comfortably with twentieth-century paint- at the door to the inside.
ings and sculptures, and a nineteenth-century BELOW

garden sculpture frames a vista from a veran- Appointed with antique
furniture, sculpture and
da lit by a locally made copper copy of a Paul art from Bawa’s collection,
Hennigson pine cone lamp. the sitting room in the old
plantation house is both
Several other pavilions are scattered elegant and intensely per-
throughout the estate, including the romantic sonal. The centrepiece is
Glass Room, a long, thin, completely glazed- a nineteenth-century chan-
delier brought in as hand
in guest room set above the entrance court. luggage by the architect’s
Waking up in it is akin to being in a tree. The French cousin as a house-
warming gift in 1949!
Garden Room, assembled from old building The buffalo head chair by
parts, is a meticulous essay in the reuse of the Georgian ebony table
was an eccentricity of a
old material. The gallery, a former cowshed,
nineteenth-century British
and the henhouse, date from a period in the planter. The art is all twen-
political history of Sri Lanka when the estate tieth century and includes
the Trojan horse, a sculp-
was very much a farm! ture by Australian artist
Lunuganga lives on today as testimony Donald Friend, and paint-
ings by Sri Lankan artists
to a great architect, who not only enjoyed life Ivan Pieris and Raju and
in this bucolic setting, but made full use of it Indian artist Ranmanujam.
to make a decidedly important contribution
to Asian and world architecture.
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ABOVE
The southern terrace that
overlooks the great lawn
is the entrance to the main
house at Lunuganga and
a favorite breakfast place.
Canvas directors’ chairs are
arrayed around an old cast-
iron table. At the end of
the terrace, peeping out
of a niche overgrown with
a strangling fig and other
tropical foliage is a second-
century Roman head.
LEFT
The veranda sitting area
was once the entrance
porch of the original estate
house. Two built-in sofas
and a couple of eighteenth-
century corner chairs sur-
round a cement table lined
with terracotta tiles. The
planting brings the outside
in. An old fan overhead
helps circulate air.

158 SRI LANKA STYLE
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LEFT
The Sandella or Garden
Room was constructed in
1983, the beginning of the
twenty-year civil war in
Sri Lanka. Formed almost
entirely of materials sal-
vaged from demolished
buildings, it is a meticulous
study in light, structure and
proportion—all fundamen-
tals of good architecture.
Decorative objects include
a seventeeth-century statue
of Madonna and wooden
toy racing cars made by
a local toy manufacturer,
arranged on a single plank
of para mara (Samanea
saman), which acts as a
work table, the only such
one on the estate. Two
eighteenth-century Burger-
master chairs (one still able
to swivel) provide seating.
The bell and the Bishop’s
chair in the corner came
from the local church,
demolished because of a
shortage of worshippers.

ABOVE
A mural in the Bridge
House by Geoffrey Bawa’s
friend, artist Laki Sena-
nayake. The fiery scene,
from Greek mythology,
belies the peace and seren-
ity of Cinnamon Hill, a
two-bedroom studio, to
which it opens out.
RIGHT
Early morning sun streams
into the Roman Pavilion
on the western terraces of
the estate. The slatted chair
was originally designed
by Geoffrey Bawa for his
Kandalama Hotel.
160 SRI LANKA STYLE
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RIGHT
Dappled sunlight lights
up the entrance court that
is overlooked by a satyr
molded on a pot, which
was designed by the artist
Donald Friend and Bawa’s
brother Bevis.
BELOW
The entrance to the San-
della or Garden Room
is flanked by antique col-
umns rescued from an old
building, and is almost
completely covered by a
Ceylon ironwood tree. The
vista through the building
into the lush vegetation
beyond is a hallmark of the
architect’s work, where
what is seen from a build-
ing is often more important
than the building itself.
162 SRI LANKA STYLE
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LEFT
Early light throws into
sharp silhouette an ancient
stone lingam and dan trees
against the paddy fields,
part of the water garden
on the western end of the
broad walk.
ABOVE
A Dutch-period door marks
the entrance to the Glass
Room above the entrance
court. Copper carriage
lamps of a nineteenth-
century design, light up
the steps at night.

Kandalama Hotel
DAMBULLA | ARCHITECT: GEOFFREY BAWA
Occupying a unique site in the cultural heart- clear as a sweep of living rock forms one of ABOVE
The terrace at the end of
land of Sri Lanka, the Kandalama Hotel was the walls and continues through the entrance the approach ramp to the
built amidst great environmental controversy. passage to arrive at the reception lounge and hotel, a sweeping plane
of roof placed across a
It has now come to epitomize a new trend in pool deck from where there is a spectacular
natural gap in the land-
hotel architecture and management that is fast view of the fifth-century rock fortress of Sigi- scape, forms a forecourt
taking over the globe. Awarded many environ- riya, 9 miles (15 km) away. to the reception area. Forty
feet (12 meters) above the
mental awards, the hotel derives its special The austere approach to the interiors, lake, the panorama beyond
status from being a building where the archi- while appearing rather spartan to some, only is gradually revealed on
the ascent up the ramp on
tecture—especially from the inside—almost helps to emphasize the majesty of the land- the right. Wherever possi-
entirely disappears. The landscape dominates scape beyond. The conscious effort to keep ble, the existing rocks on
it from every angle, including the bathrooms, references to the past out of the building acts the site were left undis-
turbed during construction
and is literally taking over the building. De- as a neutral foil on which to project images of the hotel.
signed by the legendary architect Geoffrey of the past that a typical tourist arriving at the
RIGHT
Bawa for the hotel arm of the conglomerate hotel from the cultural triangle would have Two of the hotel’s three
Aitken Spence, he once contemplated what observed. The simple palette of concrete frame sections are built on tall
stilts that avoid disturbing
it would be like, if many, even greater works structures and black aluminum glazing creates the flow of rainwater.
from the past, succumbed to the onslaught simple volumes and spaces to inhabit, which Jungle creepers pulsing
of the jungle that surrounded them and be- hardly make any demands on the occupants. with life climb up the five-
story front of the bedroom
came the habitation of bears and leopards The hotel, as Bawa once observed, is “merely wings, virtually engulfing
rather than visiting tourists. One sometimes a belvedere” from which to observe the sweep- the building. The wild vege-
tation on the roof garden
feels this is already happening at Kandalama. ing panorama of landscape and history laid helps reduce thermal gain
The magnificent entrance and reception before it. The fourth-century reservoir, the into the building and pro-
vides a terrace for unique
set the tone for the interiors, which in many distant fortress rock of Sigiriya, the rocky
rooftop jungle activities.
ways are not interiors at all. A huge expanse eminence of Dambulla with its first-century
of flat concrete bridges a rock and a building caves and eighteenth-century paintings and
hugging another rock to provide shelter for the high pinnacles of Ritigala with a second-
the reception desk, an old singed beam of century forest monastery at its base, remind
Ceylon ironwood (Messua ferrea). Where the one of a thousand and more years of drama
outside ends and the inside begins is never and intrigue enacted in the landscape.
164 SRI LANKA STYLE
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RIGHT
A huge roof beam from a
nineteenth-century building
in Colombo struck by fire
in 1984, forms a magnifi-
cent reception counter. Steel
sleeves cover the singed
edges. A print motif painted
on the wall behind, inspired
by an old hand-block print-
ed somana cloth, glows in
the evening sun.
BELOW
The entrance to the hotel
is a huge sheltering roof
reminiscent of a cave from
the inside but indistinguish-
able from its surroundings
on the outside. The texture
of the living rock forming
one wall of the entrance
corridor is an interesting
contrast to the smooth pol-
ished plaster of the other
wall and the polished Indian
kadappa stone on the floor.
166 SRI LANKA STYLE
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LEFT
The main dining room
overlooks Kandalama
Lake on one side and a
great overhanging rock
on the other. Copies of
eighteenth-century Dutch
colonial Wolfendhal chairs
are arranged under giant
metal representations of
traditional votive trees
often found in miniature
and made as offerings in
Buddhist shrines.
BELOW
From the main lounge,
visitors enoy panoramic
views of Kandalama Lake.
The lounge itself is simply
furnished with clean-lined
modern sofas and table
lamps, paired with repro-
duction nineteenth-century
cane chairs, all chosen
to enhance the timeless
nature of the space.

168 SRI LANKA STYLE
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ABOVE AND LEFT

The dramatic lines of the
swimming pool are in sharp
contrast to the lake and
hills beyond. The clearly
articulated geometry of the
modernist hotel, steadily
being smothered by vegeta-
tion, rises above the tangle
of tropical monsoon forest.
The dining room and stair-
case are visible in the mid-
dle distance. The bedroom
wings are on the far end.
RIGHT
The cave-like entrance to
the hotel bridges a gap in
the landscape and is remi-
niscent of the cave temples
abounding in the surround-
ing area including the mag-
nificent Dambulla caves.
OVERLEAF
Reflected sky on polished
stone gives an illusion of
the lake sweeping into the
lounge, which seamlessly
melds with the outside.

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The Boulder Garden

KALAWANA | ARCHITECT: LALYN COLLURE
The Boulder Garden hotel, set amidst the lofty group of rocks. From here, winding stone steps ABOVE
Water cascades down part
mountains of the UNESCO world heritage and deep stone-block corridors lead to other of the staircase entrance
rainforest reserve of Sinharaja and the fertile parts of the hotel, including the ten bedroom to the Boulder Garden at
the side of a huge granite
rice and tea terraces of the southwest low- suites, arranged in four rising tiers on the site.
boulder. This boulder sets
lands, follows the ancient Sri Lankan tradition Local granite walls, huge timber beams, pol- the tone for the entire
of occupying natural sites by slight human ished cement floors and metal-grilled windows hotel, which follows in
every respect the ancient
intervention. The magnificent boulder-strewn contribute to the monastic feel of the suites. tradition of rock and boul-
site is used sensitively to provide accommoda- The stone dining room, with adjoining der gardens of Sri Lanka.
tion for a mere handful of guests. The main lounge, is perhaps the most stunning place at RIGHT
man-made features include the addition of the Boulder Garden. It is simply a flat plat- Lamp niches on the face
stone staircases to allow for easy access to the form made of plain mirror-polished concrete of the pool bar light up
the pool terrace at night.
different levels and the creation of flat areas beneath the largest overhanging rock, with
between rocks to accommodate a restaurant an almost flat bottom, on the site. The plat-
and other usable spaces. form is surrounded by a reflecting pool that
The hotel is approached via a rough road defines its edge and separation between the
through a plantation, which ends in a clearing wild jungle and the inhabited space. A slightly
on the edge of the tropical rainforest. The elevated platform under the same rock forms
entrance is marked by a huge rock sheltering the lounge. A swimming pool, fed by rain and
a cascade of water and an adjacent staircase spring water, stretches out from here into
leading into the dense forest. The path mean- the wilderness, surrounded by a stone-paved
ders through a series of platforms and levels terrace and the huge trees of the rainforest.
between trees and huge boulders until it reach- The feeling of bathing in a forest pool is one of
es the reception and entrance lounge under a unique communication with the environment.
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RIGHT
The bright blue window
shutters of the guest
accommodation pick up
the bluish tinge of the
local granite.
FAR RIGHT
A dramatic corridor leads
from the main public areas
to the guest accommoda-
tion. Lamps in niches on
the retaining wall light up
the way.
RIGHT
The rain- and spring
water-fed swimming pool,
dappled by day and lit by
night, stretches out into
the forest from the warm
glow of the dining room
under the rock overhang.
The shady, quiet surround-
ings are a sanctuary of
serenity and beauty in
this secluded hideaway,
punctuated only by the
occasional malarkey of
monkeys and the honk
of hornbills.
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Kahandakanda
GALLE | ARCHITECT: BRUCE FELL-SMITH
The main organizing element in the archi-

tecture of Kahandakanda is a Luis Baraggan-
like 260 foot (80 meter) saffron-colored wall
that runs along the length of the site and acts
as a divider between views across the tea and
jungle and Koggala Lake in the distance.
Glassless openings in the wall frame views
on both sides. Most of the movement within
the complex is along or across the wall. The
large trees on the site also help to confer a
sense of place.
The contemporary retreat, set on a promi-
nent bluff 5 miles (9 km) from Galle, com-
prises a series of simple free-standing pavilions
set around a swimming pool along or on either
side of the saffron wall. The wall provides
the necessary privacy between the individual
sleeping pavilions, whilst allowing coherence
between them. The main living area consists
of a large living pavilion and a dining pavilion
at one end and a swimming pool and terrace
with a vine-covered patio at the other. In addi-
tion, two large reflecting pools flank the walk-
way to the living area.
The living room is partially enclosed with
walls and grid-patterned window openings
that allow air to enter and circulate. The din-
ing room, on the other hand, is totally open
to the surrounding garden and views beyond
the edge of the terrace. Each of the sleeping
pavilions is also open to the outside, with
spectacular views into the distance. All are
constructed of the simple palette of materials
inspired by the local architecture: plaster
walls, polished cement floors, timber plank
ceilings and timber framework with half-round
terracotta tiles. The simple orthogonal geo-
metry of the pavilions, along with the large
expanses of water, create the type of serenity
associated with a local monastic complex.
Mirroring the style of the interior designer
owner, the décor throughout the resort stands
out for its ethnic luxury and panache. The
brilliant orange of the outside wall provides
the most striking color contrast to the pre-
dominantly black-and-white theme. Most
of the furniture comes from the Workshop in
Bentota. Chairs are generally made of a stain-
less steel frame mounted with timber slats,
usually teak, but equally often of the timber
of the kitul tree or fishtail palm. Modern cane
divans and chairs are complemented by a
few well-chosen antiques and other artifacts.
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PREVIOUS PAGE
Perched along the ridge
adjacent to the sitting
pavilion, the dining
pavilion glows at dusk.
ABOVE
Black-and-white ticking
complemented by cotton
checked cushions cover a
contemporary cane sofa
at the back of the half-
open sitting pavilion. The
timber feet on the glazed
coffee table come from a
nineteenth-century passion
play figure. The Buddha is
modern gilded Thai. The
lamps, from a collection
by Swiss designer Rico
Tarawella, are aluminum
and stainless steel.
LEFT
A table for ten with a solid
teak top and stainless steel
bases lies in the center of
the open-sided dining pa-
vilion. The stainless steel
and leather chairs, also de-
signed by Rico Tarawella,
are locally made.
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LEFT BELOW
A modern batik hanging Under its soaring timber
by Ena de Silva hangs over ceiling, the master bed-
a contemporary console room opens out to wide
flanked by reproduction vistas over the coconut
nineteenth-century chairs. trees. Contemporary furni-
The cane box on the con- ture inspired by colonial
sole is a traditional Sri models creates a sparse,
Lankan piece while the almost minimalist interior,
boxes stacked below the softened by the traditional
console are Burmese. cotton mosquito net and
massed cushions. The
clean cement terrazzo floor
glows with a soft shine,
reflecting the sky on to the
ceiling above.
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LEFT BOTTOM
The long swimming pool The Baragganesque wall
runs almost the entire cuts across the landscape
length of the Kahanda- providing the intial parti
kanda villa resort outside of pris for the design, as well
Galle (page 176), reflecting as the main organizing
the walls and sky. principle for the scheme.
BELOW
The pavilions are set on the
crest of the hill to take
advantage of the views
across the tops of the
coconut palms. Indian
slate pavers define the path
to the formal sitting room
and the entrance, which is
flanked by an
old hardwood tree and
a fragrant frangipani.

RIGHT
The plain polished cement
floors and soaring timber
and tile roof of the main
sitting room pavilion allude
to Buddhist preaching halls
of the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries. Local
handloom fabrics from the
design house Paradise
Road soften contemporary
cane and steel furniture.
The day bed in the fore-
ground, with its distinctive
Paradise Road cushions,
is antique ebony. The black
aluminum grilles on the
windows add to the black-
and-white theme in the
soft furnishings.
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Brief
BENTOTA | ARCHITECT: BEVIS BAWA
Brief is the legendary garden estate of the

late Bevis Bawa, artist and aide-de-camp to
four governors of Ceylon and elder brother
of famed architect Geoffrey Bawa. Located
along the south coast near Bentota, close to
Geoffrey’s garden Lunuganga (page 154), the
estate reputedly got its name from being part
of a brief given to their father Benjamin Bawa,
a prominent Sinhalese lawyer, for a case he
had presented at the Supreme court of the
then Ceylon. The estate, planted in rubber
at the time, was eventually inherited by Bevis,
the elder of his two sons, who went on to
make a part of it a tropical paradise for his
own pleasure. Now open to the public, the
first Sri Lankan private garden to be so, it has
become a place for people of all walks of life
to wander around and wonder about the color-
ful life of the man who created it.
Unlike Geoffrey’s attempts at Lunuganga
to convert tropical wilderness into an Italian
garden, Bevis’s Brief is almost entirely Sri
Lankan in concept and spirit and reflects his
keen interest in horticulture. The garden has
been designed as a series of compositions
with a tight sequence of space surrounding the
main house. A treasury of exotic plants fills
the relatively small space, all arranged to ulti-
mately give a feeling of tropical plentitude.
Access to the property is across a marsh
and village. The road arrives at a forecourt
planted in the middle with an exotic palm.
The eccentrically designed gates with satyrs
and plants growing on and off them are by the
Australian artist Donald Friend, who lived
and worked at the estate for several years.
This leads through an avenue of sealing wax
palms to another more enclosed court lined
with bamboo, and the main entrance to the
bungalow. The entry leads into a curved pas-
sage that climbs up several feet to the main
RIGHT
Light metal shelves hold-
ing a collection of Hindu
temple bronzes from
various periods form a
light screen between the
entrance hall and the living
room. The antique turned
columns frame the bril-
liantly lit garden beyond.
This contrast of light
and shade is part of the
magic of tropical living.
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entrance loggia. Here, at the top of the stairs ABOVE

The back veranda of the
is a painting by Friend, full of meticulous guest suite is a tranquil
and mischievous observations of Ceylon life. refuge among a riot of lush
green vegetation. Antique
The crumbling painting and loggia overlook
turned columns support a
meticulously crafted views of the upper garden simple corrugated cement
through the virtually open house. Vine-covered sheet roof above a floor
laid with terracotta tiles.
pergolas hide the original lines of the house An old Dutch planter’s
and fuse the internal spaces with the outside, armchair is paired with a
modern reproduction of
making the outside as much a part of the the classic steel frame and
complex of living spaces as the inside. The leather butterfly chair.
upper garden, as much of the rest of it, is
LEFT
a series of intimate enclosed gardens, each A sculpture of a young
opening off a particular room and then con- man is silhouetted against
light streaming in from the
nected to each other, through doorways and main entrance door on the
gates, including the brick built moon gate stairs leading to the hall.
connecting the garden of the master bedroom
with the terrace of the main living space. Another
such garden contains the bathing space for the
guest in that room, a grotto with glassy-eyed
satyr spewing water to shower from. Other
amusing sculptures abound in the upper garden.
Inside, the original structure of the colo-
nial plantation bungalow has been transform-
ed beyond recognition. Antique furniture,
art, sculpture and photographic memorabilia
are all testimony to Bevis Bawa’s good taste
and his enjoyment of life.
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FAR LEFT
Vine-clad pergolas extend
the main loggia into the
garden. Antique furniture
blends harmoniously with
Bevis’s collection of art,
including exquisite sketch-
es by Laki Senanayake.
LEFT
The front door to the main
house is set in a large
bamboo hedge encircling
the paved driveway, its
roof hidden under a mag-
nificent sprawling white
bougainvillea.
BELOW
The depths of the inner
sitting room, shaded by
vine-clad pergolas, provide
a cool retreat from the
harsh midday sun. A
nineteenth-century rattan
sofa sits comfortably
alongside cotton uphol-
stered chesterfields, a
modern travertine-topped
coffee table and side
tables formed of tradition-
al Sri Lankan brass betel
trays. Books and sculptures
line the walls.
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LEFT, RIGHT AND BELOW
Details of a mural by Aus-
tralian artist Donald Friend
in the entrance hall of the
bungalow, illustrating Sri
Lanka as the favored site
of the Hindu god Skanda.
Bevis Bawa had met the
artist on a ship sailing from
Colombo to Italy in 1949
and had invited him to stay
when next in Colombo.
Friend took up the offer in
1957 and stayed for several
years. He built a studio in
Bevis’s garden and experi-
mented prolifically with
various media—bas relief
tiles, painted doors, gold-
leaf paintings, aluminum
sculptures and murals—
many of which remain
at Brief as mementoes of
his friendship with Bevis.

The Club Villa

Set in the middle of a coconut plantation, a ABOVE

Classic colonial-style
stone’s throw away from the beach at Bentota, cement posts and salvaged
the Club Villa was originally built in 1979 by timber balusters frame the
view from the sitting room
the architect Geoffrey Bawa as a beach house
of immaculate lawns and
for the present owners, who were then man- coconut palms.
agers of another hotel further up the beach.
LEFT
Since then, the original four bedrooms, living A window niche in a bed-
room, dining room and staff areas have been room overlooks the bright-
ly lit garden beyond. The
expanded to a sixteen-bedroom beach inn. chairs are an adaptation
Although not a building of the colonial era, of the 1960s design used
the inspiration for its current form—the tra- extensively in hotels de-
signed by Geoffrey Bawa
ditional combination of plaster walls, stone at that time.
and cement floors and half-round tiled roofs,
RIGHT
and the use of salvaged building materials Majestic antique turned
and period furniture—is decidely colonial. columns hold up a tiled
roof on the sea side of the
From the driveway, a veranda enveloped detached bedroom block.
in stunning pink bougainvillea leads to a small The balcony in front is a
entrance court lined with black-and white- quiet and tranquil spot for
reading or relaxing by day
photos by Sri Lankan photographer Lionel or listening to the tropical
Wendt. A garden door leads off this to the night sounds.
main lounge, which is set in a beautiful court-

yard containing a small reflecting pool fed by
water from a huge steel bowl. The far end of
the lounge opens out to the garden, a small
swimming pool and the sea beyond. The
sweeping manicured lawns, the soporifically
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RIGHT
In the original sitting room
designed by Geoffrey Bawa,
an antique lamp lights
up part of a wall mural in
biro and permanent marker
by Sri Lankan artist Laki
Senanayake.
BELOW
A hallmark yellow ochre
wall provides a backdrop
to an eighteenth-century
chest, a modern granite
Ganesh from Sri Lanka and
a lamp made from an old
furniture leg.
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ABOVE swaying coconut trees and two large barring-

The main sitting room,
with its blue-tinted cement tonia trees are a study in mimimalism.
tiles, contains an eclectic A passage alongside a row of ground-floor
mixture of objects. Bright
cotton cushions accessor-
bedrooms and a courtyard planted with Rafis
izing the built-in seat are palms leads to the colonnaded dining room,
color co-ordinated with
furnished with elegant British-period furni-
the modern reproduction
from an Indian Jain/Cosmic ture. In an eccentric twist, one of the walls is
painting. The white-painted painted a bright yellow! Other bedrooms are
coffee table, a combina-
tion of a modern top and arranged above the lounge, bar and dining
eighteenth-century legs, room, and in an entirely detached block built
is flanked by chairs of
nineteenth-century design. closer to the sea. The interiors of the bed-
The white trimmed timber rooms are meticulously decorated with local
doors are typical of the
colonial period.
handloom materials and art by local artists.
The furniture, as in all the other areas, is
RIGHT
A vista of old wood-turned
either original or copies of classic pieces of
columns leading to the colonial and modern design. Because each
open dining area culmi- type of bedroom is furnished in a slightly
nates in an Indian bronze
image of Ganesh, the different way and also has a different aspect,
elephant god, dancing. the inn feels very much like a rambling old
colonial mansion built over several centuries
although it has been only a mere ten years
between the building of the original house
by Geoffrey Bawa and the later additions.

A Garden in the East

TRINCOMALEE | ARCHITECT: UNKNOWN
Between November and January each year, internal spaces open out to the surrounding
the Maha Vehi or “great rains” bring a deluge gardens is remarkable. Simple concrete screens,
to green the land along the northeast coast painted white in many places, allow the build-
of Sri Lanka. For the rest of the year, the dry ings to breathe. They also allow the garden to
climate makes for the typical monsoon forest be all-pervasive. The house becomes a covered
and vegetation characteristic of the area, garden within the greater open garden.
except in one place. North of Trincomallee is The main living space is a pavilion open
a garden in which the emerald green of the to two sides of the garden off which the other
island lingers throughout the year in a lush living areas and service areas open. Elegant
evocation of the tropical idyll. Lovingly cre- cloth-covered furniture is complemented by
ated over a period of twenty years, the garden beautiful art works, some by the artist herself,
represents a myriad of ideas from various others by her close artist friends. Wherever
garden traditions, fused to become the retreat possible, the bedrooms, too, are directly and
for an artist and her partner. A series of walk- fully open to the garden as are the bathrooms.
ways and vistas, arbors and pergolas drip with The garden itself is organized about two
tropical vegetation, creating a garden for the axes, one running through the center of the
mind and a feast for the eyes. The house it- house towards the sea, the other a cross axis
self opens into the garden and becomes one to this one. They alone make sense of the pro-
ABOVE with it, and is indeed the centerpiece of life fusion of growth in this most unlikely place.
A small Balinese statue
pays homage in the guest
in this Utopian enclave. POSTSCRIPT: On December 26th, 2004,
courtyard, which is filled The garden is accessed along a broad “a wall of grey water with a little crest of
with water plants.
gravel road shaded by rows of trees and shrubs. white on top” washed it all away, as it did the
Seemingly simple pavilions make up the resi- lives of many others who lived on the coast
dential part of the estate, but the way the around Sri Lanka.
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LEFT
Encased in a simple cement
shell, the bedroom is a cool
oasis amidst a plethora of
plants that greet the occu-
pants at every turn. At one
end of the room, Balinese
masks watch over the bath-
tub, lined in mosaic tiles,
which is set into the floor.
RIGHT
A splendid stand of bam-
boo (Bambusa vugaris)
surrounded by alocasia
plants marks the edge of
the formal living terrace.
BELOW
Concrete screens moderate
the sun streaming into the
main living space, which
is open on two sides to
the garden, while allowing
breezes to flow through.
The bamboo-slatted ceiling,
cement-tiled floor, cotton-
covered furniture, warm-
toned painting of the gar-
den and ethnic artifacts all
add to the charm of this
simple room.
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LEFT
Early sun streams into the
studio through the stands
of bamboo on the edge
of the main living terrace,
lighting up the artist’s work
table and an antique brass
water carrier from northern
Sri Lanka. The table itself
is a single plank of para
para wood.
ABOVE
A plain muslin mosquito
net hangs above the bed
at the other end of the
bedroom, complemented
by a colorful painted cloth
temple hanging from India.
The window above the
wooden sideboard looks
over the main living room
terrace and pergola.
RIGHT
The house, which merges
seamlessly and sensitively
with the environment,
is a study in simplicity.
Bougainvillea covers most
of the roof of the house,
here seen from the back
end. Other plants such
as Roheo and Agave grow
in great abundance on
the lawn.

Aluvihare Walauwe
ALUVIHARE, MATALE | DESIGNER: ENA DE SILVA
Ancient seats of aristocratic families are often valley and looking across at the Knuckles ABOVE
Soft morning light catches
perceived as staid and old-fashioned places Range to the east is nothing short of breath- the lush vegetation around
full of family heirlooms carefully preserved taking. Having moved to the old house from the lily pond in the garden.
Three morning blooming
as a memorial to past glory. The Walauwe her Colombo residence, No. 5, Alfred Place,
water lilies greet the sun.
or Manor House at Aluvihare, Matale, in the built by architect Geoffrey Bawa (page 122),
northern foothills of the central massif, is a Ena has transformed its interior into a veri-
far cry from this. Although it is full of price- table kaleidoscope of color, form and shape.
less heirlooms, it is lived in with a freshness Although at first glance it appears to be an
and gusto that is hard to match. Its owner, untrameled display, it is clearly a disciplined
Ena de Silva Aluvihare, is also an artist. She approach to making an interior. Every surface
works mainly within the medium of batik is embroidered and decorated and no wall or
and traditional Kandyan embroidery—both ceiling has escaped attention. Ancient block-
crafts which she has helped to resurrect in printed cloths hang alongside modern painted
Sri Lanka by establishing co-operatives with walls and handicrafts, while priceless antique
village women. Her house is a crucible for furniture vies for attention with magnificent
experimentation in several of her thoughts embroidery and needlework. The interior is,
and is akin to one of her magnificent works. in fact, not very different from the completely
The old house, built by Ena’s father to painted walls and ceilings of eighteenth- and
replace an older family seat, is of modern nineteenth-century Kandyan temples where
origin. Its setting overlooking the Matale no surface is spared the attention of the artist.
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RIGHT
Superb Sri Lankan food is
served to visiting guests
at the Alu Kitchens One,
an enterprise of the craft
workshop on the premises.
Here, the table is set in
a veranda overlooking the
rich home garden filled
with jack, areca nut, coco-
nut and other fruit trees.
BELOW
An exuberant collection
of exotic codieatum species
and other plants form a
border along the front of
the house. The shadow
of a giant tamarind softens
the early morning sun on
the house.
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LEFT
The entrance to the main
living space is through the
door to the right of the
arrangement of wax flow-
ers—made in the craft
shop on the premises—sit-
ting atop an eighteenth-
century chest. A collection
of Indo-Portuguese furni-
ture is lost beneath em-
broidered cushions and
throws, as are the dining
table and chairs. Paintings
on the walls and columns,
based on designs from
fragments of original paint-
ing on wood in the ceilings
of seventeenth-century
temples, meld into the
painted surface. Other
walls are covered by old
trade cloths, some block-
printed in Sri Lanka and
others from India used in
the East India trade. Batik
reproductions of the coun-
ty flags of the Kandyan
kingdom hang down over
the dining area.

The house, which sits on the edge of a arrangement of dry, wax and fresh flowers
high escarpment, is arranged about two axes. placed on at least five layers of tablecloth.
The main entrance axis runs through the The table is set at all times, with fresh hibiscus
central living spaces to the temporary Cadjan in finger bowls announcing every meal, a fit-
shed veranda at the back, while the cross axis ting setting for the magical meals of traditional
links the two side wings of the house with the rice and eighteen curries that are constantly
bedrooms and kitchens. From the platform of served at the table.
the front garden, filled with plants of almost A cloth-lined lounge with a large English
every shape and color, the house is entered oak table is located behind the dining area.
through large glass doors. A handsome Dutch- The cloths themselves are old trade cloths
period chest topped by an elaborate arrange- from the East India trade, pinned on to the
ment of plastic and wax paper flowers forms walls and ceiling. Further elaborately covered
a “screen” between the entrance and the cen- furniture is presided over by a magnificent
tral dining table. On either side are two inti- Dutch-period cupboard encrusted with typi-
mate sitting areas filled to overflowing with cal Kandyan brass work. The Cadjan roofed
heirloom antique chaise longues and chairs. veranda outside this space extends the living
The furniture is piled high with cushions and area into the lush back garden, where there
every imaginable type of cloth work, from is a profusion of plants to equal those in the
embroidery to batik and crochet! front garden, and links the main house to
The dining table is placed at the meeting the garage and outhouses.
of the two axes, where there once was a wall Each of the three bedrooms is decorated
and a dark corridor. The wall was removed in Ena’s inimitable style. As in the rest of the
and what is left of it is supported by two an- house, every imaginable surface is worked
tique columns. The corridor is present as an on. Each room also contains at least two large
alcove in the ceiling, which is hung with batik beds covered with magnificent embroidered
flags representing the various regions of the bedspreads in traditional Kandyan designs.
Kandyan provinces. The table setting changes Antique Dutch almirah are complemented
from time to time in color and texture. How- by brilliantly worked cupboards decorated
ever, it never fails to bear a highly elaborate with paper and paint.
RIGHT
Plastic flowers, fancy glass
objects and an old brass
candlestand on a patch-
work table cloth, together
with the painted cupboard
in the background, set the
tone for the decoration in
the guest bedroom.
FAR RIGHT
Finger bowls with a float-
ing hibiscus are de rigeur
at the table. Here, batik
table mats placed on a
crocheted table cloth over
another table cloth of batik
form an eclectic setting.
OPPOSITE
Simple timber shelves in
the brightly painted kit-
chen are crammed with
the ingredients and uten-
sils required to whip up a
delicious Sri Lankan meal.
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Apa Villas
THALPE | DESIGNER: CHAN SAU YAN
The coast at Thalpe, 3 miles (5 km) south Entry to the elegant villas is through a ABOVE
The Apa Villas overlook a
of the port city of Galle, has become the set- courtyard open to the entrance court off the magnificent coral beach
ting for a string of beach villas for those out highway and into the main sitting area, which where stilt fishermen still
sit. The complex, construct-
to avoid the urban pleasures on offer in the in turn opens into a veranda overlooking a
ed from a simple palette
seventeenth-century fort. Thalpe, with its lawn with coconut trees and the sea. A long of materials, originally
picture book coastline, has changed from a infinity-edge lap pool appears to merge with comprised a simple two-
bedroomed house on the
sleepy fishing village to a wall of villas looking the Indian Ocean beyond. The main sitting beach to which two guest
out to the sea on the thin strip of land between area contains two large built-in sofa seats wings were later added,
the first centerd on the
the Galle Road and beach. Apa Villas, three and a stainless steel dining table, invariably long, slightly raised lap
colonial-style villas situated in a coconut grove, adorned with an exotic flower arrangement. pool, and the other one
is one of these and is named by its owner The two end walls are lined with bookshelves a higher-roofed double-
roomed pavilion at the
in honor of the extremely successful series housing locally made artifacts as well as the far end of the garden.
of travel guides he founded in the 1980s. entire collection of Apa guidebooks, whose
RIGHT
Like its counterpart Iluketiya in the hin- spines form a tapestry of background color The long lap pool, raised
terland, Apa Villas takes its inspiration from in the formal but stylish room. slightly above the level of
the lawn, extends from the
the simple vernacular building traditions of All of the bedroom suites have built-in central veranda towards
Sri Lanka. A minimal palette of coconut wood four-poster beds and an adjoining sitting area the sea and horizon, end-
columns and plaster walls coupled with roofs filled with a simple built-in ledge, day bed ing in a timber deck.
of half-round terracotta tiles and plain polished and sofa. The half-open bathrooms of the new
cement rendered floors, allows the villas to guest villas are situated in verandas off the
blend harmoniously with their natural sur- bedrooms, each overlooking its own courtyard.
roundings. Most of the furniture is built in, Although there is a formal living and
with handloom cushions in a subdued palette dining room, guests spend much of their time
thrown in for comfort. Bathrooms, too, con- lounging on the wide verandas facing the
sist of minimal ceramic tiling with polished sea, enjoying the monsoon winds, the swaying
cement bowls set in cement vanity counters. palms and the surf rolling into the shore.
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RIGHT
The formal sitting room-
cum-reading room at Apa
Villas is situated directly
behind the entrance court-
yard. It is also the venue
for communal dinners on
festive occasions. The built-
in cement shelves are filled
with small objets d’art
and the entire set of Apa
guides. The dining chairs
originate from a Scandi-
navian design of the 1960s
via the Geoffrey Bawa
office and have been adapt-
ed with stainless steel and
teak by the Swiss designer
Rico Tarawella and made
at the Workshop in Bentota.
A small wooden canoe sits
on top of the bookshelves.
BELOW
The deep, shady veranda
with its broad overhanging
roof, cool polished cement
floors and timber columns
is where the owners and
their guests spend much
of their time at Apa Villas.
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ABOVE
The vernacular ambience
is tempered in the bed-
rooms by the use of exten-
sive built-in furniture. Here,
the sitting area is almost
entirely built in except
for the modern teakwood
coffee table. The neutral
tones of the upholstery are
offset by faux leopard skin
and warm yellow cushions.
RIGHT AND FAR RIGHT

In the entrance courtyard,
contemporary depictions
of a Western gentleman
holding a bird and a local
grandee, both painted
in the nineteenth-century
southern style, form attrac-
tive backdrops to colonial
chairs and polished floors.

Acknowledgments
For a book three years in the making, the list of persons
to thank and acknowledge would obviously exceed the
limitations of space allotted here. So we will restrain our-
selves! First and foremost, our thanks to our editors and
publisher who very kindly and patiently put up with us as
we waited for the soft morning light to touch the weather-
beaten surface on that particular day of the year in the
second monsoon with wind blowing from the northeast.
Equally we wish to thank all the owners of the proper-
ties, whose unfailing patience and graciousness in letting
us invade their privacy makes the book what it is. Since
many of them specifically asked not to be mentioned,
we remain silent on all their identities. Some we cannot go
without mentioning, even if they want us not to. Anjalen-
dran for his unfailing criticism and encouragement. We
think we still fall far short of his high standards, but it
motivated us to be clear about how we approached this
book. Professor David Robson for his patient reading
of the first drafts and being an indulgent host. Kaushik
Mukkerjee, Priyanka Samaraweera, P. G. Dinesha Dil-
rukshi and Shiromi Rajapakse, whose hard work and com-
pany made our lives easier. And mostly to our families
and friends for putting up with never-ending descriptions
of a book that lately even they—firm believers in us—
seemed to doubt would ever come out.
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THE SERENDIPITOUS ISLE 1

Sri Lanka Style

Text © 2006 Channa Daswatte

All rights reserved. No part of this publi-

ISBN: 978-1-4629-0656-7 (ebook)

Design: Mind Design

6 The Serendipitous Isle

14 Vernacular and Colonial Inspirations

116 Contemporary Interpretations

148 Retreats and Resorts

The Serendipitous Isle

6 SRI LANKA STYLE

8 SRI LANKA STYLE

THE SERENDIPITOUS ISLE 9

10 SRI LANKA STYLE

THE SERENDIPITOUS ISLE 11

12 SRI LANKA STYLE

16 SRI LANKA STYLE

18 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 19

20 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 21

Galle Fort Hotel

22 SRI LANKA STYLE

The hall opens on to a terrace at the back ABOVE

racks Suite features a double bath in the

24 SRI LANKA STYLE

RIGHT AND FAR RIGHT

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 27

28 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 29

30 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 31

The Dutch House

32 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 35

36 SRI LANKA STYLE

38 SRI LANKA STYLE

from the lush green front garden wafting ABOVE

manding façade, its bold columns and high LEFT

mostly Sri Lankan, art adorn the walls and

40 SRI LANKA STYLE

The outward appearance of the stables at the ABOVE

42 SRI LANKA STYLE

44 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 45

46 SRI LANKA STYLE

The various colonial periods in Sri Lankan ABOVE

48 SRI LANKA STYLE

50 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 51

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 53

The hinterland of the south coast of Sri Lanka

54 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 55

56 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 57

58 SRI LANKA STYLE

VERNACULAR AND COLONIAL INSPIRATIONS 59