A lecture by Dr.Nilan Cooray

The 47th lecture in the Monthly Lecture series of the National Trust- Sri Lanka Sigiriya in the Global Landscape Context by Dr.Nilan Cooray will be held at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T B Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 pm on Thursday (January 31). The lecture will be simultaneously transmitted to the E.L. Senanayake Children's Library Hall at Kotugodella, Kandy.

Although, there are articles published at international level and despite some attempts at finding international parallels and correspondence with 'garden types' at Sigiriya, many international publications on built landscapes suggest that Sigiriya is still almost unknown in the global landscape architectural design context.

There is hardly any serious study so far to compare Sigiriya with other international gardens (and traditions) in terms of landscape design point of view. Therefore this lecture attempts to position Sigiriya in the global landscape design context through the comparison of landscape design of Sigiriya with those of other international landscape traditions, particularly with those of the West European landscape tradition comprising the Italian Renaissance villas (15th-16th century), French baroque gardens (17th century) and landscape gardens of the English revival (18th century).

Nilan Cooray, a chartered architect, studied architecture at University of Moratuwa and obtained B.Sc (Built Environment) and M.Sc. (Architecture).

He was a research fellow of the faculty of architecture at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2003 and obtained his doctoral degree from the same university in 2012. His doctoral thesis examines the landscape architectonic composition of Sigiriya with special emphasis on the design tools and techniques employed and the design principles and rules applied by the designers at Sigiriya.

Since 1989, he works for the Central Cultural Fund to protect, conserve and manage Sri Lanka's cultural heritage and previously held the posts of the Project Manager, Assistant Director and Director Conservation.

Nilan has followed a training course in Nara, Japan in 2004 on Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region conducted by the UNESCO and ICCROM. He is a Trustee and the Assistant Secretary General of the National Trust of Sri Lanka and a visiting lecturer at University of Moratuwa, University of Kelaniya, Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology and the City School of Architecture. Since 1989, he is a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and carried out world heritage evaluation and reactive monitoring missions as an expert to Nepal in 2000 and Bangladesh in 2009.

He was the resource person and lecturer for Advance Course on Conservation and Restoration Techniques of Traditional Architecture for the Asia-Pacific Region, organized by UNESCO in Suzhou, China, in 2010 and the international resource person and trainer for the training course on conservation of brick monuments organized by UNESCO in Bangladesh in 2012.

Currently he serves as UNESCO's international expert resource person to provide technical advice to Myanmar's Department of Archaeology in preparing the dossier and the heritage management plan for the World Heritage nomination of Pyu Ancient Cities in Myanmar.

The National Trust - Sri Lanka conducts monthly lectures on the last Thursday of each month. The lectures are open to the members and the public at a nominal fee.

Further information could be obtained from the Trust Office at the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology, 407, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. Tel: 2682730,

The events of the National Trust - Sri Lanka are principally sponsored by the HNB Sustainability Foundation.