Project 1 - Parti's and Poche's

Parti

Structure

Circulation (Public)

Geometry

Poche

First floor & Section

Images are a little warped because of camera photo qualities (too big to scan)

Project 1 - Poche

Poche

Top Floor

Project 1 - Precedent Study

Ena De Silva House, Colombo by Geoffrey Bawa

"This house was built for a friend, Ena de Silva, soon after Geoffrey Bawa started practice. There was close cooperation and understanding between client and architect throughout the design and building stages, with the certain knowledge that the house would be lived in well.

All the buildings materials were local - except for the very little glass that was used and the steel reinforcement for the first floor slab and supporting frame. The large mango tree in the courtyard was on the site, but the other almost-as-large Plumeria was brought in with the help of an elephant, a tractor and a host of helpers. The ground floor paving is of granite, cut and also uncut, as in the courtyard; the walls are of brick and plaster, and the roof of tiles.

Taylor, B.B. (1995, pg 46)

It is stated in the "Complete Works of Geoffrey Bawa" that the design for the house for Dr. Noel Bartholomeusz was developed in the spirit of the Ena de Silva House, though the plot was narrower and longer.

The house, from the plans can be seen having a similar roofing system as the one Bawa used for the later Bartholomeusz house. The essential use of courtyard within the complex to separate different sections of the building is also apparent in the plans. From the pictures (and the plans), Bawa designed this building with many openings like his later Design for his office, he adorned the building with windows, doorways, hallways & columns instead of heavy solid walls.

Plans & Elevation

Project 1 - First Attempts of Parti and Poche

Parti

Enclosure, Geometry & Structure

Circulation

Poche

Section

All of the above are scaled sketches/ drawings are scaled to 1:200.

Project 1 - House for Dr. Bartholomeusz

Name: House for Dr. Bartholomeusz (Geoffrey Bawa's Office/ The Architect's Office)

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Architect: Geoffrey Bawa

Client: Edwards, Ried, and Begg

Date: 1961-1963 (20th Century)

Building Usage: Office building/ Complex & Private Residence

"The office had originally been planned as a doctor's house, but by the time the foundations had grown to ground level he had decided to stay where he was and Bawa was able to buy the property and to convert it into an office. Thus, the original spaces were transformed to suit the architect's convenience: kitchen into accounts office, quantity surveying in the pantry, the three upstairs bedrooms into one main drawing room - lying between the two courtyards - into the main meeting room and Bawa's office.

The general progression of spaces, first through the entrance courtyard then through the central court and finally into the great space of the meeting room and the architect's office, establishes a mood which can easily be felt and which would then set the temper of acceptance or rejection - a great advantage for an architectural practice."

Taylor, B.B. (1995, pg 114)

References

- Taylor, Brian Brace, 1995, Geoffrey Bawa, Revised edn, Thames and Hudson, Italy

- http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7285