11/10/2026
Bawa died in May 2003. Accounts of Lunuganga record that he was cremated and his ashes were buried in the garden, at Cinnamon Hill. Perhaps, then, his final wish can be understood as the completion of his most personal architectural idea: to belong to the place rather than merely to leave something behind in it.
The architect who spent a lifetime framing nature ultimately chose to rest within the very landscape he had framed.
At Cinnamon Hill, Bawa’s story seems to come full circle. The garden continues to grow, the trees continue to change, and the lake continues to reflect the passing sky. His architecture remains, but so does something more enduring his relationship with the living world.
In the end, Geoffrey Bawa did not simply leave behind a garden. He chose to make the garden his lasting home.