In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive.

This episode is a walk through Lunuganga on a cool January day with Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, naturalist, photographer and author of 'A Naturalist Guide to the Trees of Sri Lanka'. Gehan uncovers the intricacies of Lunuganga's flora and the fauna that flourish in its embrace as he reflects on the histories and migrations of select trees along the path and the influence of humans on globalised horticulture.

This episode follows a path from the Reading Room to the Field of Jars passing by the Jackfruit, Bilin, Mahogany, Mango, Araliya, Na, Fishtail Palm and Hora trees. A map with the sites and sounds of this episode along with other resources are available on our websites.

To Lunuganga: https://lunuganga.garden/Tree-Talks-EP01-Rooted-Histories
Geoffrey Bawa Trust: geoffreybawa.com/tree-talks

Special thanks to Mr Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne for his expertise and animated exploration of Lunuganga and Shamin de Silva for editing and sound design in this episode.

Tree Talks: Rooted Histories

This special episode on our Oral Histories podcast series features a conversation with 4 close friends–architects Amila de Mel, Channa Daswatte, Jaime de la Pena and Sumangala Jayathilake. The conversation takes place at Number 11, Geoffrey Bawa’s residence, in the office; the same space in which they all worked with Geoffrey as young architects in the late ’80s and early ’90s. They discussed their experience of working on landmark projects such as the Kandalama Hotel and the Singapore Cloud Centre, and the atmosphere of working in the office at this time; the last phase of Bawa’s practice and a unique period in which several important projects were designed.

The Oral Histories Project is an ongoing endeavour that will continue after the centenary year celebrations, and the Trust encourages submissions of potential historians and anecdotes to archives@gbtrust.net.

Oral Histories: Amila de Mel, Channa Daswatte, Jaime de la Peña & Sumangala Jayatillaka

The Sri Lankan Architect Geoffrey Bawa is one of the most important and influential Asian architects of the 20th century. The podcast of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust builds on the repository of information available on Bawa and his practice, as well as the discourse on art and architecture in the island, through oral histories, lectures and discussions.

Oral Histories: Amila de Mel, Channa Daswatte, Jaime de la Peña & Sumangala Jayatillaka

Geoffrey Bawa Trust

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