CoLOMBO, SRI LANKA
Open House COLOMBO

23-24 & 30-31March 2024

About Open House Colombo

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust has been the local organiser for Open House Colombo from its first edition in 2022. This Open House programme has since spanned two locations—Colombo and Bentota, Sri Lanka—and spotlighted buildings by architects including Geoffrey Bawa, Minnette de Silva, Justin Samarasekera, Panini Tennekoon, and Valentine Gunasekara.

The Trust has been celebrating the 75th anniversary of Lunuganga, Geoffrey Bawa’s garden in Bentota, over the past year. In accordance with the motifs of the programme, the theme for last year’s Open House was “Gardens and Green Spaces.” This same concept will now be brought to Colombo in 2024. A combination of publicly-accessible and privately-owned locations will debut in Open House Colombo including places of worship, government properties, family homes, and spaces that serve niche community needs.

Several of the properties will offer tours by relevant specialists. A leading permaculture expert in Sri Lanka who designed the community garden of Saara Nilla will share her insights, while Ishq Colombo will feature a tour led by two of its interior designers who worked closely alongside architect Channa Daswatte on the project. Visitors to the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour, which recently released a special 50th anniversary publication detailing its history, will receive a tour from the book’s researcher and compiler. Two prominent Sri Lankan academics will guide visits both to the Kanatte General Cemetery and Gordon Gardens, the private garden on the grounds of the president’s house. At other sites including Lakmahal Community Library and the Bawa-designed Chloe de Soysa House, both of which are family owned and operated, family and friends will be present on-site.