The Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa (1919–2003) fused sensitivity for local context with the technological discoveries and design principles of modernism in his work. Accordingly, Bawa often incorporated materials (local stone and timber) and layouts (high roofs, cross-ventilation, vast overhangs) specific to Sri Lanka’s monsoon climate and storied architectural history – from the cave monasteries of the Anuradhapura period to the feudal Walauwa style of manor houses – into his modernist desi ...