LAURIE BAKER

Laurie
Baker,
an
architect
from
Birmingham,
now
settled
in
Thiruvananthapuram,
has
effectively
combined traditional techniques with
indigenous innovations and has managed
to bring down the cost of construction by
half.
His techniques not only use cheaper
materials but also eliminate redundant
details from the design.
Concrete is rarely used. Mangalore tiles are
used for the roof which makes it light and
inexpensive.

 His approach and simple principles to low cost housing are

Gandhian, which can be adopted by every builder. The
following are the mainstay of design and construction of his
houses.
Planning of space lesser walls, multiple uses of space,
short spans of roof, agglomeration of building services,
flexibility in growth.
Local building material bricks, tiles, lime, surkhi, timber,
thatch, stone, palm, mud.
Bricks and jalis play of light and shade, unidirectional
vision.
Unplastered walls.
Lintels and arches.
Attention to details.

 Bakers works include, private residences, some

institutional buildings, like center for development studies,
Kerala. He is very active in the works of all the building
centers working in Kerala as well as in the other parts of
country. Rather it was his initial effort to promote the low
cost housing in India, where housing is a big problem.
His techniques not only use cheaper materials but also
eliminate unnecessary details from the design. Concrete is
sparingly used. Mangalore tiles are used for the roof which
makes it light and inexpensive.
His projects for low cost buildings include
1. Center for Development Studies Trivandrum
2. 'The
Hamlet',
Laurie
Baker's
home
Thiruvananthapuram,
3. Nirmithi kendra in Kerala

Center for Development Studies Trivandrum -1975

Leslie Bakers masterpiece,

the Centre for Development
Studies in Kerala, is a 10 acre
campus at a cost of Rs15
lakhs,
demonstrated the
effectiveness of his plan.
The institute includes
A research institute.
A graduate school dedicated to
utilizing the study of economics
to help the poor.

Main features of this building:

He designed the buildings at the
Centre to practically cool them.
He renders jalis, a perforated
wooden screen found in traditional
Indian architecture, in brick;
The open grillwork allows cool
breezes to waft into the interior
while filtering harsh, direct sunlight.
Some buildings include a series of
small courtyards containing shallow
pools in the center, whose
evaporation helps cool the air.
Paying close attention to the
existing site as he began to design
the project, Baker left as many
coconut palm trees in place as
possible to cast cooling shade onto
the campus.

 The Computer centre at the

Centre
for
Development
Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Here
Baker
evolved
an
innovative system of curved
double walls to save on cost
and to conserve the energy .
In evaluating the campus for the
Centre, Baker planned roads
along the lower, while footpaths
were routed along naturally
occurring
elevated
areas;
following the natural topography
helps to limit erosion and
despoilment of the environment.

 Brickwalls were left unplastered

and brick corbelling was used
rather than more expensive
concrete lintels.
With his mastery over his
medium, Baker creates a
variety of textures and patterns
by simple manipulation of the
way in which bricks are placed
in the wall.
The
architecture
of
this
academic
complex
was
conceived as a demonstration
of economically responsible
building practices.

BAKERS HOUSE, THE HAMLET

Bakers own residence is

called The Hamlet. It has been
built in Thiruvananthapuram,
built on a steeply sloping and
rocky hillside that hardly had
any vegetation when Baker
started constructing.
Baker has truly adopted his
motto to make low-costery a
habit and a way of life by
reusing everything, from brick
to glass bottles, as building
materials.
Key features of his house are:
All the walls are made of mud bricks.
Timber salvaged from an old boat jetty.

 One of the other signature

elements of his design
includes the use of circular
walls, which use far less brick
than rectangular walls.
In addition, when he does use
concrete for a roof, he
embeds chipped or broken
terra cotta roofing tiles into
the mixture.
These tiles, which normally
would be thrown away,
contribute to the strength of
the roof, allow less of the
expensive concrete to be
used,
and
reduce
the
structural load of the building.
He used broken tiles for the
outer paved area of his
garden.

 He made an extensive use of

timber in his house, like in the
living room of house, the
detailing in wood and mud
bricks are wonderful.
The living room, An integration
of new building and salvaged
timber
from
traditional
buildings that were being
demolished.
Baker's innovative use of
discarded bottles, inset in the
walls giving a very good effect
of light and creating an illusion
of stained glass.

QUTATIONS
"No innovative artist can hope to proceed in
work without having gained an
understanding of the local wisdom of a
place.''
-LAURIE BAKER
References:
Low cost A.K.Jain
Urban planning-theories and practicesM. Pratap Rao.

www.archidude.com
Please share your study material with
others and be sociable..
And spread the word tell others about the
site