AROUND A COURTYARD

A mindful rendition of the local vernacular, this home by Gowri Adappa while outward-looking is quietly meditative

- PRAGNYA RAO

Nestled amid abundant tropical foliage, in a private lane just off the Parliament House in Colombo, this lush, 3,000 sqft home of a young couple and their two toddlers is a homage to the Tropical Modernist, Geoffrey Bawa's timeless style. Designed by Chennai-based, Gowri Adappa, the home combines the Dutch-Modern influence seen in Sri Lanka with the Colonial-Traditionalist nature of homes in Chennai. "The duo have a connection to Chennai, with one of them originally from Tamil Nadu and the other from Colombo, but both having lived in Chennai for a while," says Gowri, "and they were looking to collaborate with someone who could establish this aesthetic for their home". Borrowing from Bawa's approach that explores the constantly evolving relationship between the inside and the outside, Gowri shaped this "courtyard house" that accommodates the one request they had, "to create a home that was warm, inviting and flooded with natural light; one that would host their many friends and family, a home for their children to grow up in."