NARRATOR:
Section model of Sri Lankan Parliament building (1977–1980), Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, was produced by Geoffrey Bawa, Edward Reid, and Begg in 2004 with wood, copper and concrete. The model measures 40 centimetres high, 182 centimetres wide, and 122 centimetres deep.
This detailed model represents an architectural complex. The base plate is made of bare concrete and moulded into an irregular shape with straight edges and different levels. There are light carvings that outline the foundation layout of the parliament, including exterior walls, column footings, doors, and interior walls. The interior is divided into over a hundred rooms.
On the upper half of the model stand four 3D wooden structures. They all have pitched roofs and are connected with walkways. The two shorter buildings are located at the top-left and top-right corners of the complex, which, when viewed from above, appear to be one small square and one big square. The other two taller and larger buildings are close to the horizontal central line. Only half of each building has been modelled as if they have been vertically cut. From the cross-section, the interior of the parliament building can be seen. The parliament building is five storeys high, which is the largest and tallest in the complex. Each storey has a corridor that is considerably wide relative to the scale of the model. At the centre of the main building is a spacious hall that vertically extends more than three storeys. Rising from the centre of the hall are rows of seats arranged in tiers, and from the centre of the ceiling hangs a chandelier in the shape of a tree trunk with branches that grow in different directions. The hall is the parliament chamber. Next to the main building is a square building with a courtyard in its centre. But the model only shows half of the building, which looks like half a square frame when viewed from above. From the cross-section, it can be seen that the building is two storeys high. The layouts of the corridors and rooms on each storey are similar.
On the model’s irregularly shaped base plate, there are some slightly raised or lowered areas that resemble roads and lawns.
