Browsing by Author "Wijetunge, MNR"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9

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Architect, the salvage dawg
(2015) Wijetunge, MNR
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Domestic architecture of the modern-day elites : manifestations of periodic change in home environments
Wijetunge, MNR
Various aspects of elitism, elite life, culture, and their design traditions have all been undertaken and discerned largely by Western scholars over time. Hence, in addressing this seminal topic, such a body of knowledge becomes indispensable, although it is somewhat oblivious to an Eastern perspective. Since 15th century, these propagations have been ensued all over the modern world with the aid of wide-spread Iberian and Western European colonial practices as McGillivray (2006: 15-19) tells us. In the rapidly globalizing and predominantly capitalist modern world, elites are conveniently placed on top of the social hierarchy irrespective of their physical location. In this context, the paper attempts to explore the underlying reasons for this immutable condition. As its foremost contribution, the apparent sensitiveness of elites to periodic changes in society is to be investigated, while establishing what these are in actuality. In this exercise, how essential aspects of'high culture' and 'grand design tradition' are bound to the elite dwelling - with its contiguity to the complex notions of 'home' - is dealt with, identifying their inter-relations.
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Emulating vernacular : role of tradition in the elite domestic architecture of Geoffrey Bawa and Valentine Gunasekara
Wijetunge, MNR
This paper critically examines the post-independence architecture of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), in which reverting back to tradition took centre stage. It discusses the pioneering works of two architects from this particular time frame that led the way to subsequent, emulation of tradition in the architectural developments in the island, especially after 1977s neo-liberal economic reforms. The paper divulges the underlying factors behind the making of the very disparate approaches of these two architects, while assessing their successes and failures. It especially evaluates the role of tradition in their architectural approaches.
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Evolution of elite-domestic architecture from British to decolonization : with special reference to maritime provinces of Sri lanka
Wijetunge, MNR; Rathnamalala, S; Jayatillake, S
It is evident that the glohal-space by the 151 h Century was experiencing a turbulent phase as a result of the integral and unavoidable links created by European colonia/isms between the 'East· and ·West· in an unprecedented manner. ln such a context, Europe was experiencing conflicts between some of its colonial contenders who strived for a colonial domination that was eventually felt in their colonial domains in the East.
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The Notion of Nation : protagonist behind the post-colonial elite domestic architecture of Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Wijetunge, MNR
It is widely considered that the post-colonial period is undoubtedly one of the most seminal eras in the trajectory of Sri Lankan architecture. On the other hand, the houses of the island’s elite remain to this day, a subject that has not been sufficiently tackled. Although literature at times suggests certain causal factors of the topic in question and also discusses its implications on wider architectural realm of Sri Lanka, a scientific exploration has so far been eluded. In such a backdrop, this paper attempt to examine the underlying factors of the post-colonial period domestic architectural realm of Ceylon’s elite stratum to ultimately determine the most seminal of all. The case study methodology employed uses extant literature and empirical work to collect information and places the primary and secondary case studies in question against their respective political, economic and socio-cultural milieu as analysis, while dwelling on phenomenology for interpretation. The ultimate goal is to illustrate that the newly-formed modern notion of the nation that was inculcated on the ruling elite of newly-independent Ceylon was the most seminal underlying factor that molded the period’s elite domestic architecture that eventually trickled down to the civic architectural realm with the auspice of the same stratum. The architects of the period representing the elite stratum–Geoffrey Bawa being one of the most influential–were instrumental as vessels for propagating this notion via their architectural projects, where the domestic realm became a spring board to elevate the more familiar hybrid style (which is an ensemble of many historic layers of island’s architecture) established by them to the civic level for more laudability and acclaim.
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Salvaging- a modus operandi
(2015) Wijetunge, MNR
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The Sprouting vault
(2015) Wijetunge, MNR
item: Conference-Abstract
The roles of tradition and vernacular in post-colonial elite domestic architecture of Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Wijetunge, MNR
Following a brief stint of independent-rule from 1948 under a class of post-colonial third culture, a political breakthrough came in 1956, when a faction of local-elite with a strong nationalist agenda came into power in Ceylon. Within this politically-induced backdrop, several nascent Ceylonese architects felt the urgency for a new architectural identity for the nation. The domestic architectural rubric they derived on behalf of the country's newly-defined elite stratum is referred to as Modern regional architecture in the tropics (MRAT), which in another sense could be postulated as Designed-vernacular. MRAT was based on Architectural Modernism, and epitomized in its making the essence of the country's proverbial indigenous architectural tradition of Kandyan vernacular. Furthermore, the selective-traditions of colonial-Dutch and colonial-British of hybrid parentage were incorporated to the formula. This modus operandi was further-enhanced through'traits obtained from the local arts and crafts movement by the rubric's proponents such as Geoffrey Bawa. This rubric gradually culminated as an immense success over the years, to become the flagship elite domestic-style of the island. Moreover, it became the ideal manifestation of the immutable position of country's core-oriented elites while securing its posterity. Conversely, a lone contemporary counterpart challenged this position by embracing a socialist agenda and attempted to realize it through an expressionist modernism, with the emphasis on the international-style technology. By the exclusion from his designs, the elements of tradition and vernacular- which by that time had become a quintessential part of the representational repertoire of elite domestic architecture- Valentine Gunasekara strived to disseminate the notion of a more equitable society, perhaps somewhat less-successfully. The paper attempts to adduce the triumph of the cross-fertilized MRAT, as against its relegated modern expressionist counterpart, in order to discern the respective roles played by tradition and vernacular in the scenario.
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Unearthing what underlies elite domestic works of Geoffrey Bawa and Valentine Gunasekara
(2013) Wijetunge, MNR
In the ambivalent postcolonial decades, marred with tension and ethnic strife, reverting to once subverted indigenous traditions with the patronage of elites, was explicitly pursued by nascent architects of Sri Lanka. The most celebrated domestic architectural rubrics of the nation’s post-colonial period could be characterized as seemingly vernacular-biased Modern Regional Architecture for the Tropics (MRAT) of Geoffrey Bawa. Its antithesis version of Architectural Modernism dwelling on innovative technology and expressionism was followed by Valentine Gunasekara. Each of these rubrics has been defended by academic polemics over the years, labeling them as the most apposite and valid to the contexts of their appearance, and hence to the nation as a whole. In this backdrop, the paper attempts to explore underlying factors behind architectures of the two masters, and the reasons for the apparent success of the latter over the former. The discussion commences with an induction to the worldwide system of elitism, and addresses its relevance to the postcolonial context of Sri Lanka, promulgating the needs of the newly independent nation. The following advent to Sri Lanka’s postcolonial architectural rubrics explores the state of ambivalence of the period, finally leading the way to investigation of factors behind two mainstream domestic architectural approaches of the time.