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Tribute to Architect Chris de Saram (1939-2018): ‘A life lived with personal integrity and a vision devoted to architectural education in Sri Lanka’

15 Nov 2021

By Archt. Chandana Ellepola The Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) is hosting a public oration on architectural education to commemorate a unique architectural educator, Architect Chris de Saram who passed away in 2018. He was a role model for several generations of Sri Lankan architects who passed through the doors of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa. His was a life of passion in guiding students on an architectural path each according to his own talents and limitations. In a world where education has become a business and just another job to earn money, he showed by example that ideally, education is a way of life. To that extent his philosophy is probably more relevant today than when he was alive. The invited orator is Architect Neelkanth Chhaya of India, who is an academic and the former Dean of Faculty of Architecture of CEPT University, Ahmadabad. The citation will be read by Architect Planner Dr. Locana Gunaratna. The event is open to the public online via the Zoom platform, a link to which is available on the SLIA’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SLIA07/  My association with Chris de Saram goes back many years. In the late 1920s, our parents were student contemporaries in England and later Civil Servant colleagues during the closing stages of the colonial administration,in pre-independent Ceylon. Chris and I also lived in the same Kollupitiya, Colombo neighbourhood and therefore our families had close social interaction. Chris was much senior to me in age, hence he was more of an elder brother to me than an equal comrade. Chris had his primary and secondary education at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. He was a bright student in his day, but never a sportsman, even though his father was an Oxford University Boxing Blue. Chris was quiet, interested primarily in literary pursuits. He read widely and took to art and painting as a recreational hobby. Chris’s childhood love for books would eventually translate to an antiquarian collection of rare and valuable documentation. His library was always an available reference source to interested colleagues and students.  Chris actively assisted his students in research by generously providing helpful lead references to varied topics. His interest in the collection of Sri Lankan antiques was merely for their historical and cultural significance. He was proud of what he had picked up over the years and always had an interesting historic legend related to the objects. Assessing their commercial antique value was never his concern.  Chris was a product of the liberal education system of the times in which a student had space to develop their natural talents without the pressure of conforming to channeled paths. He passed the competitive university entrance examination that gave him admission to the prestigious University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. Typical of Chris, he decided to refuse admission, in order to obtain an education in an unconventional field of study at that time – architecture, which entailed several years of study abroad. His mother, though a widow by then, agreed to manage the family income and fund his education at the best and most recognised institution, the AA School of Architecture in London. Prior to that eventful departure abroad, then by passenger ship with steamer trunk luggage, my father hosted Chris for lunch at the then-popular “Modern Chinese Café” in Colombo, situated at the corner intersection of Lauries Road and Havelock Road. As a teenager, still in school, I now recall how captivated I was with Chris’s pioneering endeavour to chase a dream. My own interest in architecture as a profession for myself may have been kindled at this point. Having qualified as a professional architect, Chris returned to Sri Lanka in the early ‘70s and never once went back to England even for a holiday. He later explained to me that although he had had many options after his graduation from the prestigious AA School in London, he concluded that the quality of life in Sri Lanka, even with all its limitations, was far superior to the Western lifestyle. He never reconsidered or regretted his decision – that was characteristically the man, Chris de Saram. The private sector architectural community in Sri Lanka received Chris enthusiastically and for some time he worked for several leading architectural firms as a consultant professional. He was a talented designer and enjoyed that role. However, he disliked the involvement in the business management aspects of the architectural profession and also the PR that was needed to secure architectural commissions. He therefore soon decided to opt out of the practice of the profession and instead picked the academic field and the teaching of architecture. Chris then joined the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa, Katubedda as a lecturer in the mid ‘70s and continued to serve in that vocation until his retirement. It is in this role as a teacher that Chris excelled and his legacy will be remembered most. His methodology to teaching architectural design was unparalleled because his approach to the subject was in a holistic context. Chris was a master in this method, making his teachings meaningful with vivid illustrations drawn from his specialised knowledge spectrum and expertise in archaeology, art history, conservation, and environmental technology. He taught at all levels of the curriculum, with a commitment of tracking students’ progress throughout the course. In this way, he spotted early talent, fostered and encouraged creative thinking, and motivated students to reach high standards of excellence. The fortunate students that came under Chris de Saram’s teaching influence would vouch for this fact and confirm that their professional calibre today, be it in Sri Lanka or abroad, is mainly due to the method of lateral thinking taught by this master teacher. Chris never accepted university office even though he was the most senior in the faculty. The reason, he said, was a matter of personal principle. He wanted to devote all his time and efforts to the task of teaching architecture. The other side of Chris is less known because he was a modest, self-effacing man who lived his life according to high standards of personal integrity and social justice. He did not impose these values on others nor was he self-righteous or judgmental of others. Chris denied himself of all university privileges and even declined legitimate entitlements of two duty-free car permits and accepting only a modest lecturer salary. He did not do the entitled private practice in architecture, and instead dedicated all his free time to design studio appointments at the university. During university vacation time he held design workshops in his private residence at No. 14 Deal Place to assist students who needed special attention. Students recall that although the sessions were informal, they were always held with academic decorum and discipline. Chris was a man who rejected materialism in all its manifestations and lived a life of great simplicity. I recall one occasion when he purchased a brand new car, thinking that it would improve his mobility. He refused to drive and so employed a well-paid chauffeur who was always more smartly groomed than his employer. Soon however, Chris became disillusioned with his investment, as it did not meet his need. He told me that he intended to “get rid” of the car. I assumed he would sell the vehicle and square the loss. Instead, in his typical and in many ways unique generosity “got rid”of the car not by sale but by way of a gift to his chauffeur. He had even paid for the new insurance policy. Thereafter, in his un-ostentatious style, for the rest of his life, until he was no longer completely steady on his feet, he always traveled by public bus. That was Chris de Saram: The Man – unassuming, unpretentious, and unfailingly generous. In the sad demise of Chris de Saram, we witness the end of an era and generation of professionals that strongly and proudly upheld the moral and professional codes of conduct in the field of architecture. With the passing of Chris, the younger membership of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects has unfortunately lost a shining role model. The senior membership including myself however, has indeed lost a sincere friend and his invaluable counsel.


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