Compiled by Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photos: courtesy from ‘Minnette de Silva The life and work of an Asian woman Architect’
Minnette de Silva, considered to be one of the greatest architects of Sri Lanka, is a trail blazer in her own right, when in an era of male dominance, she rose to the top of her profession as an architect. Minnette holds the distinction of being the first Sri Lankan woman architect and the first Asian woman Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Minnette de Silva hailed from one of the most cultured and influential families in Sri Lanka. Her father was a key figure in the fight for independence in Ceylon while her mother was an ardent campaigner for women’s right in the country. The ambition to become an architect took hold of Minnette when she was in her teens. She managed to persuade a rich uncle to finance her studies in Bombay. She was the only girl in her class of 40 men. Taking part in a student strike over the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi led her to be expelled. It was then that her father finally permitted her to go to Europe. Lord Soulbury who was in Ceylon on state business at the time remarked “I know a winner when I see one” and recommended Minnette to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Arriving in postwar London in 1945 Minnette dazzled like a tropical bird. She was thrilled to have achieved her ambition to study at the Architectural Association. Residing in Saville Row, Minnette made friends with the likes of Denys Lasdun, Henry Moore, Lawrence Durrell, Gielguds and a host of Fitzrovian poets and actors. She also worked on the Royal Academy’s first exhibition of Indian art.
The person who influenced Minnette’s work the most and perhaps her most important conquest was Architect Le Corbusier whom she met when a friend took her to his studio in Paris. Minnette wrote “He was greatly attracted by his first live contact with ‘l’Inde. I think he romanticised our meeting... Since then, I have been deeply touched by his sympathy and interest in my work. His was an enduring, understanding friendship, pure and simple. At the time I hardly realised the great honour.” Le Corbusier wrote to her often sending her drawings of his projects. He also invited Minnette to stay in Chandigarh and best of all he was genuinely interested in her work.
After her sojourn in London Minnette returned in 1949 to an independent Sri Lanka and set up the Studio of Modern Architecture using her parental home in Kandy as the base. Her first commission was to build the Karunaratne house. Her houses were different in spirit from the usual neo-colonial, home counties buildings. Pierced screen and balustrades filtered the light, curly ironwork and fine columns cast shadows on the white concrete walls while staircases swept round in elegant curves. Traditional Sri Lankan pots, fabrics and tiles looked completely at home in their modernist interiors.
From the outset, she insisted on the importance of incorporating the rich local tradition of arts and crafts into her buildings. She made a point of commissioning local potters, tile-makers and artists, and taught herself weaving in order to instruct craftsmen in the making of woven panels to divide rooms and cover ceilings.
Minnette later worked on housing for village communities, inexpensive blocks of flats, as well as houses for the new Sri Lankan professional classes, and occasionally, public buildings like her elegant art centre in Kandy, which reinterpreted local building styles.
In her book “The Life and Work of an Asian Woman Architect” Minnette reveals many vignettes of her life from an exhilarating montage of memories and photographs from Henri Cartier-Bresson to yellowed newspaper cuttings and architectural drawings.
From counting Indira Gandhi as a childhood playmate, having Mahatma Gandhi as a family friend, Vivien Leigh and Peter Finch as house guests to, discussing art with Pabalo Picasso and having David Lean as a suitor, Minnette lived like an exotic oriental princess but became an erudite champion of modern architecture. Minnette’s indomitable spirit continues to shine through her work inspiring countless others.
This article first appeared in Hi!! Magazine October 2014 issue (60th issue)
