THE GLOBAL APPEAL OF GEOFFREY BAWA’S FURNITURE DESIGNS

THE GLOBAL APPEAL OF GEOFFREY BAWA’S FURNITURE DESIGNS
– After a successful showing at Milan Design Week, pieces from the Geoffrey Bawa Collection are now available for purchase.

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust, in collaboration with India-based furniture company Phantom Hands, has re-edited a collection of furniture, lighting, and objects designed by Geoffrey Bawa’s practice in the latter half of the 20th century. The collection reimagines Bawa’s iconic designs for contemporary use, including the Bentota Lounge Chair, the Lunuganga Dining Table, and the No. 11 Sofa.

Following a highly successful showing in Italy at The Salone del Mobile (Milan Design Week) in April, these pieces are now available for purchase through Phantom Hands—an exciting opportunity for the public to purchase their own piece of Sri Lanka’s design history.

The Salone del Mobile is the world’s largest furniture trade fair, with industry representatives arriving from across the world to view and purchase the latest in global trends. An estimated 8000+ visitors viewed the Geoffrey Bawa Collection over the course of the week, including journalists from leading design magazines and journals from across Europe and the world.

“The exhibition attracted a huge amount of interest, and it was a real testament to how well-known Bawa’s work is within design and architectural circles across Europe and Asia,” says Phantom Hands Founder Deepak Srinath. “Milan Design Week is an opportunity to get as many people to see the work as possible. Designers and the public can now start placing their orders. The Saddle Chair, in particular, was quite popular at the show, and we are starting to see this create a buzz in the design world.”

Geoffrey Bawa’s designs embody the social, economic, environmental, and cultural reality of the latter part of the 20th century in Sri Lanka. Working within the material and budget restrictions of the time, Bawa and his colleagues took inspiration from prevalent modern styles and global trends, but grounded them locally by working with artists, metalworkers, woodworkers, fabricmakers, and even fibreglass boat builders.

Distilled from this extensive oeuvre, the re-edits in the new collection capture the spirit of the intense, spontaneous collaborations that formed the original pieces, while maintaining the functional practicality and modernistic style that was prevalent at the time and is still highly relevant today.

The collection is on view through June 15th at Design in the Moment: Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice at The Bawa Space, located at 42/1 Horton Place, Colombo 07. The Bawa Space is open Wednesday through Sunday between 12 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. except major holidays. Pieces from the Phantom Hands Geoffrey Bawa Collection can be purchased online at: phantomhands.in/collection/the-geoffrey-bawa-collection