In the time of the great kingdoms
The Buddhist architecture shows an exceptional ingenuity and know-how. How not to be dazzled by the amazing Dambulla Rock Temple? Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, this large religious complex houses 5 sanctuaries, 4 monasteries and 80 caves which are themselves the settings for 2,100m2 of wall paintings and 157 Buddha statues, the oldest of which date back to the 12th century. These rock sanctuaries are characterized by an open conception of space. There are no partitions to limit the progress of the faithful who naturally follow the path traced by the colored decorative elements. These troglodyte jewels are almost an exception in a landscape otherwise more marked by traditional Buddhist temples. The highlight of these temples is the dagoba (stupa), a sacred building containing relics of the Buddha and sacred objects. The general shape of the dagoba is reminiscent of a bell topped by a cube, itself topped by a pole. The dagoba is made of bricks, and its surface is most often whitewashed. The central point of the religious complexes, it is often placed on a sculpted platform, the vahalkada, to which the faithful access through doors and stairs placed at the four cardinal points. Once on the platform, the faithful can start their ritual walk always in a clockwise direction in order to have the reliquary on the right of the body, symbol of purity in Buddhism.
Besides the dagoba, other important buildings make up the Buddhist temples. The vatadage, structures found only in Sri Lanka, are circular relic buildings consisting of two "enclosures", one consisting of columns that once supported wooden roofs, the other consisting of a sort of brick parapet decorated with fine carvings. The most beautiful examples of vatadage are to be seen in Polonnaruwa and Medirigiriya. Another purely Sri Lankan element is the Bodhi Tree. Each temple has a cutting of this legendary Pagoda Fig Tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree is placed in the center of a rectangular or circular platform, surrounded by a palisade or a wall. The most venerated is the Jawa Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura.
In Polonnaruwa, you can also observe patimagharas, sanctuaries of the image, housing a statue of Buddha and decorated with sublime polychrome paintings recounting the life of the Blessed. Their size varies according to that of the statue and some can reach a colossal size like the Thuparama of Polonnaruwa. Whatever their size, their plan is immutable: a porch and a vestibule precede the rectangular or square room where the statue stands. The very rigorous Buddhist monks were wary of this "education" through images, but the rulers of the great kingdom of Kandy developed this art of painting with pomp and splendor (which can be seen in the cave temples of Dambulla mentioned above!) Marking the separation between the sacred and profane worlds, the "moonstones", stones in the shape of a semicircle, are placed on the threshold of the temples. Arranged concentrically, their motifs illustrate the path leading to liberation from earthly contingencies and passions. Besides the masterpieces of Polonnaruwa or Anuradhapura, the most famous temple in the country is undoubtedly the Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy, surrounded by a deep moat. This Buddhist architecture was able to unfold all its power thanks to the support of the great kingdoms where Buddhism was the official religion. It was these powerful kings who also allowed the construction of monasteries. These bastions of faith generally followed a quadrilateral plan with an outer enclosure delimiting the spaces reserved for daily life, and a second enclosure delimiting an imposing central platform supporting the sacred buildings. The most astonishing of these monasteries are those of Arankale and Ritigale. Built in remote areas in the middle of the forest, they are characterized by a wide paved roadway conducive to ritual and meditative walking, leading to twin platforms connected by a stone bridge. Devoid of any decoration or ostentation and full of geometric harmony, these monasteries are authentic stone jewels.
The great Sri Lankan kingdoms are also inseparable from the great sacred cities they built. The ruins of Polonnaruwa give a glimpse of the original splendor of this beautiful garden city whose temples and palaces often had stone foundations and brick or wooden superstructures. The remains of the Nissanka Malla and Parakramabahu Palaces are particularly interesting, as are those of the Vijayabahu Palace in Anuradhapura. But it is the ancient city of Sigiriya that perhaps best symbolizes the power of these great Sri Lankan kings. It is on the top of the Sigiriya Rock "Lion Rock", more than 180 m high, that the parricide king Kassyapa built an impregnable citadel to protect himself from his brother whom he had failed to kill! Millions of bricks were embedded in the rock to create galleries and staircases leading into the mouth of a colossal brick and plaster lion marking the entrance to the citadel. Other feats: those of the water architecture. Lotus-shaped basins, royal pools such as Ath Pokuna in Lankarama built for the bathing of elephants, and of course dams, dykes and tanks (name given to reservoirs) dotting the plains, especially between Colombo and Sigiriya, are all proof of the building genius of these kings.
Sri Lanka also has very beautiful witnesses of the Hindu culture of which the temple or kovil is the proud representative. Separated from the profane world by high walls pierced by doors, the kovil is characterized by an entrance flanked by gopuram, high rectangular towers with floors (always in odd number) symbolizing the mythical Mount Meru, generally decorated with numerous and imposing statues as well as with inlays of colors, and intended to guide the faithful. The heart of the temple is occupied by a sanctuary, the garbhgriha (literally "the chamber of the entrails") itself topped by a dome or a pyramid. A covered space is built around the sanctuary to allow the faithful to perform their ritual walk, again, in a clockwise direction. The colonial period and the Civil War led to the destruction of many of these masterpieces, and many have been rebuilt recently. Among the most beautiful, do not miss: the Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, the Kerimalal Naguleswaram temple or the beautiful Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna.
In parallel to these official and religious architectures, Sri Lanka has very early seen the development of a vernacular architecture symbolized by the so-called cadjan (coconut palm) dwelling. The latter consists of a wooden structure supporting extremely resistant woven palm fences. Some dwellings have, on the contrary, walls made of mud and straw cob. In all cases, the roofs are made of palm leaves.
Colonial heritage
Some of the moated forts retain their Lusitanian origins, as do some of the houses with high gables and covered galleries in front. But it was the Dutch who left their mark on the island. In military matters, they reinforced the forts with bastions and powerful stonework, before taking inspiration from the citadels of Vauban, recognizable by their star-shaped plan. The forts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Manmar and Colombo are perfect examples of this evolution of military architecture. This defensive architecture also gave birth to authentic fortified cities of which Galle is the most beautiful representative. The Dutch reinforced the great fort by adding the famous bastions of the Star, the Sun and the Moon, while behind its crenellated ramparts, the city displays a very European urbanism with its maze of alleys and its houses with Gothic windows, galleries, tiled roofs and chiseled friezes and mantling. The Dutch governor's residence with its promenade leading to the sea and ending with a Florentine balustrade is another superb symbol of this resolutely eclectic architecture. The churches are not to be outdone and skilfully combine a quasi-defensive structure (thick, solid walls) with sober decorative elements (arches, stained glass windows), such as the Wolvendaal church in Colombo. The Dutch did not only import their styles, they also imported their immoderate love of canals! To facilitate the transport of spices along the coast, they built many waterways, especially around Negombo. Very European, the Dutch presence nevertheless tried to adapt to the local climatic conditions, adding as much as possible courtyards and arcades, as the Old Dutch Hospital in Colombo shows. No doubt they were inspired by the Sinhalese domestic architecture that developed in parallel and that can be recognized in particular by its windows with integrated vents designed to guarantee freshness, its beautiful ornamented doors, and its organization around one or more interior courtyards lined with arcades..., all of which ensure privacy and comfort. A layout that has nothing to do with the compact pavilion placed in the center of a garden that the English settlers were so fond of! This English presence was especially felt in the gigantic tea plantations, creating towns that looked like little England, such as Nuwara Eliya with its golf course, clubhouse and library, while the plantation workers, mostly Tamils, resided (even today) in small, basic housing complexes adjacent to the factories called "colonies". Planters' bungalows with mantled eaves and rest-houses, small hotels recognizable by their verandas, also dot the plantations. Railway stations, colleges, clock towers, public buildings and racetracks are neoclassical, Victorian, Italianate or neo-Tudor, mixing red bricks, half-timbering, wrought iron and romantic turrets. Among the most amazing are: the Queen's Hotel and the Kandy train station, the Colombo National Museum, the Nuwara Eliya Post Office, or the College House of the University of Colombo.
Modern and contemporary architecture
The great figure of modern Sri Lankan architecture is Geoffrey Bawa... initially a lawyer by training! It was at the time of Independence, after acquiring an abandoned rubber plantation in Lunuganga, that he decided to leave the law to train as an architect and be able to transform this unique place in his own image. His property became the manifesto of a tropical modernism imbued with poetry and nature. For Bawa, architecture must be a link between past, present and future, while fitting harmoniously into its environment. To achieve this, the architect creates free and open plans that let in nature and light through large windows, terraces and green roofs. He also uses certain characteristic features of Sri Lankan architecture such as courtyards and interior basins, colonnaded passageways and terracotta tile roofs. Among his most famous achievements are the two elegant pavilions of the Seema Malaka Temple in Colombo, the Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla and of course the Parliament of Sri Lanka. For the occasion, the architect drained a marshy land to create an island in the heart of an artificial lake, thus echoing the irrigation works carried out during the period of the great kingdoms. The Parliament is an asymmetrical composition of pavilions with copper roofs that seem to levitate above the terraces A modernism far removed from that of the Bank of Ceylon, with resolutely Western accents, just like the World Trade Center Colombo with its twin towers deploying their rounded silhouettes of glass and concrete 152 m high.
In 2004, the island was hit by a tsunami. 100,000 homes were destroyed and entire villages were razed. If the most touristic areas were quickly rebuilt, especially in the southern part of the island, many areas in the north struggled to recover, the inhabitants being rehoused in concrete villages without soul. After this tragedy, it was decreed that any construction within 100 m of the ocean would be prohibited ... but faced with the pressure of tourism, the coastline has quickly experienced a new phase of concrete. At the same time, some people have sought to develop more sustainable and humane solutions. This is the case of the famous Japanese architect Shigeru Ban who has realized an amazing project of 100 houses in Kirinda. The aim was to adapt the houses to the climate and to use local materials and labor (rubber wood for the partitions, compressed earth blocks for the walls). A few years later, Shigeru Ban returned to the island to design the Villa Vista, with its elegant play on volume and perspective and its roof made of cement panels covered with coconut leaves to ensure perfect integration with the environment. Sri Lanka has also attracted another great figure of Japanese architecture: Tadao Ando, who designed the Pringiers House in Mirissa, a fascinating monolith of concrete jutting out into the sea. Among other astonishing contemporary creations, let us note: the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaska Theatre in Colombo, whose 8-petal lotus flower structure is inspired by the lotus basin of Polonnaruwa, or the Clear Point Residence Building with its vertical gardens whose plants contribute to cooling the building, while the irrigation is done by a rainwater recovery system. A desire for sustainability can be found in the many spas, lodges and resorts dotting the island, such as the Wild Coast Tented Lodge in Palatupana and the Yala Hotel/Uga Chena Huts, with their astonishing thatched domes and wooden structures; or the Santani Wellness Resort and Spa in Kandy, with its harmony of stone, wood and concrete, and its overhangs on stilts, to better adapt to the topography of the area. Sobriety, purity, respect for the spirit of the place and the environment preside over the creation of these places of escape and well-being.
