Geoffrey Bawa House No 11 in Colombo 3

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comments 5

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  John Rice

  :: 27 February 2018 15:01:27

  A huge disappointment and a waste of money. The tour consists of a pamphlet, a video that repeats much of the pamphlet, and a brief tour led, in our case, by a guide who seemed disaffected and disinterested in her job, and who was borderline rude, as noted by other reviewers. The tour itself leads guests down a small hallway and into a cramped living area where no pictures are allowed, and then up to a largely unadorned terrace past an interesting room you can’t enter. Nothing of Bawa’s architecture or actual work is discussed, and other useful details, outside of where he sat and where he had dinner parties, are not provided. I left this tour as quickly as possible with more questions than answers. For an entry fee the same as the National Museum, spend your time and money there. Finally, as for the highly touted rules about being on time, they also ignored them and allowed a couple to enter 15 minutes in to the 45 minute tour. Final recommendation: SKIP.

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  Paula Coombs

  :: 21 February 2018 05:23:47

  Completely awe inspiring... truly a man ahead of his time... staff were very professional and the tour comprehensive

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  Waruna Gomis

  :: 24 January 2018 17:41:15

  Home and 'used to be office' of the master of architecture in Asia. A most Beautiful place whereby in the early 1960's four houses were purchased, onebyone and made into one home. The road path which lead to the four houses was made into a passageway that leads from the main entrance to the rear of the house. Everything here is beautifully kept and has its own place, a column, a painting and even the dog 'Leopold'. Everything looks right and everything plays with the sunlight throughout the year and nothing gets bored. All students, artists, architects and non architects should visit in their lifetime.

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  B R Dayanidhi

  :: 17 January 2018 18:29:15

  Place of Pilgrimage for artists and architects. Lovely collection and we'll preserved. Shows off his style and penchant for having the right piece of art and right piece of furniture in the right place. Well ventilated with small cutouts to let out the heat, bring in light and minimum rainfall into the house. Need to make appointments online before visiting. Small place, tightly managed, no nonsense.

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  Tarushin Pather

  :: 17 January 2018 15:33:32

  Firstly when we arrived 15 minutes early for the tour we were very rudely told by the lady who runs the tour that there was no place for us to wait inside. Furthermore be aware that there is no real parking at the residence and no indication of this , if you arrive by car you need to park in the next street. As you enter there is a beautiful vintage car parked in the garage and the current residents personal vehicle parked next to it. Personally if found this a bit tacky and thought the modern car detracted from the overall effect of the space as presented on the tour. The introductory video gives a good description of the house but offers no insight into the life of Geoffrey Bawa or the overall philosophy and design principles of the house. When led inside the house a description of each area and each point of interest is given and a pamphlet with more information is given to visitors . However , the tour guide was not particularly knowledgeable about the house or the life of Bawa. When asked for more insight the tour guide would simply say 'read the pamphlet'. Bawa possesses the most interesting person collection of paintings and sculptures and it is well worth spending time to appreciate each piece. Be aware that inside were the most interesting artifacts of Bawa's personal collection are housed there are no pictures allowed. It is ridiculous to run a professional tour with no place for visitors to wait, surely some small waiting area could be provisioned inside ? We were largely ignored by the tour guide and treated as more of a nuisance than a guest. Personally I think the tour has a lot to be desired for in both in the presentation of the tour and the attitude of the tours management. To present the work of Geoffrey Bawa is a privilege and should be treated with respect ,those who present his work should be passionate and well read and versed in his life and work . However ,having said the above , the work of Geoffrey Bawa speaks for itself and is a definite must for architecture lovers. There is a real sense of lightness and surprise within the house. I would advise visitors to ignore the inadequacy of the tour and the rude staff and simply enjoy the house as it was meant to be enjoyed.