Geoffrey Bawa: Drawing from the Archives opens the working drawings of Sri Lanka's most significant modernist architect to sustained critical attention, placing more than 200 drawings and photographs — many published here for the first time — at the centre of how we understand his practice.
About This Book
Geoffrey Bawa (1919–2003) spent his career doing something few architects have managed convincingly: reconciling the formal logic of modernism with the specific demands of a monsoon climate and a layered architectural heritage. A pioneer of bioclimatic architecture, Bawa wove local materials, spatial conventions, and climatic knowledge into buildings that remain deeply rooted in Sri Lanka without ever retreating into pastiche. This volume, edited by Shayari de Silva, examines Bawa's architectural drawings as both technical instruments and cultural documents — tools through which he negotiated post-independence Sri Lankan identity. Essays from scholars across multiple disciplines move the conversation well beyond monograph territory.
Key Features
- 248 pages of architectural drawings, photographs, and scholarly essays — including more than 200 drawings and images, many previously unpublished
- Edited by Shayari de Silva, with contributions from scholars and writers across multiple disciplines
- Published by Lars Müller Publishers, 2003
What You'll Discover
- How Bawa's drawings functioned as a multi-pronged medium — simultaneously design tool, cultural statement, and record of a practice deeply attuned to place
- The principles behind bioclimatic architecture as developed in a Sri Lankan context: materials, spatial layouts, and design responses to the monsoon climate
- Bawa's role in shaping the aesthetic and ideological identity of post-independence Sri Lanka through built form
- Why a body of work built entirely within Asia carries influence far beyond the region — and what that tells us about the limits of regionalism as a critical category
About the Author
Shayari de Silva edited this volume, drawing together essays from scholars and writers working across a range of disciplines to examine Bawa's drawings and their significance. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 248
- Dimensions: 19 × 28 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783037787052
- Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
- Publication Date: 2003
Perfect For: Architects and historians with an interest in South Asian modernism, bioclimatic design, and the relationship between drawing practice and architectural identity