Modernity in Architecture in Relation to Context A Thesis Presented to The Academic Faculty by Arief B. Setiawan In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Georgia Institute of Technology May 2010 Copyright © 2010 by Arief B. Setiawan Modernity in Architecture in Relation to Context Approved by: Dr. Ronald Lewcock, Advisor Dr. Brian Brace Taylor School of Architecture School of Architecture and Design Georgia Institute of Technology New York Institute of Technology Dr. Sonit Bafna Kevin Low School of Architecture Deparment of Architecture Georgia Institute of Technology University of Malaya Dr. John Peponis School of Architecture Georgia Institute of Technology Date Approved: April 2, 2010 For young karls, wherever they may be. Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to many individuals who in many different ways have assisted in the completion of this dissertation. My advisor, Dr. Ronald Lewcock, who served as the single most important individual to encourage my research interest. His knowledge, thoughtful criticism, advice, and patience have made my research and my school years truly enjoyable. Members of the committee: Dr. Sonit Bafna, Dr. John Peponis, Dr. Brian Brace Taylor, and Kevin Low. I am sincerely grateful for their time and criticisms. Dr. Walter Adamson, for his willingness to read and to comment parts of this dissertation. Prof. Sabir Khan, who continuously provided generous support during difficult time through graduate research/teaching assistantship and served as a mentor over the last several years. The most valuable part of my research was done in Sri Lanka. I would like to acknowledge Barbara Sansoni, Dominic Sansoni, and the Sansoni family for their warm welcome and endless efforts in helping me to proceed field work. I would like to especially thank Anura Ratnavibhushana, Laki Senanayake, and Channa Daswatte for their insight to the life and work of Geoffrey Bawa. I am thankful to Rajiv Wanasundera for his friendship and endless support. iv My thanks also go to Prof. Doug Allen, Prof. Ellen Dunham-Jones, Dr. Ameen Farooq, Dr. Wilson Barnes, Maxwell Creighton, and the late Dr. Tom Galloway, who in many different ways have made my graduate education possible. I would also like to thank Prof. Revianto Budi Santoso for his friendship and assistance from half-way around the world. I would like to extend my gratitude to Manu Sobti for opening the door for me. I was fortunate in having stimulating colleagues in Myung Seok Hyun, Daphne, Tony, Ermal, Saleh Uddin, Hazem, Pegah, Elif, Zamila, Selen, Anne Gerondelis, Gary Parker, and Bob Tango. I would like to thank Al and Lola Pierce and Kinari Web for the opportunity to turn my research agenda into a design exercise. A special word of thanks to my fantastic students at CFY Georgia Tech and SPSU, Charlotte, and the Borneo Workshop group: Allyn, Tarek, Joyce, Sarah, Daniel, Josef, Kelly, Kim, Ryan, Ted, Rebekah, Colleen, Sal, Niquelle, David Cowan, Craig Zimring, and Bob Farrow. Most of all my heartfelt thanks to my parents, sisters, brothers, and family for their love and unconditional support. Especially, I wish to acknowledge Dessi, for her emotional support, patience and understanding. v Table of Contents: Acknowledgments iv List of Figures viii Illustration credits xii Summary xiii Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Modern Architecture and Local Contexts 1 1.2. Methodology 9 1.3. Thesis Outline 12 Chapter 2. The Past and the Present in the Works of Geoffrey Bawa 17 2.1. Introduction 17 2.2. Geoffrey Bawa of Sri Lanka 17 2.3. Analyses of Case Studies 26 2.3.1. The Ena de Silva House 26 2.3.1.1. Background and the description of the house 26 2.3.1.2. Experiences inside the house 29 2.3.1.3. The ordering of memories 39 2.3.2. Yahapath Endera/ Halghasena Farm School, Hanwella 41 2.3.2.1. Background and description of the school 41 2.3.2.2. Features of the school 44 2.3.2.3. Interior spaces 54 2.3.3. The Heritance (Triton) Hotel 58 2.3.3.1. Background of the Heritance (Triton) Hotel 58 2.3.3.2. Site plan and plans 59 2.3.3.3. Experiences in the Heritance Hotel 62 2.4. Characteristics of the Works of Geoffrey Bawa 74 2.4.1. Site Plan 76 2.4.2. Spatial Arrangement 80 2.4.3. Formal Appearance 89 2.4.4. Structure and Materials 94 2.5. Concluding Remarks 96 Chapter 3. Bawa in Various Contexts 106 3.1. Introduction 106 3.2. The Danish Connections 107 3.3. Trends in Danish Architecture 110 3.4. Danish Architecture in the International Scene 114 3.5. The English Debate and the Architectural Review 116 3.6. The Picturesque and Architecture of Garden 123 3.7. Bawa and the Architectural Association School 128 3.8. Exploring the Past 134 3.9. Socio-Political Milieu: Past and Ethnic Politics in Sri Lanka 141 vi 3.10. Concluding Remarks 147 Chapter 4. A Spectrum of Comparisons: Notes on Various Case Studies 158 4.1. Introduction 158 4.2. Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio, Auburn University, Alabama 158 4.2.1. Bryant House, Mason’s Bend, Alabama 159 4.2.2. Notes on the works of Mockbee and the Rural Studio 166 4.3. Gregory Burgess: Aboriginal Cultural Centers, Australia 170 4.3.1. The Brambuk Living Cultural Centre and The Uluru Kata-Tjuta Cultural Centre 170 4.3.2. Notes on the two projects of Gregory Burgess 177 4.4. The Case of Y. B. Mangunwijaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 179 4.4.1. Kampung Kali Code, 1984-86 179 4.4.2. Notes on the work of Mangunwijaya 185 4.6. Construction of Identity 187 4.7. Current Theories of Regionalism 191 4.8. Concluding Remarks 194 Chapter 5. The Attitude of Modernity 201 5.1. Introduction 201 5.2. Cultural and Societal Modernity 201 5.3. History, Time and Tradition 208 5.4. Tradition and Experiences 214 5.5. Resurrecting Experiences 219 5.6. Concluding Remarks 223 Chapter 6. Conclusions 232 Selected Bibliography 238 vii List of Figures: Figure 2.1: Lunuganga, Bawa’s house and garden 19 Figure 2.2: The architect’s house, Colombo 20 Figure 2.3: The Bentota Beach Hotel, Bentota 21 Figure 2.4: Serendib Hotel, Bentota 22 Figure 2.5: The Neptune Hotel, Beruwela 22 Figure 2.6: Subodhi Institute of Integral Education, Piliyandala 23 Figure 2.7: The Club Villa resort, formerly Bawa’s villa, Bentota 24 Figure 2.8: Kandalama hotel, Kandalama 25 Figure 2.9: The Ena de Silva house, floor plan and roof plan; a diagram of the section of the house, showing the sleeping areas in shades 28 Figure 2.10: Interior view of the house 30 Figure 2.11: Diagram—plan with axes and circulation path 32 Figure 2.12: Sri Lankan walauwes 32 Figure 2.13: Diagram—peripheral gaps 33 Figure 2.14: Diagram—courtyards and roof-umbrella 33 Figure 2.15: Columns; a view of a Sinhalese walauwe 35 Figure 2.16. Inner courtyard of the Ena de Silva House; Muslim houses and mashrabiyya 36 Figure 2.17: Interior elements 38 Figure 2.18: Sequence of views 40 Figure 2.19: Views of the Hanwella school 43 Figure 2.20: Diagram of the courtyards 45 Figure 2.21: Diagram of the L- and U-shaped clusters 45 Figure 2.22: Diagram of the pinwheel plan 46 viii Figure 2.23: Diagram of the path and axis 46 Figure 2.24: Sinhalese village 47 Figure 2.25: Diagram of the figure ground 47 Figure 2.26: Diagram of the elevations of the dormitory 49 Figure 2.27: Diagram of the courtyard 49 Figure 2.28: Diagram of the path 50 Figure 2.29: Diagram of the walls 50 Figure 2.30: A Buddhist monk house 51 Figure 2.31: Dutch colonial architecture: a house and a hospital 52 Figure 2.32: Portuguese villages 54 Figure 2.33: Diagram of the structural bays, wall-enclosure, and roof umbrella 55 Figure 2.34: Interior space: a. diagram of the umbrella b. a sketch for the Maison Citrohan 56 Figure 2.35: Interior space with cells for students. Each cell contains built-in shelves and bunks (left); Diagram of a window as alight-scoop 58 Figure 2.36: a. Diagram of the masses; b. Diagram of the axes 61 Figure 2.37: Diagram of the sliding focal point and the panoramic view of the lobby 63 Figure 2.38: Cascaded roofs 64 Figure 2.39: The pool and the lobby 65 Figure 2.40. The stepped courtyard 67 Figure 2.41: Diagram of the major and minor courtyards 68 Figure 2.42: Lobby with columns and exposed beams 71 Figure 2.43: Columns 71 Figure 2.44: A window in Triton (right) and diagrams of typical windows of Dutch colonial houses; the frames are in darker shades 73 ix Figure 2.45: Windows overlooking the courtyard 73 Figure 2.46: Examples of architecture of Minette de Silva: a house in Kandy, 1953 (left) and Senanayake Flat, Colombo, 1957 (right) 74 Figure 2.47: An example of architecture of Valentine Gunasekara, Tangalle Bay Hotel, 1969-72 75 Figure 2.48: Subodhi Institute for Integral Education, Piliyandela 78 Figure 2.49: Various plans of Sri Lankan houses highlighting the courtyard 82 Figure 2.50: Central courtyard of the Bentota Beach Hotel 84 Figure 2.51: Serendib Hotel, the shaded areas are the elongated courtyards 84 Figure 2.52: The architect’s office, Colombo. The circulation path is in red, the axis is in blue, and the shaded areas are the courtyards 88 Figure 2.53: Various shapes of the roofs in Sri Lanka 91 Figure 3.1: Aarhus University (left) and Nyborg Library (right), Kay Fisker.