Triton Hotel 1979-1981

This is the Bawa Hotel everyone knows and loves. The dramatic view to the sea across the palm pond; across the polished floor; over the infinity pool and then the sea – (Bawa said in a lecture in Dhaka in 1985…” everything is at the same level; if the world was only flat you’d see Africa on the horizon”) – is all set up by the walled-in narrow approach road which suddenly opens up to produce the drama.
The fact that the whole lobby is completely open- even to the monsoon, was important to Bawa- he said the monsoon was a part of nature.
The building, in reinforced concrete, was a departure from his romantic earlier vernacular style, but he rejected critics, saying they were trying to hem him into a style. He said ” everything is simple, uncluttered and unostentatious; a modern seaside palace filled with light and air and the sound of the waves.”