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Sri Lankan wins the Golden Award for Global Contribution in Architecture

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Sri Lankan eminent architect C. Anjalendran was awarded the Golden Award for Global Contribution in Architecture by Architecture+ Design and Spectrum foundation at a ceremony held at the Sri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi in India on October 17.

Architect Anjalendran is a prominent exponent of legendary Geoffrey Bawa's tropical architecture with its characteristic minimalistic approach and innovative thinking of incorporating natural objects into its philosophy of celebrating space. Anjalendran was closely connected with Bawa as pupil, assistant, travelling companion and friend.

"Like Bawa, Anjalendran draws liberally on the 'vernacular' tradition of his country so that his buildings variously evoke the courtyards of old Jaffna, the columns and aches of Kandyan 'manor houses' and the ancient boulder gardens of Anuradhapura and Buddhist temples. And he does so with real and intimate knowledge of these traditions"

In essence Anjalendran's architectural practice epitomises the delicate blend of quintessential architectural legacy of the nation buttressed by the syntax of architectural language of his legendary guru Geoffrey Bawa with modernity.

It is a sheer celebration of space, light and the splendour of life in an architectural language of his own. By conferring The Golden Award on architect C. Anjalendran, his contribution to excellence in global architecture has been internationally recognised, honouring the nation in the field of architecture.

The Golden Award

Anjalendran and his guru Geoffrey Bawa

The Golden Award was commenced ten years ago by "The Architecture+Design and Spectrum Foundation Architecture Awards" to applaud creativity and excellence in architecture. It is a non-political event and the effort is to genuinely appreciate creative architecture.

The jury for the awards this year - the ninth cycle - comprised 27 eminent architects of India and South-East Asia and these awards stand out for their unbiased approach to recognize intelligent architecture.

Since the last ten years the foundation has been holding architecture awards annually for different typologies in architecture.

The Award Ceremony of the last cycle was held in Malaysia in July 2010 where we had honoured Ar.Maria Botta for 'The Golden Award for Global Contribution in Architecture'.

The winners of the 'Golden Award for Global Contribution in Architecture' for the years 2008 (Awards' Ceremony took place in Singapore), 2006 (Awards' Ceremony took place in Kathmandu, Nepal) & 2005 (Awards' Ceremony took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), were Dr Javier G Pioz & Dr. Maria Rosa Cervera, Ar. Raj Rewal and Dr. Suha Ozkan, respectively. We also have awards in six different categories for Indian architects apart from the Golden Architect Award, India.

Accepting the prestigious award, Architect C. Anjalendran enunciated his philosophy of architecture and the challenges that contemporary Sri Lankan architect to confront as:

"Towards An Architecture for every day life": A personal Odyssey

"You know me well if you thought that by its very excess virtue would entice me,

You knew that arduous and challenging paths lure me,

that senseless pursuits appeal to me,

and that a little folly is necessary for the satisfaction of my pride."

: Andre Gide (1)

I am greatly honored to accept this award, and I wish to thank all those who made it possible, and all those present here tonight. However I must confess, that the architecture I do is essentially 'local' and more so site specific.

Hence they are often sustainable, and respectful of nature. I hope that thus my work may be considered be worthy of a 'global contribution towards architecture', and not 'global' architecture for which I have an slight aversion .

Recently I was fortunate to have a 7 week holiday in Europe. On a long train journey back from Germany to the Netherlands, on my I-pod I heard raag Hameer sung by Bade Gulam Ali Khan, raag Deshkar by Rashid Khan, and variations of my favorite raag Yaman Kalyan by M.S.Subbulakshmi to A.R.Rahman. I was certain that despite all the beauty I had been seeing, " all this was but a dream from which I shall presently awake". To know where one belongs, and to know oneself is often a good beginning.

My studio practice

I have a studio practice with 3 to 4 assistants. Until six years ago I practised architecture off my mother's veranda. My office is still 'folded away' each day, but now off my own veranda. Appropriately my mode of transport is a 3 wheeler tuk-tuk.

I returned to Sri Lanka nearly 34 years ago, having completed my post-graduate studies in Space Syntax with Bill Hillier and Adrian Leaman at the Bartlett in London, which most importantly gave me an overview of life. However, it would be true to say that I learnt my practical architecture; in the typical tradition of guru-shishya (teacher-pupil) doing errands for the Sri Lankan master architect Geoffrey Bawa, for approximately 40 hours a week, for nearly 10 years, for no pay.

Central Question in Architecture

Back home, I found that the central question facing Sri Lankan architecture was the continuity and the context of the traditional to meet modern lifestyles and aspirations.

In my favorite mediaeval garden of Kaludiya Pokuna (black water pond) in Mihintale, the organic is always incorporated and blended into the formal organization of space.

This dialectic of the tradition and the modern, as well as the incorporation of the organic, has been celebrated in the sustained and varied corpus of work of Geoffrey Bawa.

However, the main question was initially posed by the vice-principal of Trinity College, Gastor, in the hill capital of Kandy nearly 90 years ago, when he proposed to build a 'Sinhalese chapel' for his congregation.

I was further fascinated to trace this relationship between tradition and modernity in the pioneering writings and work of Andrew Boyd in the 40's (who was fascinated by the functionality of our "Houses by the Road"), Minette de Silva in the 50's (and her "Experiments in Modern Regional Architecture" long before anyone else had thought about it ), and in the initial joint partnership of Ulrik Plesner and Geoffrey Bawa in the 60's. (2) For Ulrik Plesner architecture was more than functional and also a "home for our souls" (3). From Geoffrey Bawa I mainly learnt that architecture was always a background for life and to view nature. It was rarely " iconic" or "in your face", and be of great "restraint".

The sound political policy in the early 60's of restrictions on the import of goods and travel abroad brought about a creative blossoming in the architecture of Ulrik Plesner and Geoffrey Bawa, which led to other gregarious spin-offs such as the vibrant batiks of Ena de Silva, colorful handlooms of Barbara Sansoni, and the inimitable architectural renderings of Laki Senanayake.

My greatest honor has been, with the exception of Andrew Boyd, to get to know and move freely amongst those mentioned above, most of whom have managed to retain their pedestals while continuing to be remarkably extraordinary.

What is important in Architecture

Unlike all other arts which portray the contradictions of daily life, and particularly so with under-development and terrorism, architecture unfortunately must always celebrate life.

I am weary of an architecture, which is merely serious, or even a facade, devoid of the wit and humour of life.

I also dislike insensitive impositions on the landscape. I also think it is a great pity that there is so much of architectural architecture about.

Given such parameters, I guess it should not come as a surprise that one has consciously chosen to do a non-commercial sort of an architecture, and perhaps concentrate on evolving an economical aesthetic of everyday life, as aptly described by Channa.

Daswatte as "where every function has an aesthetic intent."(4) .My main contribution to Sri Lankan contemporary architecture has been to make an aesthetic architecture affordable, not only at the level of ordinary middle class professional clients , but also NGOs' and even orphanages.

Here I find an affinity to the unpretentious and often un-noticed peasant vernacular, which has a populist appeal so necessary but rarely achieved in the architecture of today. An excellent example is the little rest-pavilion or ambalama at Karagahagedera, Kurunegala.

This ambalama, supported on 4 boulders perched on a large shallow rock at the edge of rice fields, which it overlooks, epitomizes my architectural ideal.

According to Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, who at the turn of this century explained Asian art to the west as well as to the east, the ultimate purpose of all art is to transcend to the level of godhead (5). For me it is enough, if it provides a meditative refuge from the trauma, tragedy and the occasional bomb in Sri Lanka.

I am often asked in this fast changing world of cell-phones and internet, whether there may be valid architectural constants.

My advice would always be to search, and not to be side tracked by commerce (often the simple reason for bad-architecture), to find your own place in history, and be proud of yourself and what you thus achieve.

If not you can be easily consumed by the 'global' and corporate world, which is often based on fickle fashion, and will not last the test of time.

Lastly, I am generally content making a few people around me happy, rather than any attempt to "save the world', which I like most 'global' ideas is often a misnomer. In my case it has been aptly interpreted my students in this last image. "

Geoffrey Bawa received quite early on, from The Hawaii Chapter; of the American Institute Architects, the 1967 Pan- Pacific Citation for "Demonstrates a Singular Individuality and Excellence in Design". Geoffrey Bawa would have been 48 years old with a practice 8 years as an architect.

The second international award Bawa received, when he was after his stroke, he received The Aga Khan Chairman's Award 2001 for "The Lifetime Achievements of Geoffrey Bawa".

This was collected at the Citadel in Aleppo, Syria on the 6th November 2011 by Channa Daswatte and C. Anjalendran and Geoffrey Bawa was 82 at that time.

Minette De Silva, got the Offership of Arts , from the French Goverment, " in recognition of her contribution to Art and Architecture". After those international awards, it was C. Anjalendran who received The Golden Award for Global contribution in Architecture.