Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses - Press Release - 26 September 2026–28 February 2027

Oct 28, 2026

Press release announcing a major retrospective at Vitra Design Museum: “Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses,” running 26 September 2026 to 28 February 2027. The exhibition presents over 250 exhibits, including drawings, models, artworks, photographs, historic footage, and newly commissioned works by Iwan Baan, within immersive scenography by Lina Ghotmeh. It highlights Bawa’s multidisciplinary practice shaped by Sri Lanka’s modernism, local materials, ecology, and community collaboration through artist workshops.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Title and Duration

Scope of Exhibits

Artistic and Social Collaboration

Artist Workshops and Social Enterprises

Exhibition Production and Travel

Co-production Partners and Catalogue

Press Release Geoffrey Bawa Architecture for the Senses 26 September 2026–28 February 2027, Vitra Design Museum With a career spanning five decades and over 200 projects, Geoffrey Bawa (1919– 2003) was one of the most influential twentieth-century architects in Asia. His work blends the principles of modernism with the rich architectural history of Sri Lanka, forming a distinctive oeuvre that includes private houses, schools, hotels, and factories, as well as the country’s parliament. This autumn, the Vitra Design Museum opens a major retrospective of the acclaimed architect’s work. »Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses« brings together over 250 exhibits, including drawings, models, furniture, historic footage, artworks, and photographs by Bawa. The exhibition also includes newly commissioned works by photographer Iwan Baan that capture the lived-in quality of some of Bawa’s most iconic buildings. With a scenography designed by architect Lina Ghotmeh, the exhibition will transform the Vitra Design Museum into an immersive environment that evokes the sensual power of Bawa’s practice. Born in 1919 in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to a family of mixed Asian and European heritage, Bawa worked as a lawyer before retraining as an architect and graduating from the Architectural Association in London in 1957. Despite this relatively late start, Bawa became a leading voice in architecture in the newly independent Sri Lanka. Early projects like the St. Thomas’ Preparatory School (1957–63) reveal the influence of Western modernism, however, throughout his career Bawa embraced local materials, craftsmanship, and industrial possibilities to form a unique architectural vocabulary sensitive to the context he was building in. Among Bawa’s key works are his own garden estate Lunuganga (1948–2003), the Bentota Beach Hotel (1966–69), and the Kandalama Hotel (1991–94) . In 2001 Bawa received the Aga Khan Chairman Award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to architecture. For Bawa, good architecture had to make sense, both emotionally and practically. In line with his conviction that “architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced”, he saw buildings not as static settings, but as unfolding spatial narratives in which Sri Lanka’s monumental nature often plays a dramatic role. As seen in projects such as the Polontalawa Estate Bungalow (1963–67) and the Jayewardene House (1997–98), Bawa’s buildings respond to the natural terrain, embracing existing elevations and contours while seamlessly incorporating rocks, trees, and landscape elements. Another key focus of the exhibition is Bawa’s close collaboration with some of Sri Lanka’s leading artists and craftspeople, including Ena de Silva, Laki Senanayake, and Barbara Sansoni. These artists’ workshops were run as social enterprises and played an important role in providing training and employment to local communities. Their batik panels, sculptures, and textiles were not merely decorative additions to Bawa’s buildings, but integral components of their spatial experience, blurring the boundaries between architecture, art, and design. Bawa has been labelled a pioneer of Tropical Modernism, but the exhibition will present a more multilayered perspective on Bawa’s work than such simplifying etiquettes can suggest. By highlighting Bawa’s engagement with collaboration, ecology, and the cultural context of architecture, the exhibition foregrounds him as an innovator of socially responsible and sustainable building practice, whose approaches are more relevant today than ever. Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Straße 2, 79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany T +49 .7621.702.3200, communications@design-museum. de, [www.design-museum.de](www.design-museum.de) The core of the show is formed by a vast selection of objects, models, and documents from the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, as well as archival images by Sebastian Posingis and Dominic Sansoni, with the addition of new photograph

FAQs

What is the exhibition title and where will it be held?

The exhibition is titled “Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses” and it is hosted by the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

How long will the exhibition run?

It runs from 26 September 2026 to 28 February 2027.

What kinds of materials and additions does the retrospective include?

The show includes over 250 exhibits such as drawings, models, furniture, historic footage, artworks, and photographs, plus newly commissioned photography by Iwan Baan and immersive scenography by Lina Ghotmeh.

Oct 28, 2026

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