Old and contemporary sit side by side together

Isolated from the bustling Kottawa- Piliyandala main road is the Bed Sitter. It rests comfortably on roughly an acre of land, most of which is a large garden. “Minimizing the built up area of the land is one of my biggest considerations when undertaking a project,” says architect Prasanna Jayalath, who designed the Bed Sitter, one of nine entries shortlisted for the prestigious Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture.

Having completed his education at Royal College, Colombo, Prasanna studied architecture at the University of Moratuwa in 1992. “I always loved the prospect of doing architecture,” he says, adding that he was also interested in art and drama, but architecture was his first preference.

“My time in university was one of the most memorable phases of my life,” he says, recalling the experimental work he had done and how valuable the experience had come to be in his future work.

He completed his BSc (Built Environment) degree in 1996, and worked under Ranjith Alahakoon who has continued to be an inspiration to him. Completing his MSc Degree in Architecture in 1998, he then worked as an associate under architect Vinod Jayasinghe at Vinod Jayasinghe Associates (Pvt) Ltd, before obtaining his professional licence at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects.

Prasanna Jayalath

From then on, it has been a successful run for Prasanna, who has won a series of awards- the SLIA Design Award for the years 2005, 2007 and 2008, in addition to being named the SLIA Young Architect of the Year 2008.

“I owe a great deal to Ranjith Alahakoon, because I had a lot of first hand experience working under him,” recalls Prasanna. “To date, he and Geoffrey Bawa are two architects who inspire me the most, in addition to Glenn Murcutt and Tado Ando.”

The Bed Sitter had initially been an office, but was later converted into something along the lines of a holiday home, the point of which had been a living area versatile enough to be used as an office if necessary.

In accordance with his signature rustic theme, the Bed Sitter is an example of Prasanna Jayalath’s fascination with olden day architecture and his ability to give old architecture a contemporary twist.