Hester Basnayake, Sri Lanka's Pioneering Female Landscape Architect, and Her Ideas on Landscape Architecture! - V.N. Giritharan -

Many people are generally not as familiar with landscape architecture as they are with architecture. In reality, landscape architecture is another art form intertwined with architecture and urban planning. Sri Lanka's historical monuments, which are of great historical significance, serve as evidence of how important landscape architecture was in urban planning. For example, the contribution of landscape architecture to the urban planning of Sigiriya is evident. Similarly, the influence of landscape architecture can be seen in ancient viharas, historically important royal buildings, and temples. Today, this field is taught as a degree program at the University of Moratuwa. This post aims to briefly introduce Mrs. Hester Basnayake, one of the pioneers in Sri Lankan landscape architecture.

To learn about her, an article by Jennifer Henricus titled "Flora & Fauna will beautify New Capital," published in the Weekend newspaper on 4.1.1982, proved very helpful. This article describes her landscape design for the new Parliament building, which was about to open in Kotte (Sri Jayawardenepura) at the time. She was then working as the Chief Landscape Architect at the Urban Development Authority. The article explains that she was seeking financial partners to implement the new Parliament landscape design she had developed with her assistants. It is unknown how successful this plan was. Those who have additional information about it are encouraged to share it.

This article contains brief but important information about Hester Basnayake's ideas on landscape architecture. Her landscape design for the new Parliament reflects her landscape architectural philosophies. She approached her design for the new Parliament from two angles: the landscape design for the new Parliament itself, and the landscape design for the new capital city of Sri Jayawardenepura.

Regarding the plants used in these designs, it is understood that her primary objective was to maintain a sense of the local soil and environment. That is, using local trees, shrubs, and groundcovers in harmony with the natural surroundings of the Parliament building was a key aspect of her goals. Her landscape design for the new Parliament reveals that Hester Basnayake's landscape architectural ideas were well-aligned with architect Geoffrey Bawa's 'tropical modernism' architectural philosophy, who designed the new Parliament.

Furthermore, her landscape design plan aimed to transform the city of Jayawardenepura into a beautiful 'Garden City'. She selected different types of flowering trees to ensure that the city's roads, with their diverse trees, would have a unique character. The 'Garden City' concept included public parks, tree-shaded footpaths along streets, and squares.

Her vision was for the city to be beautiful and also cost-effective to maintain. A 'Garden City' integrated with nature was Hester Basnayake's objective. She also included a nursery for providing saplings in her design. Additionally, her landscape design included a plan to plant 10,000 trees in the first year. However, the article highlights that this was a challenge and required financial contributions.

Jennifer Henricus's article "FLORA & FAUNA WILL BEAUTIFY NEW CAPITAL" stands as an important document providing information about landscape architecture, the landscape design of the new Parliament and city, and the landscape architect Hester Basnayake. As such, it is of great significance.

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