SEEMA MALAKA TEMPLE RESTORATION: GEOFFREY BAWA TRUST TO SUPPORT RESTORATION OF COLOMBO'S ICONIC TEMPLE

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust is pleased to support the restoration of the Seema Malaka of the Gangarama Temple. Built between 1976-78, the current Seema Malaka was designed by Geoffrey Bawa on the site of a previous temple structure.

- 

The Seema Malaka-also known as a sīmāmālaka-is a terraced chapel found in Buddhist temples or monasteries.

Located on the Beira Lake, the Gangaramaya Temple's Seema Malaka is an important meditation space and venue for religious ceremonies.

Bawa's design blended classical Sinhalese and Buddhist architecture with contemporary elements, featuring a central plinth with the main preaching hall, connected to the land and two smaller plinths by an elevated walkway. An extension to the southern side of the temple was added at a later date. The three pavilions float on large crossbeams and were originally capped by pyramidal clay tiled roofs, later replaced with blue glazed tiles. The elevated walkways and pitched tiled roofs are reminiscent of the first sīmāmālaka of Gangarama Temple, constructed in the mid 19th century. The original building was supported above the lake by wooden poles and required regular renovations, before finally collapsing into the water-along with a group of monks-in August 1954.