PHILIP FOWLER:
It’s a once in a lifetime to experience. And looking back now, you didn't realize how lucky you were.
PRESENTER:
Philip Fowler worked closely with the renowned Sri Lanka architect Geoffrey Bawa on the design of a brand-new parliament building, commissioned by the country’s newly elected president in 1979. It was built on an artificial island in the centre of a lake, and represented a deliberate break from the country’s more recent history of living under foreign rule. Philip told us more about the design process of this building.
PHILIP FOWLER:
Geoffrey was given complete control of the project by the president. Absolutely no interference from any other politicians. He took his inspiration from the Royal pavilions, the ancient Royal pavilions on the island, especially the one in Kandy, with a double pitched roof. The steep pitched roofs are characteristic throughout the island because of the huge amount of rainfall that we receive during the monsoons.
PRESENTER:
Here at M+, you can see a cross section model of the parliament, including that pitched roof. Then, to the left-hand side, is Philip’s favourite element of Geoffrey’s design: the airy main chamber. He takes us through it.
PHILIP FOWLER:
Geoffrey got the chamber, absolutely spot on, laid out like the Parliament in the house of Commons where government and opposition face each other, not in a semicircle like you find in the Indian parliament. You had a visitor's gallery running all around, flanked at regular intervals by silvered flags, which represented the ancient districts of the island.
And the entire roof of the chamber was this beautiful canopy in silver and gold. It was made up of small aluminium panels linked together with brass links. And right in the centre was hung a beautiful, huge, silver chandelier on a theme of palms because the coconut palm and the Palmyra palm are the most commonly found trees on the island. It gives you that spectacular glittering effect, that richness. This is a country that has a proud, rich, historic heritage, and the silver flags, the chandelier, they set that off brilliantly.
