2024-11-23T08:20:16-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150134119/architect-minnette-de-silva-pioneered-sri-lankan-modernism-yet-her-work-has-been-largely-forgotten Justine Testado 2019-04-29T18:58:00-04:00 >2019-04-29T18:59:00-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/b5/b59ddaf701dfdbadcffc3c636b622c08.png?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>These setbacks toughened her demeanour. [...] Her toughness soon gave her a reputation for being a &ldquo;difficult woman&rdquo;. Following an intense period of building in the 1950s, De Silva&rsquo;s contracts dried up, while [Geoffrey] Bawa&rsquo;s rocketed. Ismeth Raheem, an architect who worked closely with Bawa in the early years, recalls De Silva telling him on several occasions: &ldquo;I was dismissed because I am a woman. I was never taken seriously for my work.&rdquo;</p></em><br /><br /><p>While Minnette de Silva's influence can be seen in the more progressive architecture in Colombo in her native Sri Lanka,&nbsp;&ldquo;her contribution to architecture has been only belatedly &ndash; and sometimes begrudgingly &ndash; acknowledged,&rdquo; writes Shiromi Pinto in The Guardian.&nbsp;</p> <p>Throughout her career, de Silva wasn't taken seriously as an architect, and her studio and her surviving built works remain in a precarious state 20 years after her death. However, close associates like architect C&nbsp;Anjalendran are ensuring that her work isn't forgotten.</p>