Doornberg

A History of a House

An island caught on the prosperous crosswinds of the maritime Silk Route, Sri Lanka benefitted from an architecturally rich vernacular fused from Portuguese, Dutch and British occupation. The private-hire-house Doornberg is an exquisite, lasting example with its perfect symmetry and formal character of Dutch 18th-century architecture. 

Perched on Richmond Hill, Doornberg was built in 1712 for a Dutch Admiral with presiding sea views over the trading port of Galle. During the 19th century, it became Ceylon’s first school, known as the Galle School by 1814; later, it became a Christian respite, sometime-residence of the Anglican Arch Deacon and orphanage under the Anglican church.

In the 2000s the house was rescued from ruin and it became a serene hotel, brought back from the past under the watchful eye of Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte, who worked alongside prolific and renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa, joining forces on projects such as jungle-clad modernist pioneer the Kandalama.

Today Doornberg, although now buffed and polished – stands almost identically to its 18th-century self, with the entrance stone bearing the markings ‘Doornberg 1712’. A visual delight of harmonious design, Doornberg’s frontage is demarcated by the grandeur of four Palladio columns and a deep-set verandah wrapping the house, flowing onto a verdant lawn dotted with palms and banyans and a flamboyant rose apple tree. Found within the lower levels of the garden is a hideaway pool, fringed by a mango tree and flourishing jungle.

A New Custodian & Restoration Stories

As often is the way with an impeccable restoration such as this, it starts with a love story. In this case, Peter Harris found serenity and solace at the hilltop sanctuary when he first visited Sri Lanka from the urban hub of Hong Kong with many happy occasions ensuing. When a chance opportunity came about to own the property – Harris jumped.

And now the story of the Dutch house’s restoration begins - this once-upon-a-time started way back in 1712, and Harris’ purist dedication to the original build has made it what it is today. Staying true to the work of Channa Daswatte, Harris chose to salvage and repair – a case in point is the amazing 23,000 tiles rescued from a Dutch colonial church near Negombo, used to restore the roof to its former glory. Window frames, doors and shutters were removed and painstakingly sanded and the mustard-yellow exterior reinstated. Termites had got to work on many a beam which needed to be replaced.

Harris looked to the local community and its skilled workforce to help with the restoration and re-creation using artisan carpenters, tailors, iron mongers, gardeners, clay potters and wicker workers to create authenticity and a sense of place. Restoration isn’t a trend in Sri Lanka, it’s a way of life and new vivacity was given to tarnished objects and what could be fixed was made good. Original gardener Nandasena who had planted the garden some 30 years back magically appeared to help artfully tame the jungle and repopulate with indigenous flora.  

Ceylon Dreams & Gallery Spaces

A hilltop sanctuary of cultural appeal, Doornberg has four roomy suites with private garden access. Within each suite is a spacious collection of chambers which encompass a reading room and bathroom replete with a cast iron tub. Beds are restored Dutch frames swathed in high quality monogrammed linens. 

Here one is encouraged to partake in a relaxed lifestyle of comfort and ease, yet there’s a feel of cultural enrichment. Take the library for example. Its open doors are positioned to take in framed aspects of the garden which then construct sea vistas, a Tropical Modernist move that must have been taken from Geoffrey Bawa’s playbook. Here a simple sanctuary is created, aired with sea breezes where you can leaf through literary materials, design publications and coffee table books covering art and architecture.

Other cultural touchpoints include the house’s absorbing art collection, personally sourced by Harris over the years in Shanghai, Sydney, Colombo and Australia where he was brought up. The austerity, formality and large room formats lend the house well to the display of his eclectic display of art and sculpture and Harris is clearly a man with bold, confident and artistic taste. 

The hushed gallery-like living areas and rooms make perfect hanging spaces, and its curation has been artfully juxtaposed. Sri Lanka’s rich cultural diversity is represented in Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s intricate canvases and Sri Lankan artist Hema Shironi was commissioned on an eight-foot work which takes up the length of the entrance hall. Mended Fences II uses embroidery and threads to address themes such as history, religion and mythology. Colourful simplicity is placed in the library – an acrylic wash by Australian artist Marissa Purcell and Michael Cusack’s trio of canvas sit with confidence in a living space alongside Shanghai-based artist Shi Yong.

The weight of Harris’ art collection is supported by the house’s lofty space and also the tasteful placement of Danish furniture and sculptural light fixings, which were made bespokely by Bernard Figueroa.

Glorious Galle

Doornberg is fortunate enough to preside over one of Sri Lanka’s most cultural cities, a melting pot of architecture and a UNESCO preserved old town that’s a joy to stroll around. Against a gorgeous heritage backdrop and time capsule of history that goes as far back as the Portuguese with the 16th-century Zwart Bastion, 17th-century Dutch builds and churches and the British lighthouse, it’s actually its modern-day pleasures that draws you in. Artisan shops, cafes to linger in, colonial villas to take lunch, rooftop cocktail bars and city walls to stroll around make Galle easily loveable. 

Doornberg sits just above, clasped in greenery on a hillside, the perfect perch to dip in and out at leisure, using the addictively cool, cultured house as your basecamp of style.