The Sri Lankan Parliament Complex (also known as the New Parliament Complex) is a public building and landmark that houses the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

. Situated in

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte (), is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, ...

, the administrative capital, it is built on an island, surrounded by the ''

Diyawanna Oya Diyawanna Lake ( si, දියවන්නා ඔය, ta, தியவன்ன ஓயா) or Parliament Lake, is one of the lakes within Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka. It is quite popular as the Sri Lankan Parliament Building was built ...

''. It was designed by

Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the younges ...

History

Original building

On 29 January 1930 the British Governor of

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Sir Herbert Stanley (1927–1931), opened a

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

fronting the ocean at Galle Face, Colombo, designed for meetings of the Legislative Council. It was subsequently used by the State Council (1931–1947), the House of Representatives (1947–1972), the National State Assembly (1972–1977) and the Parliament of Sri Lanka (1977–1981). Today the Old Parliament Building is used by the Presidential Secretariat.

Relocation proposal

In 1967 under Speaker Sir

Albert F. Peris Sir Pattiyapathirennehelage Albert Fredrick Peries, KBE (12 May 1905 – 21 September 1967) was the 4th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Serving as Deputy Speaker Peries first became Speaker with the sudden death of Francis Molamure, ...

, the leaders of the political parties unanimously resolved that a new Parliament building should be constructed on the opposite side of Beira Lake from the existing Parliament at Galle Face, but no further action was taken. While

Stanley Tillekeratne Stanley Tillekeratne ( Sinhala: ස්ටැන්ලි තිලකරත්න) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්� ...

was the Speaker (1970–77), the leaders of the political parties entrusted the drawing up of plans for a new Parliament building to architects, but the project was subsequently abandoned. Sri Lanka Parliament location

Current building

On 4 July 1979, then Prime Minister

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

obtained sanction from Parliament to construct a new Parliament Building at ''Duwa'', a 5 hectare (12 acre) island in the ''Diyawanna Oya'' (off Baddegana Road, Pita

Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte (), is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, ...

) about east of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. The island was where the palace of the King Vikramabahu III's powerful Minister Nissaka Alakesvara had been situated. It had belonged to

E. W. Perera Edward Walter Perera (11 December 1875 – 15 February 1953) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) barrister, politician and freedom fighter. He was known as the "Lion of Kotte" and was a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan independence movement, served ...

prior to being vested in the state. The building was designed by architect

and built by a Japanese consortium of two

Mitsui Group is one of the largest ''keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industrie ...

companies for a cost of over $25.4 million US. The project was completed on a scheduled time of 26 months. It was officially opened on 29 April 1982 by then President

J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...

Architecture

Sri Lanka's Parliament Building was designed by respected local architect

. The building is designed in a style of

regional modernism Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

. While the building is an example of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, it still respects Sri Lankan vernacular architecture. The parliament complex has the allusion of symmetry, which contrasts sharply with the organic form of the lake it is located in.

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