The house in 33rd Lane is an essay in architectural bricolage. In 1958 Bawa bought the third in a row of four small houses which lay along a short cul-de-sac at the end of a narrow suburban lane and converted it into a pied-à-terre with living room, bedroom, tiny kitchen and room for a servant. When the fourth bungalow became vacant this was colonized to serve as dining room and second living room. Ten years later the remaining bungalows were acquired and added into the composition and the first in the row was demolished to be replaced by a four-story tower.

Climb the 5th century AD rock fortress, Sigiriya, where the King Kasyapa ruled. Walk through the entrance framed by the paws of a lion that is quite appropriate for its name, ' the Lion Rock'. View the beautiful unfading murals that brought Sigiriya its fame. Climb the steep staircase to see the terraced gardens and still-working cisterns. Walk through the tunnels leading to the palace as you get a feel for times long past.

The temple is made almost entirely of wood. From carved wooden pillars in the Halls which have open sides to the beautifully crafted roof, the entire are is covered in carvings. The bases of the pillars are octagonal in shape while their tops end in the shapes of a four leaves stacked in a square. The pillars have various images carved into the sides of the bases. In addition, carvings adorn the beams, rafters and doorframes. Notable carvings among these masterpieces were those of the entwined swans, double headed eagles, entwined rope designs, breast-feeding image, a soldier fighting on horseback, female dancers, wrestlers, women emanating from a vein, bird-human hybrid, elephant-bull hybrid, elephant-lion hybrid and etc. The carvings of the entire temple include 125 series of decorations, 256 liyawela type designs, and 64 lotus designs, 30 decorative patterns and roof designs, ending up in 514 unique designs. The roof of the temple is an excellent example of ancient wooden architecture, where the 26 rafters are supported by a single wooden wooden pin.