In the decades following Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, following its involvement in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) emerging in response to the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War, the country operated with a closed economy. As an erstwhile colony striving for self-sufficiency, the government imposed strict trade restrictions, limiting imports to only essential goods. Meant to reduce reliance on Western and Soviet economies, this policy led to material shortages and inefficiencies, but consequently, to greater emphasis on local production. With these constraints in place, the Geoffrey Bawa Practice embraced the inherent material limitations of post-independence Sri Lanka, reconciling scarcity with innovation to create designs deeply embedded in the conditions of their place and time. Bawa’s furniture followed a similar ethos, shaped by the same constraints that came to define his architecture. Using locally available materials, including found and repurposed elements from his sites, his furniture was tethered to its surroundings, capturing the essence of the moment.

Currently on view in Colombo, Design in the Moment: Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice explores the architect's furniture designs within the wider context of his architectural work. The exhibition unveils the embedded histories and influences that shaped his furniture, highlighting their continued relevance today. Curated by Aparna Rao, who established an artistic practice before co-founding Phantom Hands—a contemporary studio known for its finely handcrafted furniture—along with architect Channa Daswatte who worked closely with Geoffrey Bawa and now chairs the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, the exhibition engages with the concept of reproduction in furniture design through an empirical process, evolving not from theoretical frameworks, but from oral histories. These histories, shaped by Bawa’s associates and enriched by Rao’s and Daswatte’s own perspectives, also take into account the pragmatic context of its place, including but not limited to the available resources, workshops, processes, and the need to meet contemporary ergonomic standards for commercial use. As a result, the final reinterpretations reflect the contributions of multiple authors, each layer adding a distinct voice to the evolving narrative.

Rao elaborates on this in a conversation with STIR, stating, “When you reinterpret a collection, I think your voice is also a part of it, and the idea is to make your voice as invisible as possible, and to try and amplify the voice of the original creator.”

The Phantom Hands warehouse in Bengaluru, which served as the site of experimentation for many of the designs in the exhibition, began with six key pieces from Geoffrey Bawa’s Sri Lankan works. The process, which initially involved faithful reproductions that preserved the imperfections and handmade quality of the originals, gradually evolved into a collection of 28 pieces, refined through investigations into materials, structure, techniques, aesthetics, and ergonomic standards.

The Number 11 Sofa is an instance of this process of reinterpretation. The material exploration starts with the fabric, sourced from Barefoot (Bawa’s original supplier in Colombo). Intended for garments and featuring a bleached white tone, the fabric was transformed for upholstery through a collaboration with a Bengaluru-based textile lab. To improve its durability, the fabric was reinforced and treated to be moisture-resistant, with elastic fibres blended in, while its colour was adjusted to a weathered white for a more aged look. Additionally, the chequered pattern was resized for precise alignment with the edges of the sofa, refining its overall finish.

Similarly, the Kandalama Lounge Chair underwent changes in both material and structure; wrought iron was replaced with lightweight aluminium, and the bumps in the chair were adjusted for improved comfort. In addition, the method of construction was exposed to enhance the transparency of the artisanship. Likewise, the Metal and Stone Conical Shade Lamp saw a shift from solid stone to stone aggregate, reducing its weight from 16 kg to just below 3 kg.

Distinct from the other pieces which evolved through material and structural refinements, the Lighthouse Ashtray underwent a layered process of reinterpretation. Originally crafted by Bawa as a personal, portable object, though now lost, the ashtray was made of terracotta, its spherical dome—reminiscent of a coconut—designed to prevent ash from scattering.

Daswatte first reconstructed the design from memory and drawings, his “phantomised” version now reimagined in brass, lending the object a more enduring, refined quality. Palinda Kannangara, another associate of Bawa, further extended this evolution by adding a tray element, illustrated through an air-drawing. The final iteration stands as a testament to collective authorship, where each contribution builds upon the last, transforming a once-ephemeral object into something both functional and timeless.

As Rao shared with STIR, the core of Geoffrey Bawa’s design philosophy lay in his unique ability to "[give] a second life to the most modest of discarded objects". Faced with the kind of material scarcity definitive of Sri Lankan design and architectural sensibilities in the late 20th century, Bawa turned to the quintessence of human creativity, not only respecting the origins of these objects but also ensuring they achieved their most authentic form when placed within the spaces they inhabited. This is evident in creations such as the De Saram Center Table and the Number 11 Side Table, crafted from leftover tiles. On the other hand, the De Saram Log Bench, made from a found object that perfectly fit a long corridor (its live edge evoking the aesthetics of mid-century modern furniture); and Leopold’s Seat, a stone piece tailored to fit the width of the wall behind it (designed to serve as a seat for Bawa’s succession of Dalmatians); all embody Bawa’s approach to reworking and repurposing humble, overlooked materials while preserving their intrinsic nature.

In the reproduced pieces, though the stone may differ or the tile may vary, the process of morphosis or the layering, as mentioned, remains unchanged, staying true to Bawa’s approach to materiality and adaptation. Each piece supercedes replication and reverential exactment, though a continuation of this approach by Bawa, wherein the inherent imperfections of handcrafted objects are refined through technique and process, adapting to methods and standards that were unavailable to him at the time.

Reproductions of Geoffrey Bawa’s work are not new to the Geoffrey Bawa Trust. In 2010, when the Ena de Silva House was sold due to increasing development pressures, the Trust was asked to intervene, leading to a process of documentation, dismantling, and eventual reassembly at Lunuganga in 2016. Originally one of Colombo’s first courtyard houses, it demonstrated the value of this typology in an urban setting. While its relocation ensured preservation, discourse around its move suggests that as a house designed for the city, it now exists as an archived version of itself; intact, yet removed from the context that once defined it.

Along a similar paradigm, Design in the Moment: Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice embodies reinterpretations of Bawa’s archival designs, exploring how his furniture—originally crafted for specific spaces and conditions—translates into new contexts. And while Bawa’s voice resonates most strongly among those that shape these objects, whether these recreated works can truly hold the same meaning and harbour the same impact when recreated severed from their original environment remains an interesting phenomenon to be observed.

Design in the Moment: Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice runs at the Geoffrey Bawa Space, 42/1 Horton Place, Colombo 07, from 13th December 2024 to 31st May 2025.