In the mid-1950s, Dr. Seneka Bibile, together with Herbert Keuneman, 'Bonnie' Fernando, Anil and Jeanne Moonesinghe and other members of the radical intelligentsia, founded Sri Lanka's first co-operative housing scheme, the Gothatuwa Building Society.
The members of the society were drawn from the ranks of the journalists of the "Lake House" publishing group and of the professors of the University of Ceylon.
Originally within a large cinnamon and coconut plantation known as Marandaan Kurunduwatte, it was named Welikadawatte – the Sinhala for "Welikada Gardens".
One notable aspect of the scheme was that each of the houses had a distinct design, the architects experimenting with forms new to Sri Lanka at the time.
Some of the designs were reminiscent of the approach of Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus – then popularly known as the 'American Style'.