Oral Histories: Anura Ratnavibhushana

Anura Ratnavibushana worked with Bawa at Edwards, Reid & Begg during the 60’s and 70’s. Eventually, he left the firm to set up his own practice in the 80’s although he continued to maintain his close connection with Bawa. In 2009, he distilled his passion for architecture and education into a book: “Creating Simplicity—Sri Lankan Tropical Architecture—Design & Landscaping”. This publication is copyright-free and shares many of the drawings and sketches he produced over the years. Accompanied by Bawa’s and Anura’s close friend, Sunethra Bandaranaike, we spoke to Anura at his home in Colombo. In this episode, Anura runs through his memories of Bawa as a mentor and on the nurturing and generous sides of Bawa’s personality. He detailed the thrill of working on projects such as the Osaka Expo Pavilion of 1970; and the Steel Corporation Building in Oruwala of 1969.