Domus Lankan edition dedicated to Tilak
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The December-January issue of the architectural magazine Domus has dedicated its Sri Lankan edition to architect and designer Tilak Samarawickrema. The edition features Samarawickrema’s work over the span of 50 years from his early work in Italy right upto his recent retrospective with a comprehensive look at the many facets of his contribution to the field. It is only the third such instance when an edition has featured a single architect, the two such previous issues being dedicated to Geoffrey Bawa and Ulrik Plesner.
Born in 1943, Samarawickrema after his initial training at the University of Moratuwa, took up an Italian government scholarship which led to him working in Milan and then Rome, giving him the perfect setting to pursue his interest in art. Returning to Sri Lanka after 12 years, he began his successful foray into textile design. He was later a design consultant for the National Design Centre where he spearheaded a drive to revive traditional crafts and bring the unsung local craftsmen to the fore.
Art, architecture, animation, furniture design, tapestry, wire sculptures, the edition covers it all, a fitting tribute to one whom architect Franco Mirenzi describes as ‘a global designer.’