Celebrating the 100th Birth Anniversary of Geoffrey Bawa with the Geoffrey Bawa Award for excellence in Architecture.
The fifth cycle of the Geoffrey Bawa Award for excellence in Architecture was launched on the 22nd of July 2019 at the reconstructed de Saram House on Ward Place, Colombo 07.
This year’s Award commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of the illustrious architect. Four cycles of the Awards were held in 2007-08, 2010-2011, 2013-2014, and 2016-17.
The Awards were conceptualised in 2007 to recognise and reward outstanding examples of contemporary Sri Lankan architecture, and celebrate the winners and their work. The first four cycles proved immensely popular and generated wide interest, which prompted many talented architects to vie for the award. The Trustees are confident that this interest will generate an even larger number of entries this year.
Projects built in Sri Lanka during the ten-year period between 23rd July 2009 and 23rdJuly 2019 and used and occupied for no less than nine months, are eligible for submission. Entries not placed in the previous awards cycle can also be re-submitted.
By celebrating spaces around Sri Lanka, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust aims to create a conversation that will allow Sri Lanka to grow in its architecture and establish a history that can be celebrated in 100 years from now. It also seeks to raise awareness and urge the young architects of Sri Lanka to adapt to the changing environment, be resourceful in their methods, and to create a conversation that would enhance the Sri Lankan landscape to fit the needs of the current and future generations.
Applications will be opened to contenders for the fifth cycle of the Awards from 25th August 2019 onwards on www.geoffreybawa.com. Submissions must be on the prescribed form available on the Geoffrey Bawa website from the closing date for entries is 30 November 2019.
The winner of the fifth cycle will be announced at a gala ceremony that celebrates the winners and their work, to be held on 23rd July 2020, to coincide with Geoffrey Bawa’s 101st birth anniversary. The winner will be awarded a sum of one million rupees, as in previous years.
The judges for the 2019-2020 cycle of awards will be Ms. Sunethra Bandaranaike (Trustee Lunuganga Trust), Professor Barry Bergdoll (Meyer Schapiro Professor of art history, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University), Architect Veranjan Kurukulasuriya (President, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects) and Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala (Former Diplomat &Member of Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka).
The Geoffrey Bawa Trust invites and encourages all architects and laypersons who believe that a certain space can revolutionise the Sri Lankan architecture industry.