Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses

Covering the entire career of the renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, this comprehensive monograph offers original perspectives on one of the most influential twentieth-century architects in South Asia, whilst featuring new photography of built projects and never-before published material from the architect's own archive.

Accompanying the Vitra Design Museum’s retrospective Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses, co-produced with the M+ and the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, this monograph contextualises Geoffrey Bawa’s practice within post-colonial Sri Lanka, and situates his work in relation to contemporary discourses around collaboration, social enterprise and ecology.

The book features scholarly essays, a never-before published text by Geoffrey Bawa, fully illustrated descriptions of all exhibited projects, comprehensive listings of his entire oeuvre, and interviews with leading contemporary architects inspired by his work. Richly illustrated with archival photography, many taken by Geoffrey Bawa himself, and newly commissioned photography by Iwan Baan, the book is a visual treat for anyone interested in twentieth-century architecture and design.

Johan Deurell is a Curator at the Vitra Design Museum. Before joining the museum, he held curatorial positions at the Zaha Hadid Foundation, London, and the Röhsska Museum of Design and Craft, Gothenburg. He has also worked as an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, London, and the University for the Creative Arts, Surrey, and as a Guest Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London. In tandem with curatorial and academic positions, he has edited several books on art and design, and contributed to The Art Newspaper, Architectural Design, C20 Magazine, Frieze, and Icon, among others. Johan is a graduate of the History of Design programme at the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Shayari de Silva joined the Geoffrey Bawa Trust in 2018 where she is Chief Curator. Shayari steered the establishment of the Trust’s curatorial programme, curating several exhibitions and festivals at the Trust, and edited Geoffrey Bawa: Drawing from the Archives (Lars Müller publishers, 2023). She co-edited Perspecta 51: Medium, the Yale Architecture Journal published by the MIT Press in 2018 and has contributed texts to the Architectural Review, E-flux Architecture, Future Observatories Journal, and Koozarch. She worked previously at the Yale Art Gallery and Yale Centre for British Art, where she was a Bartels Scholar. Shayari received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from Yale University. She is a board member of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums.

Ikko Yokoyama is the Senior Curator and Head of Design and Architecture at M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture, in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. Since joining M+ in 2016, she has played a pivotal role in building its foundational Design and Architecture collection and developing various exhibitions and public programmes. Additionally, her external engagements include being the Co-President of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums (ICAM), a committee member of the Design-DESIGN MUSEUM, an expert committee member of the National Center for Art Research, and a member of the expert advisory group for the Council for Cultural Affairs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan.