Architect Geoffrey Bawa is one of Asia’s strongest luminaries — with his nod to modernism, distinctive approach to create spaces suffused with light, and use of indigenous materials. His legacy is also the story of Sri Lanka.

For a nation that has continually braved political and economic crises, responses to solving a problem had to be immediate. During a time of economic restrictions, Bawa created furniture for his spaces that were, like his architecture, drawn from his environment and inspired by the times. He worked with local metalworkers, woodworkers and even fibreglass boat builders, and incorporated handmade fabrics — often deviating from the formal practice of making furniture.

Now in a new exhibition, Phantom Hands has launched a collection of furniture and other material drawn from the architect’s original designs. The Bengaluru-based modern furniture outfit, which began as an online store for vintage furniture, today showcases its creations in design galleries and furniture showrooms across the world. Exhibited at The Bawa Space in Colombo, this is the first time a furniture studio is presenting renditions; it’s also unique because an artist explored the histories within his oeuvre, to consider how they can be meaningful to contemporary times and needs.

Re-edition of the Bentota lounge chair | Photo Credit: Phantom Hands

‘Plurality of his practice’

Aparna Rao of Phantom Hands met Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte serendipitously in 2022, in Zurich. “Two weeks after my friend Jay Mehta introduced us, Aparna came to Sri Lanka and was enamoured by the story [of Bawa] and his designs,” says Daswatte, who had worked closely with Bawa and is now chairperson at the Geoffrey Bawa Trust. “We started off thinking we would do six sculptural pieces that had been shown at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum [in Germany] in 2004.” But the prototyping that followed left Rao unhappy.

Aparna Rao of Phantom Hands and Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte  | Photo Credit: Phantom Hands

“I found it difficult to relate to the pieces as they seemed to play a small part in his strong, iconic architectural spaces,” she recalls. So, she went back to Sri Lanka in 2023, and things shifted. “When I saw more original pieces at the Kandalama hotel, I began to realise how many different ideas, and even worlds, Bawa had managed to meld together in a harmonious way. I was intrigued by the plurality at the heart of his practice, something that had eluded me from afar.”

The exhibition, titled Design in the Moment, features 22 re-editions, prototypes and material samples from the architect’s practice — all hand-built in Bengaluru.

Edited excerpts from an interview with the curators:

Re-editions of Bawa’s sofas | Photo Credit: Phantom Hands

Why is this exhibition important?

Daswatte: Design is not always pre-meditated; it needs to come from within to resolve a problem of the moment. Bawa’s architecture was very much a response to the economic restrictions, wars and tight budgets that Sri Lanka faced in the 1960s and ’70s. He demonstrated his ability — whether it was building a hotel for tourists or the furniture needed for it. This approach becomes more and more important today, as we think of being sustainable and responsible in the world... to design with thought and impact and the materials you have. Good design endures if there is thought behind it.

Channa Daswatte 

Why are the pieces called re-editions?

Rao: We [Phantom Hands] thought that the idea of a ‘reproduction’ is incorrect because we do so much research into what an ‘original’ piece must have looked like. Then, we contemporise it — to look like it was made today and not in the 50s, but without losing any of its character. The idea of re-edition suggests that process of research and interpretation. I was also aware of the question of what it means to replicate a Bawa piece at this time in Bengaluru [and not Sri Lanka], and whether it would fit into the same space as some of the other pieces in our catalogue.

You must have had to consider a completely different subset of materials.

Rao: Yes, there is a big shift because the first six designs were wood, with the exception of one metal chair. The ironic thing is that I don’t understand wood; I understand paper, metals and composite materials, and precision machining a lot better because of my primary life as an artist. So, I made versions of prototypes and continued till it led to ‘my version’. We got the exact same type of fabric, vibrant and strong in character [but unsuitable for contemporary production], and with some technological interventions, were able to achieve what we wanted. The essence of the piece is unaffected, and only amplified by becoming more precise and contemporary.

Next Door Cafe chair | Photo Credit: The Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts

Daswatte: Everyone is happy with the level of detail in these pieces. The Barefoot company — founded in 1964 by one of Bawa’s original suppliers, Barbara Sansoni — helped source the textiles. The materials were chosen so that they would work in Sweden or Japan. They are the same handlooms that Bawa used, but made stronger and better with technology. Also, since the tropical hardwoods that he used are no longer permitted, we used woods [such as teak and red oak] that are acceptable for the worldwide market. In that sense, we are also responding to the moment.

I also want people to think about how we design things. The skill of the designer is not to make something that has never been made before, but to make it useful and meaningful for the moment it is made for. The exhibition, while partly a launch of this collaboration, also aims at presenting something that will excite international markets. After Colombo, the plan is to take it to Japan and China.

Design in the Moment is on till May 31, 2025, at The Bawa Space, Colombo.

The writer is the founder-director of Eka Archiving Services.