The Parliament Building of Sri Lanka
Architecture of centers of Governance
Parliament of Sri Lanka
Parliament of Sri Lanka on an island Image Source
The New Parliament Building of Sri Lanka offers a case in which political imperatives, local landscape features, and modernism combine. The initial planning began in 1967. It was revived in 1979 by the Prime Minister with Geoffrey Bawa in charge. Interestingly, Bawa has shown preference for form over the landscape.
The local political imperatives have influenced its location which is ten miles east of Colombo. It is built on a twelve-acre reclaimed island from an ancient waterway called Diyawanna Oya, located in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte. Security is the second critical political imperative and thus Bawa has designed it as an island. There is a huge retaining wall admeasuring 3600 feet long, 6 feet high, 6 feet board at the base which narrows to one and half feet all around the island. A 300-acre lake covering an area of 48000 sq m around it serves as a moat for the building and offers its protection. The artificial lake serves to enhance the serenity of the location. The inclusion of man-made water bodies is pinned in the security factor. Though the inexpensive land cost could have been a reason for choosing the site, the security reason emerges as a critical one.
The building is a simple rectilinear structure that stands out from the water that surrounds it. The design of the building plays with hierarchy and importance to the central pavilion. The hierarchical system defines the form of the building as the tallest structure is the roof of the parliamentary house or the assembly hall. The main chamber is situated in the center and surrounded by a group of five satellite pavilions. At the floor level, all the pavilions are connected forming a continuous ground and first floor. At the roof, each pavilion has an umbrella roof of copper appearing to grow out of its own plinth.
Plan of the Sri Lankan Parliament Image Source
There is a play of symmetry and asymmetry in pavilions to project power and an absence of power. Symmetry is exhibited in the main pavilion which is the focus of power. It is placed around a north-south axis which passes through the debating chamber, the Speaker’s Chair, and the formal entrance portal. It has balconies and galleries rising three-stories. The asymmetric arrangement of the smaller pavilions around this offsets the power of the north-south axis and the scale of the main roof. Consequently, the smaller pavilions hold on to their individual identity and also jointly create an upward sweep of roofs. The use of copper as a material for the roof instead of the tiles offers a tent-like quality referring to the ‘brazen roofs’ of Anuradhapura. Traditional wood and stone columns support the copper roofs.
Umbrella Roof with wood and stone columns. Image source.
The ceremonial drive and the service road with a drawbridge at the back form the two access to the Parliament Building. Further, the ceremonial drive bifurcates into two approaches. The east approach leads to the entrance for the members of the parliament and the west approach is the entrance for the staff.
The building is based on the central axis which leads to roads to access the Parliament building.
The design of the New Parliament Building presents a beautiful composition of three distinct elements which enhances the serenity of the location. The elements consisting of building, island, and water bring to the fore a sense of balance in the elements of nature. Yet, the design of the building with strong geometric features and the powerful use of an axis stands out. It thus became one of the few projects of Bawa in which allowed form to dominate the landscape.
Landscape with the building. Image Source
Article By:
Dr. Vandana Talegaonkar, Ar. Nisha Parikh
Images by : Ar. Anushka Juneja