ABOUT ARCASIA
ARCASIA, the Architects Regional Council Asia, is a council consisting of the Presidents of National Institutes of Architects in the Asian region who are members of the organisation. Founded in 1969, this council meets annually to deliberate and to give collective direction and representation to matters that affect the architectural profession in the region. (www.arcasia.org)
FORUM IN COLOMBO
The ARCASIA Forum, held biennially is a platform for on-going discussion between architects and thinkers on current architectural ideas and environment issues. It truly exemplifies the spirit of ARCASIA, to bridge the commonalities and celebrate the diversity of the 22 Member Institutes encompassing the Asian region.
At the 43rd Council Meeting in 2023 in Boracay, Philippines, the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) agreed to host the 44th Council Meeting and the 22nd Forum. Initially it was slated to be held in September 2024 amidst the breathtaking natural beauty at Kandalama, within
the edifice of the legendary Geoffrey Bawa’s magnum opus (Kandalama Hotel, 1992-96, now known as the Heritance Kandalama). Unfortunately, the dates later clashed with the Sri Lanka national presidential elections, and due to security and logistics concerns SLIA sought for a postponement of the event to 13-19 January 2025, in Colombo instead. (www.arcasiaforum22.com)
STARTING THE WEEK THAT WAS…
After almost a decade since my last trip to Sri Lanka I very much looked forward to revisiting this enchanting island and participating in ARCASIA Forum22, and to reconnect with my fellow Asian Architect friends and make new ones too.
Setting off on Saturday night vide MH179 meant I could have two full days of ‘touristing’ before the meetings commence on Tuesday. With three-and-half hours in flight and two-and-half hours’ time difference, I arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport together with ARCASIA President Saifuddin Ahmad and my travel sidekick Dave before midnight. Thanks to SLIA’s Silk Route arrangements we were ushered through customs and immigration right to the Arrival Lounge to be met with a warm welcome by SLIA President Archt. Rohana Bandara Herath, Senior VP Archt.
Dilumini De Mel (who, at the time of writing is now the newly-elected SLIA President) together with Archt. Damith Premathilake (Forum Committee) and Archt. Sumedha Wijekoon (Chairman, Logistics).
We were checked into the Kingsbury Colombo, the official hotel for ARCASIA meeting delegates and Forum participants located in the heart of the city with views of the Indian Ocean and the Port City. (www.thekingsburyhotel.com)
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INSPECT, INSPECT
Duty calls come first, and the day started (not with touristing) but with inspections of the meeting and conference venues with President Saif and the SLIA/Forum22 organising team. After a tour of the hotel event venues – Ballroom, Victorian hall and Honey Beach bar, we were taken to the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the main venue of Committee and Council Meetings, and the Conference. The BMICH is a convention centre built between 1970-73, a gift from the People’s Republic of China in memory of Solomon Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1956–1959. (www.bmich.com)
Following that, we were taken to SLIA Office at No. 120/7, Vidya Mawatha, a stone’s throw from BMICH, to finalise the forthcoming week’s event details. We then adjourned for a buffet lunch at the revolving restaurant of the Colombo Lotus Tower, standing at a height of 351.5 meters (1,153 feet). Opened in 2022, it has since become a symbolic landmark of Sri Lanka, as the tallest self-supported structure in South Asia. It ranks as the 11th tallest tower in Asia and the 19th tallest tower in the world. The lotus-shaped structure serves various purposes, including communication and observation, as well as leisure facilities. (www. colombolotustower.lk)
AVARTANA
Later in the evening we went to the newly-opened (in September 2024) ITC Ratnadipa, a Luxury Collection hotel part of the Indian hotel chain ITC Hotels, located adjacent to the Galle Face Green and next to Shangri-La Colombo and Taj Samudra hotels. The hotel is 140m tall and accompanied by the 224m Sapphire Residences. Both towers are connected by Ahasa One, a 55m-long sky bridge built 100m above ground, connecting levels 19-21 of the two buildings. After a couple of pre-dinner drinks and canapes at Ahasa, we were treated to a fine-dining experience by a dear friend at Avartana, a restaurant ‘redefining traditional Southern Indian cuisine with a touch of Sri Lankan flavours’. I ordered the seven-course Maya menu, and boy, it sure lived up as Colombo’s #1 restaurant in TripAdvisor!
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MEANDERINGS
A short tuk-tuk (or auto-rickshaw in Lankan) ride from the hotel brought us to the Fort
Railway Station, built in 1906. This rather charming station still retains its original wrought-iron roof trusses and fittings and though dilapidated, is still bustling as the main rail gateway to central Colombo, a major rail hub served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. As the Pettah market area surrounding the station seemed strangely quiet, we decided to move on to the southern flank of the city, again via tuk-tuk —which by the way, can be booked via Uber! So please, don’t delete your Uber app just because you can no longer use it here.
Number 11, 33rd Lane, Bagatalle Rd was next on the itinerary. For the uninitiated (forgiveable only if you are not an architect and reading this), it is the former residence of Geoffrey Bawa. We arrived around 11am only to be told the next tour starts at 2pm so decided to head to 2 Alfred House Rd, a short 10 minutes’ walk away – to the building which used to house Bawa’s offices and now known as Paradise Road The Gallery Café. On the way there I Whatsapped Editor-in-Chief David Teoh to check on his arrival in Colombo and in a twist of serendipity, he too, was heading there; with wife Shuyi and baby Ava in tow! So, lunch we had together, and a wefie with the legend himself before the enlarged entourage headed to Number 11.
HOME-ING ON BAWA
It was my third pilgrimage to Number 11. Bawa in 1958 bought the third in a row of four small houses which lay along a short cul-de-sac at the end of a narrow suburban lane and converted it into a pied-à-terre with living room, bedroom, tiny kitchen and a room. When the fourth bungalow became vacant, this was colonised to serve as dining room and second living room. Ten years later the remaining bungalows were acquired and added into the composition and the first in the row was demolished to be replaced by a four-storey tower. (www.geoffreybawa.com/number-11)
BARELY BAREFOOT
The next stop was to Barefoot, the veritable establishment founded by Barbara Sansoni, a colourist, artist and textile designer.(www.barefootceylon.com) The flagship store, on Galle Road in Colombo, opened since the early 1970s, is housed in a collection of buildings, centred on an old 1920s town house and sells Barefoot goods and a wide range of selected local products, also includes a bookshop, a café and an art gallery at the rear of the building. During my 2014 trip I purchased handwoven floor mats which lasted until today, so I took to re-stocking (for another decade), besides 20 metres of upholstery fabrics at a most reasonable price of RM30/m! Also, a few books added to the library (and luggage weight!)
THAI-IN DUTCH
After a long day of walking and heaving theshopping haul it was time for dinner andwe took a 3-minute stroll across the roadfrom the Kingsbury to the Old ColomboDutch Hospital (known as The Dutch Hospital), considered to be the oldest buildingin the Colombo Fort area dating back tothe Dutch colonial era. It is now a heritage building, and since 2011 transformed into a shopping and dining precinct. The buildinghas five wings forming two courtyards, designed to keep out the heat and humidityand provide a comfortable environmentwithin, and walking around it I felt transported back to Malacca’s own Stadhuysand its Dutch precinct—the resemblance uncanny. We sampled Thai cuisine at Autarch, a change of flavours after the past few days of local fare. (www.instagram.com/autarchcolombo/)
Today also happened to be a fullmoon day, a religious holiday known as Poya in Sri Lanka, and selling alcohol is banned during these days. So, it was back to the hotel rooftop bar for a couple of pineapple and coconut mocktails instead, while viewing the dusk cityscape.
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MEET FOR MEETINGS
Tuesday marked the start of three days of ARCASIA’s annual meetings, all taking place at BMICH. Besides the Office Bearer Meeting, each Committee Chair convened their respective meetings attended by representatives from each Member Institute – ACAE (Education), ACPP (ProfessionalPractice), ACSR (Social Responsibility), ACGSA (Green & Sustainable Architecture) and ACYA (Young Architects). PAM was fully represented in these meetings by itsOfficial Delegates and Observers:
- Ar. Mohd Azli Mohamad Jamil (ACAE)
- Ar. Alvin Lim Hai Seah and Ar. David Teoh Wui Leng (ACPP),
- Ar. Aimi Ramizah Roslan (ACSR)
- Ar. Sarly Adre Sarkum (ACGSA),
- Ar. Muhammad Qhawarizmi Norhisham and Ar. Esmonde Yap Shiwen (ACYA)
Before the lunch break, all delegates convened at the Bridge at the BMICH to witness the Opening of the ARCASIA Exhibition – featuring Country Boards, GreenShowcase and finalists of the AAA2024.
Somehow, I caught a bug and was feverish and coughing since morning, so after the Office Bearers’ tour of the meetings I had to head off to a pharmacy to self-medicate, which gave me an excuse to visit One Galle Face Mall (https://onegalleface.com/), which is Sri Lanka’s first internationally developed and managed mixed use project consisting of four skyscrapers – an office tower, two residential components and the fourth as part of a hotel, with a shopping mall on the podium, which incidentally, is owned by Shangri-Laof Robert Kuok fame.
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COUNCIL MEETING DAY 1
In spite of the party and revelry the night before, the delegates managed to arrive timely enough for the official group photograph to be taken at the steps of the BMICH, at 8.30am. Part of the HonSec’s duties, as I discovered, was to corraleveryone to take their places, making sureeveryone is visible. This took a good part ofan hour, but I think it turned out rather well.
WELCOME GESTURE
In the evening all delegates were transported to the Lotus Tower’s revolving restaurant Blue Orbit for the WelcomeDinner: and true to its name, we were truly and warmly welcomed by both SLIA and the ARCASIA family – especially in light that this is actually my first ever attendance at a major ARCASIA event.
After that, it was the task of corralling delegates to the Cinema Lounge, the venue of the 44th Council Meeting. The formal procession of delegates of each Member Institute with respective country flag into the hall proceeded smoothly. Each Member Institute were to be represented by up to two Official Delegates and Observers each. PAM was representedby: Ar Adrianta Aziz, PAM President andAr Abu Zarim Abu Bakar, PAM Immediate Past President + Observers Ar. S. Thirilogachandran and Ar. Alvin Lim HaiSeah. PAM Past Presidents who helmed ARCASIA were also in attendance:
- Tan Sri Ar. Haji Esa Bin Haji Mohamed (1995-96)
- Datuk Ar. Palaniappan Kasi
(1999-2000) - Datuk Ar. Tan Pei Ing (2013-14), as Office-Bearer & Advisor of current council term
At this Council Meeting 19 Member Institutes were present, excepting Bhutan, North Korea and Myanmar. At the end of the first day of the Meeting, two new Member Institutes were unanimously accepted to join the organisation, making ARCASIA now 24-member strong:
• Cambodia (AAK – ArchitectsAssociation of Khmer)
• Maldives (AAM (mv) – Architects Association Maldives)
In the evening the Fellowship Meeting and Dinner was held at the Victorian,The Kingsbury. The Fellowship consistsprimarily of delegates who have attendedat least two ARCASIA Meetings (henceI don’t qualify, yet!), to reminisce andperhaps put forward suggestions for thebetterment of the organisation.
OH MY CRAB!
For me, this evening was an opportunity toattend a ‘ministerial dinner’ at the DutchHospital precinct. The Ministry of Crab was created in 2011, as ‘a culinary homecoming of Sri Lanka’s legendary mud crab’, (www.ministryofcrab.com) which has long gained popularity for its ‘stars of the show’, ranging from 500g to the 2kg Crabzilla. The three of us – including Anne (ARCASIA Secretariat Officer, also AM’sProject Officer), shared the 1.5kg OMG crab, with OMG prawns each. All in all, itwas a memorable dinner, and the bill wasexpectedly OMG too!
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COUNCIL MEETING DAY 2
The Council Meeting continued its second day sessions, the highlight of whichwas the President-Elect & Deputy ChairElections. PAM’s own Ar. Muhammad Qhawarizmi Norhisham was elected ACYADeputy Chair, as the sole Malaysian representative in the upcoming 2026-27 term, which will be helmed by President-elect Prof Dr. Wu Jiang of Architects Society ofChina (ASC). Prof Wu Jiang was elected in his third bid for the presidency, but only after a nail-biting vote-count which resulted in two of three candidates securing equality of votes, causing President Saifto use his constitutional casting vote to decide the outcome, after conferring withhis Vice-Presidents and IPP. Results:
- President-Elect: Ar. Prof Dr Wu Jiang (ASC),
- Deputy Chair, ACAE: Umar Sayeed (IAP),
- ACPP: Lim Choon Keang (SIA)
- ACSR: Vanessa Ledesma (UAP)
- ACGSA: Tan Szue Hann (SIA)
- ACYA: Mohd Qhawarizmi Norhisham (PAM)
The Host Institute of the 23rd ARCASIA Forum in 2026 was also decided in themeeting, with the Institute of Indian Architects (IIA) winning the bid, over IkatanArsitek Indonesia’s (IAI).
What goes on in an ARCASIA Council Meeting? You can view minutesof the 44th, and previous years’ meetingsat www.arcasia.org/downloads-archive/council-minutes-of-meeting.
AWARDS NIGHT
The evening culminated with the ARCASIA Awards for Architecture 2024 (AAA2024) Ceremony at the Ballroom ofThe Kingsbury. ARCASIA Office Bearers were invited, one by one, to partake in the oil lamp lighting ceremony after which traditional Sri Lankan performances took place. Of the thirteen categories, 7 projects were awarded Gold while 25 others were awarded with Honorary Mention, with 2 more bestowed Special Awards for Sustainability and Social Responsible. An impressive 345 entries were received for this cycle. The sole Malaysian winner was an Honorary Mention for 1 Lasam in Category B-1: Commercial Buildings submitted by Ar. Kuee Sheau Shyuan of Kuee Architecture.
The ARCASIA Thesis of the Year (TOY2024) winners, submitted by students, were also announced at the Ceremony.The full list of AAA2024 winners can be viewed at www.arcasia.org/awards/arcasia-awards-for-architecture-2024-list-of-winners/
DAY 6: FRIDAY, 17 JANUARY
FORUM DAY 1
The first day of Forum22 Conference commenced on the morning of Friday, at the Main Hall of BMICH. The conference was spread over four sessions, each with a Keynote Speech and three Speeches followed by Panel Discussion. The Forum Dinner for participants was later held at the Sapphire, BMICH.
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
I was up and ready at six in the morning, waiting for the van to pick three of us up for the Dambulla & Sigiriya + Village Day Tour, booked on Agoda the night before. Our hotel kindly packed our breakfasts for the early morning, 3.5-hour journey fromColombo north-eastwards to the central region of the island.
CAVING IN
After a pitstop at Kurunegala for coffee, we were taken to Dambulla Royal CaveTemple, the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160m over the surrounding plains, and after climbing up a series of winding steps we reached the summit and entrance to the 5 caves, containing paintings on the walls and roof (or rather, ceiling) and a plethora of statues related to Buddha and his life. There are in total153 Buddha statues, three statues of SriLankan kings and four statues of Vishnuand Ganesh. The murals cover an area of2,100m2. Depictions in the walls of the caves include Buddha’s temptation by demon Mara and Buddha’s first sermon. (https://sigiriyafortress.com/dambullatcave-temple-travel-guide/) We arrived with just 30 minutes to spare, as the temple temporarily closes at 10am for prayers, and a retinue of monks were already thronging into the courtyard as we left to make our way to the base.
UP THE ROCK
Another half-hour on the road and were ached the northern Matale District where Sri Lanka’s fore most UNESCO listedWorld Heritage Site, Sigiriya is located.As an ancient rock fortress, it is a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of granite approximately 180m high – roughly the height of a 60-storey building.
According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Cūḷavaṃsa, this area was originally a large forest, then after storms and landslides it became a hill and was selected by King Kashyapa (AD 477–495) for his new capital. He built his palace on top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure; Sinhagiri, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king’s death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Sigiriya today is one of the best-preserved examples of ancient urban planning.(www.sigiriyafortress.com)
With determination, sweat, andmutual encouragement we all managed toreach the top of the rock! – together with two guys, an American and a Venezuelan who travelled together with us in the van, and eventually made friends with. Alice was undoubtedly the overall climb winner, reaching the peak in 3-inch platforms. Yes.
On the trek down to the base, we witnessed Sigiriya’s iconic cave paintings, frescoes depicting ‘Sigiriya damsels’ orcelestial nymphs, painted on the western face of the rock. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed; at any rate our Editor would likely not publish images of topless ladies in AM!
VILLAGE PEOPLE
The traveling group then split up after this: the American headed to Kandy, while the Venezualan went on the safari. The three of us opted for the Hiriwadunna Village experience, where we sat on a bullock cart before hopping on a row-boat across a lake (or perhaps a largish pond) and then heading to a rustic hut constructed around a large tree where we watched a petite Lankan lady sieve paddy, prepare santan from scratch etc and assisted her to prepare our own lunch meal, well just the fried okra and kangkong – it was already mid-afternoon and we were rather famished as our prior meal was the early breakfast before the rock climbing. I initially feared the village experience would turn out as some touristy gimmick but in the end, we agreed it was a rather quaint, authentic-ish and memorable experience.
I actually only realised, whilst writing— Dambulla/Sigiriya is only 12.5km or a22-minute car ride to Bawa’s Kandalama hotel. This excursion would have been perfect with a night’s stay at the Heritance Kandalama (www.heritancehotels.com/kandalama/). Oh well, maybe the next trip!
CHILL-OUT
The trip back was uneventful — as we were napping all the way! Opting for a quiet dinner we headed to Port City, Down Town Duty Free Mall, a stroll across the road from the Kingsbury and stumbled upon an interesting canopy roof of thatch and glulam timber construction gracing the open dining space of Chill Colombo, and decided to makan there. (www.instagram.com/chill_colombo/) I ordered lamprais, a traditional Sri Lankan dish of Dutch Burgher origin, a complete meal wrapped in a banana leaf, featuring stock-cooked rice, meat curries, and various accompaniments.
DAY 7: SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
FORUM DAY 2
In a departure from the usual conference keynote speech and lectures, the second day of the Forum at BMICH was formatted as Parallel Sessions. Each two-and-quarter-hour session held in Jasmine, Cinema and Ruby halls at 8.45am, 11.20am and2.15pm featured four presenters: two international/regional Architects, a Sri Lankan Architect and an architecture student; with a moderator.
While this Parallel Session format enabled participants to pick-and-choose their preferred themes, it also meant that they could only attend three out of the nine.
PATTERING IN PETTAH & MEANDERS
Any destination trip would be incomplete without a visit to the local market – for me anyway, in search of local produce for future culinary experiments. As it was also our final day in Colombo, we made a walking trip around the Pettah neighbourhood, famous for the Pettah Market, a series of open-air bazaars and markets. It is one of Sri Lanka’s busiest commercial areas, where a huge number of wholesale and retail shops are located. Pettah is derived from the Tamil Pettai, an Anglo-Indian word used to indicate a suburb outside a fort. Today, the Sinhala phrase, pita-kotuwa (outside the fort) conveniently describes the same place. Amongst the haul, cinnamon bark (only RM4 for a bunch!) and a 5kg bag of keeri samba rice.
I passed by the historic Red Mosqueor Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, located onSecond Cross Street in Pettah. Completedin 1909, the mosque was commissioned by the local Indian Muslim community in a hybrid style of architecture, drawing elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture and combining with the Gothicrevival and Neo-classical styles, and bearsa striking resemblance to KL’s Masjid Jamek, constructed contemporaneously. On the walk back, I peeked into the iconic Cargills building on York Street in the centre of Colombo Fort, completed in 1906. One could easily imagine the grandeur of a retail emporium in the historic heart of Colombo but alas, there were but only paltry ten rows of shelving occupying a tiny portion of the ground floor, amidst beautifully crafted original fittings and detailing albeit dilapidated. Hopefully the owner has future grand plans to restore and rehabilitate this edifice.
SPECIAL SCREENING
Day 2 of the Forum culminated at the Cinema Hall with a special film screening of‘ Geoffrey Bawa – The Genius of the Place’, a ‘groundbreaking documentary exploring the work of Sri Lanka’s most important architect, and how he decolonized 20th century architecture and inspired Asia to live more naturally, sustainably and beautifully’. (www.hegeniusoftheplace.com). Produced and directed by Sri Lankan-born Afdhel Aziz (www.afdhelaziz.com), this 74-minute documentary is streaming on Shelter – the Architectural Channel.
FRIENDSHIP NITE
Following that, Forum participants were transported back to The Kingsbury to freshen and dress up for the finale event-Friendship Nite at Honey Beach, the hotel poolside bar. Food and drinks were a plenty whilst Member Institute representatives took turns for group performances on-stage; while many plunged or were plunged into the pool after that! Alas I didn’t manage to stay till the end as my flight MH178 was departing at midnight.
Towards the end of the night the ARCASIA flag was ceremoniously handed over to KIRA (Korean Institute of Registered Architects) as the Host Institute of the upcoming 21st Asian Congress ofArchitects, to be held in Incheon, SouthKorea come September 8-12, 2025. If youlike what you read here, come participatein ACA21 and register at www.aca-21.kr.See you there?
19-20 JANUARY: ARCASIA SPORTS FIESTA
Additionally, Host Institute SLIA also organised ARCASIA Sports Fiesta ’25, with cricket tournament on 19th & 20th January in Colombo, participated by SLIA,IAB, and IIA who won the Championship Cup. Whereas the golf tournament washeld on 20th January at Shangri-la Hotel, Hambantota.
4, 15, 16, 19 JANUARY: CURATED ARCHITECTURAL TOURS
As part of the Forum programme, SLIAalso offered the following tours for delegates and participants to explore Colomboand Sri Lanka: (www.arcasiaforum22.com/tours-all)
- 3 Tours exploring ‘Colombo Architecture’s Past And The Present…’
- 3 Tours to breathe in ‘the Essence of Colombo…
- 3 Tours Diving into the Heritage of Galle and Some Adventure…’
- 2 Tours to Learn from the Master; Ar. Geoffrey Bawa…’
- 4 Tours exploring the ‘Architectural Marvels Of Historic Sri Lanka In Kandy, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura And Polonnaruwa…
- A Tour for the ‘Wildlife Admirers…”
RETROSPECTION
Despite having just over a year to plan and organise, SLIA had made commendable efforts to ensure the success of the Forum and meetings, to which gratitude and appreciation goes to Forum Convenor Archt. Rohana and the entire team of SLIA for their perseverance, and warm hospitality.
As I reflect on my seven days in Sri Lanka, I recall most warmly the camaraderie with the many, many friends I made; which until we met face-to-face in Colombo were mere names and email addresses in my prior communications with them. The spirit of friendship transcends boundaries, age and time – despite being my very first appearance in an ARCASIA event, I felt so welcomed and appreciated, and I truly cherish the souvenirs exchanged with each other.
I dedicate this humble article to all ARCASIANS, and I can also now quite proudly say, I am ARCASIA family!
DK
March 2025
