LAURIE BAKER

K . AKHIL SAI MOHAN B.ARC - ‘ V ‘ SEM …

NAME : LAURANCE WILFRED BAKER

NATIONALITY : BRITISH-ORIGIN, INDIAN

BIRTH DATE : MARCH 2, 1917

BIRTH PLACE : BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

DATE OF DEATH : APRIL 1, 2007, AGED 90

EDUCATION AND MISSIONARY WORK

Baker studied architecture in Birmingham and graduated in 1937, aged 20. His initial commitment to India had him working as an architect for an international and interdenominational Mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy.

Laurie Baker was interested in design. In his childhood he would accompany his father every weekend to visit cathedrals and other old buildings and then he would build models and draw pictures of what he had seen.

Laurence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker was an award-winning English architect, renowned for his initiatives in low-cost housing. He CAME to India in 1945 in part as a missionary and since then lived and worked in India for over 50 years. He obtained Indian citizenship in 1989 and resided in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala. In 1990, the Government of India awarded him with THE PADMA SHRI, the nation's fourth highest civilian award, in recognition of his meritorious service in the field of architecture.

Finding his English construction education to be inadequate for the types of issues and materials he was faced with: termites and the yearly monsoon, as well as laterite, cow dung, and mud walls, respectively, Baker had no choice but to observe and learn from the methods and practices of the vernacular architecture.

In 1963 he moved to rural Kerala and started an Ashram at Kurisumala in a place called . Both in Pithoragarh and Vagamon baker started a hospital and several schools and these were the opportunities for him to design and build. After that he moved to Trivandrum. Here his work I nclude just 1000 residences and 40 churches chappels and other buildings. In 1941, Laurie volunteered to go on a mission to help at a medical camp at Kutsing in inland China.

Gandhian principles infused his work, as they did his life. “I now think Gandhi was right,” he wrote in 1975, “when he said that all the building materials should be found within five miles of the site”, and “Low-cost techniques should not be considered only for the poor — our aim should be to design only the simplest of buildings for all.”

HIS architectural principles of cost-effectiveness, use of locally available materials, respect for nature, avoidance of energy-intensive materials and wastage minimization to create low-cost, beautiful, high quality buildings which long pre-empted modern concepts such as eco-friendliness and sustainable architecture.

He has designed and built a dance village, computer institutes, fishermen’s huts, chapels and churches, factories, schools, film studios, orphanages, tourist resorts, residences, technical institutes, earthquake and tsunami resistant houses, leprosy homes, a Literacy Village, hostels, slum dwellings improvement, an ornithology centre, government buildings, a blind children’s international school and a museum

He has also done pioneering work into earthquake and tsunami proof housing.

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD HOUSING

1. IT should be made very clear that the Principles of good housing for whatever strata of society in whatever geographic or climatic regions, and concerning planning, design, materials and construction techniques are in no way different whether for rural or urban housing.a) We must plan for the people who will occupy the house their needs, their pattern of living, their religious ideals, their occupations etc.b) We must as far as possible use locally available inexpensive materials.c) These materials must be as energy-free or as energy conserving as possible.d) The striving for structural stability together with an acceptable and pleasing look must be maintained.

• The structure will be able to cope with all aspects of climate, whether of intense heat or cold, or of heavy rain or driving wind etc. •Planning must be not only of a house, but of its services and its land and it must take into full

•Consideration possible occupations including the keeping of livestock

• It is frequently assumed by planners of all sorts that the rural housing is inferior to urban housing. This is not so.

• Usually the needs and the planning and the implementation of rural housing is more complex and calls for more planning

We should also keep in mind, as planners, the very long traditions and patterns of rural living. In particular the use and planning of the space surrounding a house that is the compound, however small, is of more important and value to the occupants than the few rooms of the house. Many occupations providing preparation of food, utensils and tools, farming, live-stock and so on are done outside, not inside the house

4. There is no one type of plan, no one set of materials, no one type of construction techniques, no one set of rules that will be applicable to all parts of India, but the above principles do apply everywhere

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

Throughout his practice, Baker became well known for designing and building low cost, high quality homes, with a great portion of his work suited to or built for lower-middle to lower class clients.

His buildings tend to emphasize prolific - at times virtuosic- masonry construction, instilling privacy and evoking history with brick jali walls, a perforated brick screenwhich utilises natural air movement tocool the home's interior and createintricate patterns of light and shadow

JALI WALL at Central for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

The living room of Dr. Dolas' residence, Bakerplayfully uses curved forms.

The Hamlet', Laurie Baker's home,built on a steeply sloping and rocky hillside.

Another significant Baker feature is irregular, pyramid-likestructures on roofs, with one side left open and tilting into the wind. Curved walls enter Baker's architectural vocabulary as ameans to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls. Baker's architectural method is one of improvisation, in which initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of th accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself.

In one of the exhibition rooms, there is a chart written in his own hand listing the many things of wisdom he discovered through his extremely productive working life as an architect and a humanist:

• Only accept a reasonable brief• Discourage extravagance and snobbery• Always study your site and see potential relating to the soil, drainage, power, fuel etc.• You yourself get accurate site details and in-situ facts• Every building should be unique; no two families are alike, so why should their habitation be alike?• Study and know local materials, cost, building techniques and construction

• Study the energy used in the production of materials and transport• Don’t rob national resources; don’t use them extravagantly or unnecessarily• Be honest in design, materials, construction, costs and your own mistakes

•Avoid opulance and showing-off by using currently fashionablegimmicks• Get your conscience out of deep-freeze, and use it• Look closely at your prejudices and question them• Have faith in your convictions and have the courage to stick tothem

The living room at 'The Hamlet'. An integration of new building and salvaged timber fromtraditional buildings that were being demolished.

The India coffee house inThiruvananthapuram

• Each area has evolved empirically over centuries, ways of building to use local materials so that they remain structurally stable and withstand local climatic hazards. They also have coped with traditional, local, religious and social patterns of living

•A common urge of contemporary architects, planners and do-gooders is to put in large glass windows. Remember that in rural areas you often work in the sun and enter a house to be away from heat and glare. You also want to be able to shut out insects, mosquitoes, bats etc. Also remember that a square metre of window costs about ten times as much as the square metre of plain wall it replaces.

• Also security is important. A whole rural family may be out in the fields for long parts of the day. The fewer your possessions, the more valuable and essential they are to you!

• Very often a Jali wall is a better substitute for a glass window. It lets in general subdued light. It also deals with ventilation but prevents driving rain from entering. You can look from the inside to the outside but from the outside you cannot see inside. It is secure and thieves or animals cannot enter.

• Jalis can be made from brick, tile, laterite, stone, cane or bamboo and so on. Their patterns are endless and pleasing. Unlike windows, simple Jalis cost less than the wall they replace.

• Use bricks in districts where it is made and is plentiful

RAT TRAP BOND

• 4.5" walls are stable and strong if corrugated or buttressed.

9" walls are usually capable of being load bearing up to three storey height

• 25% of bricks, mortar, cost etc can be saved by using the Rat trap Bond. This can also usually

• Be safely used up to 3 storeys in height and is equally load bearing

MUD WALL

1. Their main advantage over burnt brick walls is that no energy / fuel are used in their manufacture.2. There are many varieties of mud wall systems3. Mud must be protected from water of any sort.

4. Use local methods unless you can prove “advanced methods” are genuinely superior.

5. The easiest type of mud wall is to use the same shape and size brick as the burnt brick, but leave it un-burnt. Masons do not have to relearn-they use it in exactly the same bond and methods as they do the burnt brick.

WINDOW OPENING

1. Use Arches rather than lintels2. Many varieties of arches (see booklet) flat, segmental, pointed rounded, corbelled, and so on.3. All arch methods are equally suitable for mud wall construction4. Remember to give adequate width of support walls to deal with the arch thrust.5. Frame work, templates, arch frames must be removed immediately the arch is completed (to allow for compression as the mortar dries and shrinks)

Doors and Windows

1. Wood is getting scarce and costly. Use as little as possible.2. In many instances frameless doors and windows are acceptable and reduce both quantity oftimber, labour and costs

3 .Board and batten type shutters are less costly, use less labour and less timber than panelled shutters.4. Glass is often not necessary. Only use when it has a useful purpose and is essential.5. Glass manufacture is Energy intensive. It is extravagant or unnecessary use is ANTI-NATIONAL

FLOORS

1. Use local materials

2. Remember that cement is energy intensive and should not be used if there is a good local alternative.

3. Tile (unglazed) floors are traditional and effective.

4. In many areas there is a local flooring stone available. Where so, use it.

ROOFS AND INTETRMEDIATE FLOORS

l. In many areas tile roofs are OK but call for a lot of timber support (purloins, rafters, battens etc)2. On the other hand prefabricated and various R.C slabs use energy-intensive steel and cement.3. Both systems have advantages and ‘evil’ disadvantages. These including labour and transport cost and other problems have to be studied locally before the better choice is made.

4. Regarding Concrete roofs:C.B.R.I etc have a variety of systems-L-panels, double funicular shells, etc. In practice the latteroften has leak problems. Both use steel and cement and have to be ‘over designed’ to cope with handling and transport.

Alternative slab in-situ systems include filler slabs (void formers) which reduce materials and cost by about 30%, but shuttering is costly. Again, local balancing and comparing of overall costs, transport, labour, and energy used etc, have to be made before a choice is made and it will vary from place to place.5. Domes and vaults can be done but are mainly not acceptable to live under: In certain drier areas the Hassan Fathi or Egyptian system of frameless domes and vaults is good-but usually “un-Indian”

A CORE HOUSE SHOULD BE DESIGNED BOTH IN PLAN AND SECTION SO THAT AS AND WHEN EXTENSIONS ARE TO BE ADDED, ROOFS, DOORS, WINDOWS ETC. ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACES.

THE ORIGINAL UNIT MUST ALSO BE CAREFULLY PLACED ON THE PLOT SOTHAT THERE IS SPACE FOR EXTENSION ON ALL SIDES AND BYE-LAWS ANDDISTANCE FROM BOUNDARIES ARE NOT BROKEN.

IF A SMALL PLOT WILL NOT ACCOMMODATE LATERAL EXPANSION OF A SMALL HOUSE YOU CAN PLAN FOR FUTURE VERTICAL EXPANSION.

YOU MUST OF COURSE COVER YOUR GROUND FLOOR ROOMS WITH A FLATROOF AND IT IS PREFERABLE, ALSO FROM THE BEGINNING, TO PLAN FORSTAIRS.

THESE WILL MAKE YOUR FLAT ROOF UNABLE, AND OF COURSE WILLEVENTUALLY CONNECT THE ADDITIONAL FLOORS WITH THE ORIGINALGROUND FLOOR.

IF YOUR PLOT AND YOUR FUNDS ARE TOO SMALL, START OFF WITH THEGROUND FLOOR, BUT PLAN IT TO CONTAIN A STAIR TO TAKE YOU UP, FIRSTTO AN OPEN FLAT ROOF, TO AN OPEN FLAT ROOF TERRACE, AND LATER TOANOTHER FLOOR OF BEDROOMS ON THE FIRST FLOOR ABOVE THE ORIGINALGROUND FLOOR COTTAGE. THIS EXTENSION WILL ONLY COST HALF AS MUCHAS THE FIRST BUILDING.

MINIMUM ROAD THROUGH COMMUNITY CLUSTERS

CLUSTER PLANNING AROUND A COMMON OPEN SPACE FOR COMMUNALWORK AND PLAY (AND FOR BULLOCK CART PARKING ETC!) CUTS DOWNPUKKA ROAD LENGTHS, ALLOWS FOR A VARIETY OF HOUSE DESIGNS, ANDENCOURAGES NEIGHBOURLINESS.

AN OPEN NARROW SPACE BETWEEN CLUSTERS CAN CONTAIN FUEL ANDFODDER AND FRUIT TREES, ALONG WITH SPACE FOR SANITATION INCLUDING COMMUNAL GAS PLANTS ETC.

THIS IS TO SHOW THAT A SINGLE STOREYHOUSE ON A SMALL PLOT LEAVES VERYLITTLE SPACE FOR GARDEN ETC.

THESE SKETCHES SHOW THAT ON THE SAME SIZED PLOT.

DOUBLE STOREYS OR “LOFT TYPE” HOUSESLEAVE MUCH MORE OPEN SPACE FOR OUT DOOR OCCUPATIONS.

HERE ARE 3 EQUAL SIZE HOUSES ON 3 EQUAL SIZE PLOTS

HERE ARE THE SAME 3EQUAL SIZE HOUSESBUILT AS ONE BLOCK –GIVING MUCH MOREOPEN LAND THOUGH THE AREA IS THE SAME AS 3 PLOTS.

SMALL HOUSES ON SMALL PLOTS

LEAVE VERY LITTLE OPEN LAND AROUND EACH HOUSE.

WHEN THERE ARE THREE BROTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES (OR PERHAPS 3CLOSE FRIENDS) THE THREE HOUSES CAN BE BUILT AS ONE BLOCK ANDTHEN THERE IS MUCH MORE OPEN SPACE FOR EACH FAMILY.

FURTHER MORE – THE UPPER HOUSE ALSO HAS A NICE BIG TERRACE (ASLARGE AS HIS HOUSE) ABOVE THE TWO GROUND FLOOR HOUSES.

PLOT SHAPES NEED NOT ALWAYS BESQUARE OR RECTANGULAR.

ROOF VARIATIONS20 m2 HOUSE AREA

THE CHOICE OF ROOF IS NOT JUST BETWEEN “PLAIN” OR “FANCY”.

.

THE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS NEEDED ARE THE MATERIALS AVAILABLE,THE CLIMATE, THE RAINFALL AND THE WIND DIRECTIONS, AND, MOSTIMPORTANT – THE TRADITIONAL SHAPE

THE MAIN REASON FOR THESE SKETCHES IS TO SHOW THAT ACOMMUNITY DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE ROWS OF IDENTICAL BOXES.

SLOPING SITES

DON’T BUILD ON THE OUTER EDGE OF THE TERRACE. YOU WOULD NEED TO BUILD A STRONG EXPENSIVE RETAINING WALL.

BUILD THE HOUSE ALONG THE MIDDLE OF THE TERRACE AND USE A LONGRECTANGULAR PLAN, NOT A SQUARE ONE.

IF THE TERRACES ARE NARROW IT IS SOMETIMES POSSIBLE TO BUILD A “STEPPED HOUSE”.

BONDINGis the very essential art of makingBRICKS, BLOCKS & STONESON BOTH sides of a wall interlockwith each other.

IN SOME DISTRICTS STONE IS AVAILABLE, BUT ONLY IN SMALL IRREGULARLUMPS. THESE MAKE VERY POOR WALLS WITH NO POSSIBILITY OF GOODBONDING. CRACKS SOON DEVELOP.

MAKE A METAL (OR WOOD) BOX (WITHOUT TOP OR BOTTOM) ABOUT 45 CMLONG 23 CM WIDE AND 15 CM HIGH.

PLACE IN IT THE LARGER STONES AND THEN FILL IN, ALL ROUND, WITHCONCRETE MADE OF THE SMALL STONES. AFTER DRYING AND REMOVINGTHE BOX YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT BUILDING BLOCK.

ADOBE OR SUN DRIED BRICKS

THIS IS VERY OLD, WELL TRIED AND TESTED MUD BRICK SYSTEM COMMON IN MANY PARTS OF KERALA.

IF PROPERLY MADE, THESE MUD SUN DRIED BRICKS ARE CAPABLE OF BEING USED FOR A TWO STOREY HOUSE.

PRESSED BRICKS

A HAND OPERATED MACHINE COMPRESSES THE EARTH INTO HARD, SMOOTH,STRONG BRICKS (THE MACHINE CAN BE OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY ORPANCHAYAT).

THESE CAN BE USED FOR EVEN THREE STOREY HOUSES, THOUGH EACHSTOREY MUST BE PROTECTED FORM RAIN BY OVERHANGING SLABS.

PISE (RAMMED EARTH)WITH A PROPERLY MADE FRAME(WHICH CAN BE TAKEN TO PIECES)RAMMED EARTH MAKES A VERYSTRONG WALL.

IT IS ESSENTIALLY GOOD FOR LARGE,LOW, SOLID LOOKING BUILDINGS OR ITCAN TAKE THE WEIGHT OF HEAVYROOFING SUCH AS REINFORCEDCONCRETE.

STRAIGHT, LONG, THIN WALLS CAN NOT BEEXPECTED TO CARRY ROOF LOADS AND MUSTBE EXPECTED TO BULGE, CRACK AND BREAK,IF NOT WELL PLANNED.

WORKS

CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES ULLOOR, TRIVANDRUM, 1971

The most important project of baker’s career. The significance of this assignment had less to do with size and budget, than with the idea of exhibiting a range of concepts applied to buildings of varying functions, scale and dimensions. An area of nine acres accommodates administrative offices, a computer centre, an amphi-theatre, a library, classrooms, housing and other components of an institutional design.

The Computer centre, Centre forDevelopment Studies, Here Baker evolved an innovative system of curved double walls to save on cost and to conserve the energy that goes into air conditioning a building of this scale and purpose

Here, at the summit, the library dominates the centre with a seven-storey tower; the administrative offices and classrooms are scattered in a randomness determined by each one's position on the slope. However, the buildings remain tightly connected through corridors that snake upwards to the library along breezy walkways and landscaped courts.

Building textures, configurations and spanning elements demonstrate Baker’s easy manipulation of brick, all of which were made close to the site and fired with locally-available coconut palm wood. All surfaces, whether inside or out, in the dormitory or classroom, are exposed to patterns showing varying honding techniques and jali work. Openings are arched, corbelled or spanned with brick lintels. Wall thicknesses change on different floors, depending on the loading and requirement.

LOYOLA CHAPEL AND AUDITORIUM SREEKARAYAM, 1971

The Loyola complex contains a high school and a post-graduate complex, both sharing a common chapel and an auditorium. It was here that Baker'sskills of cost-reduction met their greatest challenge, as it required a seating capacity of one thousand. In order to increase the lateral strengthof the high brick wall, without the introduction of any steel or concrete, Baker devised a wide cavity doublewall with cross-bracing brick.

Windowless cavity wall

Both the walls were pierced with a continuous floor-to-roof pattern of jails, so that the chapel was adequately, though somewhat mysteriously, lit-andventilated. Despite its tall proportions, the acoustics of the hall were remarkable-the exposed surfaces and the open patterns of brickworkcontrolling the reverberations.

The total covered area of the chapel and auditorium and the gallery is approximately 930 square meters. The cost in 1970-71, including the furniture and appurtenances, lighting and sanitation was kept within the original gift sum of 1.75 lakh rupees

1. Chapel nave 2. Sanctuary3. Narthex 4. Sacristy5. Chapel 6. Terrace7. Auditorium 8. Stage9. Green room 10. Toilet

HOUSE FOR DR A. VAIDYANATHAN KUMARAPURAM, TRIVANDRUM, 1972

It is the one of the Baker's more successful circular houses. In the Vaidyanathan house, the rooms are arranged in a wide arc facing the sea. The plan orients outwards in a double semicircle which incorporates all the major spaces of the house on the upper floor: living, dining and bedroom, with the semi circleending in a study at one end and a car port in the other. A staircase at the entrance travels down to the lower floor that isbuilt against the retaining wall of the hill and houses two additional bedrooms and a study. However, the brick walls of these rooms are separated from the inner stone retaining wall by a small air space, setting up an effective termite and moisture barrier.

A significant architectural feature of the Vaidyanathan House is an open-to-sky circular court, completing the inner wall of the house in a pattern of staggered brick and becoming the home of an ancient mango tree. Surprisingly, the entrance door is located on the side at the meeting point of the house and court wall-and not on an axial approach as may be expected.

One of the prominent landmarks in the Thampanoor area of Trivandrum, where both the railway station as well as the bus terminal are located, is the Indian Coffee House designed by Laurie Baker. This building, courtesy of its unusual design has become one of the most recognisable structures in Trivandrum. The entire building is conceived as a continuous spiral ramp, with a central circular service core and with dining spaces provided on the outer side. The form of the building is thus unconventional & bears Baker’s trademark jaalis to let in light & ventilation. The building is well proportioned, a cylindrical brick-red spiral continuing for a couple of floors and then terminating in a smaller cylindrical volume on top, giving a very unsymmetrical balance to the whole structure.

What one needs to appreciate is Baker’s masterful intervention in a very small plot in the middle of a busy urban area. The solution to the design programme is bold and unusual, yet, one which successfully integrates all the elements of the programme and one which creates a comfortable and interesting dining experience. Most of the people who see this building are automatically drawn into it due to curiosity.

On the inside, Baker has successfully solved the programmatic requirement of providing eating spaces by creating modules of built-in table and seating, with an individual table and its two benches placed on an individual horizontal platform. Thus, on the outer side abutting the external jaali wall, there are continuous horizontal platforms incrementally rising in height along with the slope of the spiral.

The material palette is again typical Baker. The walls are made of exposed brickwork which has been painted over – white on the inner side & brick-red on the exterior. There are no windows – jaalis serve to bring in plenty of light & ventilation, ensuring that the interiors are nice & comfortable. The table and the seats are built-in. The table consists of a concrete slab fixed to the wall & with a semicircular taper on one side. This slab is resting on a small brick arch which serves as the legs.

The seats are again interestingly designed and accommodate 2 people comfortably on either side. The seats of adjacent tables are abutting back to back, but are at 2 different levels to accommodate the slope. The seats are again made in brickwork and are finished with block-oxide on top and the backrest. The remarkable thing about these built-in furnitures is that Baker has designed them so very precisely ergonomically that they are very comfortable to use, inspite of being so simple.

There is a circular service core in the centre, which consists of 2 concentric circles. The inner smaller circular core is a narrow vertical shaft open on the top, with openings at different levels. This shaft provides ventilation to the central areas and works on the principle of Stack effect, a very simple but effective solution that is so typical of Baker. Around this circular core are the service areas, especially the toilets & handwash. The kitchen is placed on the ground floor and has a separate service entrance.

Now although the building is unique in design, there are a few functional issues. Due to the placement of the kitchen on the ground level, it becomes difficult for the serving staff as they have to continuously climb up and down the ramp to place the orders & then to serve the people sitting on the upper levels. Thus, they in fact ask the customers to occupy the lower seating first before going up the spiral. Also, the slope of the ramp is a bit steep, which contributes to a slippery slope which sometimes results in a few falls. Yet, one cannot deny the ingenuity of Baker to come up with such a design solution in such an urban context, creating a memorable building.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

1938: Associate of the Royal Institute of Architects (ARIBA)1970: Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects1981: D.Litt conferred by the Royal University of Netherlands for outstanding work in the Third World1983: Order of the British Empire, MBE1987: Received the first Indian National Habitat Award1988: Received Indian Citizenship1989: Indian Institute of Architects Outstanding Architect of the Year1990: Received the Padma Sri1990: Great Master Architect of the Year1992: UNO Habitat Award & UN Roll of Honour

1993: International Union of Architects (IUA) Award

1993: Sir Robert Matthew Prize for Improvement of Human Settlements

1994: People of the Year Award

1995: Awarded Doctorate from the University of Central England

1998: Awarded Doctorate from Sri Venkateshwara University

2001: Coinpar MR Kurup Endowment Award

2003: Basheer Puraskaram

2003: D.Litt from the Kerala University2005: Kerala Government Certificate of Appreciation

2006: L-Ramp Award of Excellence

2006: Nominated from the Pritzker Award (considered the Nobel Prize in Architecture)

Notable Projects: International Leprosy Mission Welthy Fisher's Literacy Village, Lucknow Andhra Pradesh Quaker Cyclone Project Latur Earthquake Proof Housing Project Tsunami-proof Housing Project

He Has designed and built a dance village, computer institutes, fishermens huts, chapels and churches, factories, schools, film studios, �orphanages, tourist resorts, residences, technical institutes, earthquake and tsunami resistant houses, leprosy homes, a Literacy Village, hostels, slum dwellings improvement, an ornithology centre, government buildings, a blind childrens international school and a �museum.

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