Karunaratne House

Welcome to the Karunaratne House, situated in the cool, elevated environment of Kandy. While it may appear as a quiet residential structure, you are standing before a profoundly significant milestone in global architectural…

We begin at the approach to the house, observing the structure from the driveway. The site itself was challenging, situated on a steeply sloping Kandyan hillside. …

Imagine stepping into the main living area on the first floor. This is where Minnette de Silva's mastery of the open floor plan is most evident. …

Moving inward, we encounter the internal courtyard, the spiritual and functional core of the Karunaratne House. The courtyard, or 'meda midula,' is an ancient feature of Sri Lankan domestic architecture, essential for providing…

Let us focus on the vertical circulation of the house: the staircase. In modernist architecture, the staircase is often treated as a sculptural object in space, and de Silva embraced this concept fully. …

Arriving at the upper level, we find the private quarters: the bedrooms. Here, the focus shifts to intimacy, privacy, and protection from the intense elements of the Kandyan climate. …

Our final stop focuses on the exterior landscape and its relationship with the house. In Minnette de Silva’s vision, the garden was not an afterthought; it was an integral architectural component, designed simultaneously with the…

As we conclude our audio tour of the Karunaratne House, take a moment to reflect on the immense courage and vision it took to build this structure in the late nineteen forties. Minnette de Silva was a pioneer working in a…