A portion of the new parliament building of Sri Lanka and Geoffrey Bawa, who designed it

The Mexican poet Octavio Paz had once said in a lecture titled “The New Analogy” that “every society possesses what is called an ‘image of the world’. This image has its roots in the unconscious structure of society and requires a specific conception of time to foster it. The works and words of men are made of time. They are time, and they are a movement towards this or that, whatever the reality. Time is the depository of meaning”.

In his lecture, Paz gave examples of Greek time, Christian time, Hindu time and finally, Modern time, in order to demonstrate the true meaning of “time” during those periods. The modern era, according to the poet, was the age of criticism (was as we are at the end of it).

We are now on the threshold of a new era. This is an era when we are conscious of the concept of time and deliberately look for change for the sake of changing.

Today, we talk about the works of an architect called Geoffrey Bawa from Sri Lanka who chose to respond to time and a sense of history in his creations that the world will truly understand and appreciate many years from now. He belongs to the late modern period and yet gives you the impression of looking back, over your shoulder, at your past.

Born in 1919, Bawa first obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Cambridge University in 1941. He was admitted as Bar-at-Law in Middle Temple at London. Bawa switched to architecture in the early fifties and received his diploma in architecture from the Architectural Association School at London in 1956.

He became an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) in 1957. He started his practice when he was almost in his forties and was perhaps fortunate enough not to be influenced by the master architects of that era. It is a reflection on our architectural education system that takes the student away from common realities. The works of the great masters did not pollute Bawa’s mind in his formative years as he was into English literature, and then, law.

His sketches show that he was a born artist and, at a relatively late age, must have been drawn towards architecture due to his admiration for traditional architecture. It shows in his work.

Bawa, who died in 2003, knew how to create a lived-in feeling in his design as opposed to the crisp, factory-made products of our time. Our contemporary designs are market-driven and to please the “market”, they can shamelessly adorn a “market-driven” skin.

The “skin” will always show how much the owner is capable of spending and how techno-savvy the architect is. Fifty years hence, they will look as out of place and ridiculous as they look now.

The strong point of Bawa’s work is how he embraces time. It is evident in his own house where he moved into in 1958. It is actually a series of four houses that he bought from 1958 to 1968 and joined them together. The garden flowing through the house joins the spaces together and creates a sense of continuity.

The Yahapath Endera Farm School at Hanwella is a splendid example of his understated style with choice of simple materials and fine detailing. For the arts and science faculties of the University of Ruhunu, he has designed a brilliant campus on a contoured site. It is a truly remarkable example of creating a contemporary vocabulary out of traditional architecture.

Bawa’s best-known design is the new parliament building in Colombo. Its main pavilions with wide balconies under the huge copper roofs echo Sri Lanka’s traditional buildings.

Sri Lankan culture is a result of shared experience, somewhat similar to what we Calcuttans have here. Bawa’s architecture has given this hybrid culture a root. It almost tells you that this is how we evolve. This is what will survive.

The author is an architect and urban designer