building

This is a paean to Sri Lankan architecture.

Traditional Sri Lankan buildings are integrated into the environment like few other architectural traditions. Nearly every house I have been into in Colombo has an intimate relationship with nature, its environment and all are built as sanctuaries. A house I stepped into yesterday was like a forest monastery. Walled gardens and secluded stone pathways were built inside the house and the ceilings were thrown thirty feet high. Hanging vines crept down trees and twined into the floor. Every now and then as we turned a corner we came upon unexpected wrought-iron benches, stone bowls to catch water. The house itself was a fortress, completely walled but glass-fronted from floor to ceiling to catch the vistas of the indoor gardens that were open to the sky. Wide eaves ensured that rain would slip off easily. Everywhere there was wood and stone and glass, indistinguishable from the trees and the rain and the sky.

Sri Lankan architecture is a mix of its colonial heritage, from the Arab influences, to the Dutch traditions, the Portuguese, the Indian and of course the British. All culminate to produce something unique, something instantly identifiable as uniquely Sri Lanka. Wherever I settle down, I shall build my house, as an outpost of Sri Lanka.