Laurie baker

 (1917-2007)
2
LAURIE BAKER PRESENTATION

LAURENCE WILFRED BAKER
 British born Indian Architect
 Born in Birmingham,UK (March 2,1917).
 Educated at King Edwards Grammar School &
The Birmingham School of Architecture.
 He moved to India in 1945 in part as a
missionary.
 He obtained Indian citizenship in 1989 and
resided in Tiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum),
Kerala
 ARTIST, ARCHITECT, CARTOONIST etc.,
3

CONTRIBUTION TO INDIA
 Worked as an Architect for international mission
(LEPROSY MISSION)
 Focused on converting and replacing slums.
 Met & inspired Gandhiji.
 “Cost Conscious Construction”
 Built many public buildings, schools, anganwadis,
hospitals, hotels, resorts, eco restorations.
 used different construction techniques to reduce
cost and remain the strength of building.
4

PRINCIPLES
5
 COST CONSCIOUS CONSTRUCTION
 USE OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS
 NO WASTAGE
 PRESERVE AND REUSE RESOURCES
 CLIMATIC DESIGN
 DO NOT DISTURB THE EXSISTNG LANDSCAPE
 DON’T LEVEL or FLAT THE LAND FOR
CONSTRUCTION PURPOSE
 IN BUILT FURNITURE TO REDUSE COST etc.,

AWARDS
In 1990 the government of India
awarded him with “PADMASHRI”,
the nation’s fourth highest civilian
award, in recognition of his
meritorious service in the field of
architecture.
7

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
 BRICK JALI
WORK
 Natural air
movement to cool
the interior and
create intricate
patterns of light
and shadow
8

 TRADITIONAL INDIAN
SLOPING ROOFS
9

 RAT TRAP BOND
 Stronger bond
 Minimized use of bricks
 Insulation
 Cost reduction
 Load reduction
10

 FILLER SLAB
 20-30% less materials
 Decorative
 Economical
 Reduced self load
 Almost maintenance free
 20-30% cost reduction
11

 GABLES
 Allows hot air to escape.
 Mangalore roof tiles
12

 CURVED WALLS
 More volume at lower
cost than a straight wall.
13

 LATTICE WINDOWS
 Achieved privacy
 Allows glare free light in
to workspace
14

HAMLET- HIS RESIDENCE
15

HAMLET
 This is baker’s home in Trivandrum.
 This is a unique house built on a plot of land along the
slope of a rocky hill.
 It hardly had any vegetation when baker started
constructing it, is now a beautiful delight.
 Materials used from unconventional source.
 Electrical wiring is not concealed.
 His bedroom has only 3 walls and the other was open.
 He used the outer wall as path for his pet to walk and get
into its house.
16

INBUILT FURNITURE – COST CONSIOUS
23LAURIE BAKER PRESENTATION

JALIS FILTER THE MORNING SUN

PRESENT CONDITION OF HAMLET
Dog
house
37

All the
walls
are
made
up of
mud
bricks.

Timber
salvaged
from an
old boat
jetty.

He used
broken
tiles for
the outer
paved
area of his
garden.
MANGO MANIA….

He used
glass
bottles
for
decoration

•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.

LAURIE BAKER PRESENTATION 43
FISHERMEN’S VILLAGE
Poonthura ,Trivandrum(1974-75)
CHALLENGES:
 Severity of environment in which the tribal's live.
 Limitation of resources
 Conventional architects stayed away from these projects
 Dealing with large insular groups, with set ideas and
traditions.
 Dealing with cyclones
Area of each unit : 25 sqm

Design strategies
 Exposed brickwork and structure
 Sloped concrete roof
 Openness in design and individual units offset
each other
 Continuous latticework
 in the exposed walls
Construction

 Low sloped roofs and courts serve as wind catchers
 Open walls function to dispel it
 Long row of housing replaced by even staggering
 Fronting courts catch the breeze and also get view
of sea
Dealing With Cyclones:

 Little private rectangle of land in between houses
for drying nets , kids play,
 Provides sleeping lofts within and adequate space
outside for mending nets and cleaning and drying
fish
Open Spaces

PLAN

COMPUTER CENTRE
Ulloor, Trivandrum (1971)
elevation
Solution of Computer Centre Design
Problems
Fitting in naturally and
harmoniously with the elevations
of the twenty five year old
institution
Challenges :

• Using principle of lattice wall planning, breezeways and
built of natural brick and stone keeping in consideration
the electronic sophistication
• He proposed a double walled building with an outer
surface of intersecting circles of brick jalis
• Internal shell fulfilled the constraints and controls
necessary for a computer laboratory.
• Space between the two walls accommodated the
secondary requirements for offices and storage areas.

plan
External lattice
Two storeyed outer wall is stiffened by a series of intersecting circles,

"No innovative artist can hope to proceed in work
without having gained an understanding of the local
wisdom of a place.''
-LAURIE BAKER
References:
Visit to Kerala for workshop on Laurie baker’s
techniques.
Lauriebaker.net
www.google.com

Laurie baker

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