The Geoffrey Bawa Trust announces ‘Moonamal Award’

Geoffrey Bawa Trust and Lunuganga Trust Chairperson Channa Daswatte addresses the launch. Others from left: Environmental Architect and Federation of Environmental Organisations Founder Sunela Jayewardene, Environmentalist and Preserving Land and Nature Chairperson Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne and Economist and Centre for a Smart Future Director Anushka Wijesinha

• Initiative to recognise design excellence for ecological coexistence

By Dilrukshi Fernando 

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust recently announced the launch of ‘The Geoffrey Bawa Moonamal Award’ - a new national award to recognise excellence in design projects rooted in ecological coexistence. This new award will address the growing gap between design, ecology and the environment, a stark reality which surfaced especially in the devastating aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025. 

The name for the award in itself is inspired by nature, from the Moonamla tree at Lunuganga, Geoffrey Bawa’s garden estate located near Bentota. The tree, an indigenous species, symbolises both the resilience of nature, as a legacy of the site’s original forest cover, and stands as a quiet reminder of the balance, which Bawa sought and reflected in his world-renowned work, between human requirements and the living landscape. 

An ecological approach to design

The award marks a strategic and evolutionary shift from conventional architectural recognition in Sri Lanka, towards a broader, interdisciplinary approach that places the environment and ecological regeneration at the centre of design thinking. The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka is a key partner in the initiative, while the Trust is currently in conversation with several other institutional partners who together will support the interdisciplinary vision of ‘The Geoffrey Bawa Moonamal Award’. 

“There’s so much that is left to chance in the way we engage in the environment and the ecologies. We don’t think about it enough because we only think of ourselves. One might think, ‘What can an award do?’ when the enormity of what is going on is so huge. But I feel awards can give attention to people, in terms of where and how you might need to be thinking. And this particular award we are launching today is a new approach to reward it for our attention”, said Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts Chairperson, Channa Daswatte.

Daswatte, himself a renowned architect, acknowledges the bigger crisis looming on the horizon for not just the design fraternity but humanity at large, which is the environmental crisis, accelerated by one of the largest businesses across the world, the construction industry, where architecture plays a pivotal role. “It is necessary that we think about ecology and the way we interact with it in a much more profound and much more important way”, he said, further outlining the intent of the award. 

Following five cycles of the Geoffrey Bawa Award for outstanding contemporary Sri Lankan architecture, the Trust and its partners are pivoting to a new award that aims to recognise projects which see landscapes as an active participant in the design process, rather than treating nature merely as a backdrop or resource. 

“Sri Lanka always had a history of embracing the environment and living with it. We’ve lost our way a little bit, and hopefully some of these discussions will move the trajectory of the country back in the right direction… and I would like to think that today marks the start where Sri Lanka embraces architecture of the future,” said Preserving Land and Nature (PLANT) Chairperson and Environmentalist, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne at the launch of the ‘Moonamal Award’. 

Design as a multidisciplinary approach 

Since the Industrial Revolution, the human species has been forcing itself into unnatural environments, while making the human species the sole focus of design, and undervaluing ecological systems, said Federation of Environmental Organisations (FEOSL) Founder and Environmental Architect, Sunela Jayewardene, providing a historical context and approach to the award.  Ultimately, the solution to foster ecological regeneration is found in the environment itself. “It is in renewing our perspective and removing that dated lens and prioritising living ecology…it’s simply clean air and clean water. Everything else in the system falls into place. As designers and developers of new environments, or restorers of damaged environments, we can regenerate what we have destroyed if we begin to place these denominators in all industries,” Jayawardene said further.

The Geoffrey Bawa ‘Moonamal Award’ aims to spark a new direction in Sri Lankan design by recognising projects that move beyond human-first thinking, repair environmental damage, and support ecological regeneration through collaborative, cross-disciplinary practice, such as social policy and economics.

“We are moving beyond typical national accounts to consider environmental accounting, ecosystem accounting. A significant shift is underway. Which is why this award comes at a serendipitous moment in Sri Lanka’s own economic journey. In the aftermath of the cyclone (Ditwah) it has become clearer than ever that we need a new relationship with nature, the climate and the economy,” said Centre for a Smart Future Director and economist, Anushka Wijesinha, highlighting the importance of considering the economic impact on communities and ecological consequences, in designing for the future.  

The award will be granted to a project that equally considers human and environmental needs, using a design that is guided by an in-depth social and ecological knowledge of the project site. This rethinking of design depends on breaking professional silos. Projects must engage local communities while drawing on knowledge from across disciplines, from architects and designers to ecologists, environmental scientists, and policymakers. Such collaboration strengthens both the quality of design and the long-term stability of the places it shapes.

Highlights of the Moonamal Award program

According to the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, the Award launch kicks off a series of programming across Sri Lanka to promote the Award’s vision of design for ecological coexistence to potential partners, applicants, and the public. The nominations for the award are set to open in August 2026, along with further details about the prestigious award fellowship that will be on offer. The Award shortlist and winner are expected to be announced in mid-2027. 

The award process for the Geoffrey Bawa ‘Moonamal Award’ will be overseen by members of a steering committee, including: Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts Chairperson Channa Daswatte, PLANT Chairperson and Environmentalist Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, FEOSL Founder and Environmental Architect Sunela Jayewardene, Centre for a Smart Future Director and economist, Anushka Wijesinha, and Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts Living Collections Curator Soham Kacker.