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LAURIE BAKER
BORN : MARCH 2, 1917,
BIRMINGHAM , UNITED KINGDOM
DIED : APRIL 1, 2007,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM , KERALA
NAME: MEGHNA AUGUSTINE
LEVEL : L4
MODULE: DESIGN ROOTS
LECTURER: JUHI NAGPAL
SHUBHADA SHAH
“I HAVE MY OWN PRINCIPLES
WHICH I AM UNWILLING TO ABANDON.
I DISLIKE FALSEHOOD AND DECEIT.
THE BUILDING SHOULD BE TRUTHFUL”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Introduction
pg 8
• Early years of Laurie Baker
pg 9
- Childhood
pg 10
- Education
pg 11
- Missionary works
pg 12
- Journey to India
pg 13
- Gandhian Influence
pg 14
- Personal life
pg 15
- The Himalayan Era
pg 16
• Baker’s Principles
pg 18
• Architectural Style
pg 19
• Characteristics
pg 20
• Low cost construction
pg 24
• His popular construction techniques
pg 25
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Rat trap bonds
pg 26
-
pg 29
Filler Slabs
why filler slabs?
- Arches
pg 30
pg 34
types of arches
pg 35
- Domes
pg 36
- Mangalore tiles
pg 37
- Terracotta Flooring
pg 39
- Frameless Doors and Windows
pg 40
• Characteristic Elements
pg 42
• Innovative Methods
pg 43
• Working methodology
pg 44
• Bakers Contribution to architecture
pg 45
- Hamlet
pg 47
• Conclusion
pg 63
INTRODUCTION
• There are not many architects who have created an idiom of their
own or left behind a unique architectural legacy that has had a deep
impact on the way people conceive homes and public buildings.
• Standing tall among the select few is Laurie Baker, who was born
and trained in architecture in England, but made India, more
specifically Kerala, his home, leaving a deep imprint in Kerala’s
architectural history.
• Laurie Baker represented a unique tradition of architecture that
blended man and nature. He emphasised local materials and
traditional concepts in constructing dwellings, demonstrating a
strong commitment to mass, affordable housing.
EARLY YEARS
OF
LAURIE BAKER
CHILDHOOD
 Laurie Baker or Laurence Wilfred Baker was born on March 2,
1917 in a Christian family.
 Laurie 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.
Figure1 : Father & son going to church.
EDUCATION
 After his matriculation, he joined
the Birmingham School of
Architecture and graduated in the
year 1937 at the age of 20.
 He became an Associate
Member of the Royal Institute of
Architects (ARIBA) in 1938.
 Hardly had he got the
opportunity to start working in
England when World War II
broke out just a year later in 1939.
Figure2 : Ar. Baker in his university gown
Ref:http://www.britsattheirbest.com/creative_brit
s/cr_architect_baker.htm
MISSIONARY WORKS
 During the Second World War ,
he served in the Friends
Ambulance Unit in China and
Burma.
 Served the leper colony in inland
China for almost 4 years and
thus he also became a doctor,
nurse, pharmacist and
pathologist.
 After the war ended he returned
to England to take up life as an
architect but soon he went to
India to work for ‘mission for
lepers’.
Figure3 : Friends Ambulance Unit
Ref: www.ourstory.info
JOURNEY TO INDIA
 Baker’s initial commitment to India
had him working as architect for an
interdenominational Mission
dedicated to the care of those
suffering from leprosy.
 He focused on converting or
replacing asylums once used to
house the Ostracized sufferers of
the disease - "lepers".
 Finding his English construction
education to be inadequate for the
types of issues he faced here , Baker
had no choice but to observe and
learn from the methods and
practices of the vernacular
architecture.
Figure4: Baker working in site
Ref:http://kamalkamaraju.blogspot.in/2011/10/architectu
re-remembering-laurie-baker.html
GANDHIAN INFLUENCE
 Through Baker’s Quaker friends , he met
Mahatma Gandhi , who sent him to see
the city’s concrete slums and asked the
young architect to think about better
ways of housing india’s poor.
 Inspired by Gandhi’s encouragement ,
Baker went home to England and true to
his word he promptly returned to India.
 Mahatma Gandhi’s principles influenced
Bakers work throughout his 50 years of
stay in India.
Figure5: Ar. Laurie Baker
Ref : http://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf166224
PERSONAL LIFE
 After India gained her independence and
Mahatma Gandhi (a personal acquaintance
and powerful influence on Baker's building
philosophy) assassinated, Baker lived in
Kerala with Doctor P.J. Chandy from whom
he received great encouragement.
 Later he married Dr.Chandy’s sister
Elizabeth who herself was a doctor
and moved to Pithoragarh, a small village
on the borders of Tibet and Nepal in the
Himalayas, where they lived and worked
for 16 years.
Figure6: Laurie Baker and his wife Dr Elizabeth at
their residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
Photo: S. Mahinsha.
Ref: The hindu ,
http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-andgardens/laurie-baker-centre-perpetuating-alegacy/article40527.ece
THE HIMALAYAN ERA
 Elizabeth's medical training was put to use in Pithoragarh while
Laurie continued his architectural work and research
accommodating the medical needs of the community through his
constructions of various hospitals and clinics.
 It is here that Baker would acquire those skills from the local
building community which had so fascinated him during his
missionary work.
• Baker sought to enrich the culture in which he
participated by promoting simplicity and home-grown
quality in his buildings.
• Seeing so many people living in poverty in the region
and throughout India served also to amplify his
emphasis on cost-conscious construction, one that
encouraged local participation in development and
craftsmanship - an ideal that the Mahatma expressed as
the only means to revitalize and liberate an
impoverished India.
• This drive for simplicity also stemmed from his Quaker
upbringing and faith.
• Baker sought to provide the 'right' space for his clients
and to avoid anything pretentious.
Baker’s Principles
Figure7: Principle in Bakers own writing
Ref:
http://www.lauriebaker.net/index.php/work/ba
kers-architectural-principles
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
• Baker has devised his own style that had his signature of structural
honesty , design integrity and sustaining quality.
• Baker creates a variety of textures and patterns by simple
manipulation of the way in which bricks are placed in the wall.
Figure8: Ar.Baker
Ref: indiatoday.intoday.in
Figure9: brick patterns
Ref: groups.yahoo.com
CHARACTERISTICS
• Designing and building low cost, high
quality and beautiful homes.
• Suited to or built for lower-middle to lower
class clients.
• Irregular, pyramid type structures on roofs,
with one side left open and tilting into the
wind.
Figure10: St. John's Cathedral, Thiruvalla
Ref: The Hindu
• Brick jali walls, a perforated brick screen
which utilizes natural air movement to cool
the homes interiors and create intricate
patterns of light and shadows.
Figure11: Brick jail pattern in CDS
Ref: The Hindu
• Baker’s designs invariably have traditional
indian sloping roofs and terracotta
Mangalore tiles shinging with gables and
vents allowing rising hot air to escape.
• Curved walls to enclose more volume at
lower material cost than straight walls.
• Use of low energy consuming mud walls
and compartments for milk bottles on the
doorstep and window sills that double as
bench surfaces.
Figure12: curved walls with brick jali patterns ,
Indian coffee house.
Ref: https://thetrinitycollege.wordpress.com
• Instead of cutting down trees , adapting it
in the design saves construction cost as
well, since working around difficult site
conditions is much more cost-effective.
Figure13: The Hamlet
Ref: lauriebaker.net
• Innovative bonding techniques for brick allow Baker to build walls of
only half brick thickness.
• Interiors are uncompromisingly direct and simple.
• Modified glass windows, frames and sills etc are often eliminated
preferring small openings in bricks like the traditional jali.
• Various features of his work are using recycled material , natural
environment control and frugality of the design maybe seen as
sustainable architecture or green building with its emphasis on
sustainability.
Figure 14: used in Hamlet
Ref: thearchiblog.wordpress.com
Figure15: at Col. Jacob residence Thiruvananthapuram
Ref:misfitsarchitecture.com
• Baker created a cooling system
by placing a high, latticed brick
wall near a pond that uses air
pressure differences to draw
cool air through the building.
Figure17: Abu Abraham’s house
Ref: Lauriebaker.net
Figure16: Abu Abraham’s house Thiruvananthapuram
Ref: lauriebaker.net
LOW COST CONSTRUCTION
• ‘Low cost’ or ‘cost reduction’ is not only concerning
economy.
• Most modern building materials are manufactured
articles like cement or steel etc.
• Their respective cost are more important consideration
but just as is the important question of how much
energy (or fuel) was used in their manufacture.
• The use of local materials are an example of economy
as there are no transportation costs.
HIS POPULAR
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
•USE OF RAT TRAP BOND
•FILLER SLABS
•ARCHES
•TERRACOTTA ROOFING
•FRAMELESS DOORS AND WINDOWS
RAT TRAP BONDS
• This double-wall technique uses bricks on edge with a cross brick
between each and produces a 9-inch thick wall with an insulating
air cavity in between.
Figure18: Isometric views of bonds
Figure19: Isometric views of rat trap bond
HOW A COMPLETED
MASONRY LOOKS...
Figure 21: ELevation
Figure20: technique to build rat trap bond
•
Surprisingly, this technique reduces the number of bricks
required by 25%, thereby reducing material used,
including mortar (1:8 mix), and overall cost.
•
Rat-trap technique is equal to the strength of a solid
9-inch wall in either Flemish or English bond.
FILLER SLABS
• Filler slabs employ by replacing
unproductive concrete by a filler material
which reduces the weight of the slab and
also the cost by reducing the amount of
concrete used.
• Also since the weight of the slab is
reduced , lesser steel is required for
reinforcement further reducing the cost.
Figure22: Filler slab
Ref: http://www.lauriebakerbuildingcentre.com/
Figure 23: Filler slab
WHY FILLER SLABS?
The reason why, concrete and steel are used together to construct RCC
slab, is in their individual properties as separate building materials and
their individual limitation. Concrete is good in taking compression and
steel is good in tension. Thus RCC slab is a product which resists both
compression as well as tensile.
Figure 24: Slab cross section
SIMPLY SUPPORTED SLAB CROSS-SECTION.
The fig. indicates the neutral axis and also tension concrete in the
bottom fibres of the slab which is in tension but the top fibres will
be in compression.
Figure 25: sectional elevation
Tension in a slab is on the bottom fibre and compression on the top
fiber that means if we want to optimise the structure we can remove
concrete from the tension zone where it is not much needed. that’s
the key behind filler slab construction.
Figure 26 : sketch of slab showing why filler slab is good
FILLER MATERIALS
ADVANTAGES OF FILLER SLAB
Bricks
Tiles
Cellular
Concrete
Blocks
Pots
Waste bottles
Figure 28
Figure 27
ARCHES
• The arch is significant because it provides
a structure which eliminates tensile
stresses in spanning an open space.
•
All the forces are resolved into
compressive stresses.
• This is useful because several of the
available building materials such as
stone, cast iron and concrete can strongly
resist compression but are very weak
when tension, shear or torsional stress is
applied to them.
Figure29: Masonary arch
Ref: http://www.lauriebakerbuildingcentre.com/
TYPES OF ARCHES
CORBEL ARCH
Figure30: Corbel arch
FLAT ARCH
Figure31: Flat arch
SEMI-CIRCULAR ARCH
Figure32: semi circular arch
SEGMENTAL ARCH
Figure31: Segmental arch
DOMES
• A dome can be thought of as an
arch which has been rotated
around its central vertical axis.
• Thus domes, like arches, have a
great deal of structural strength
when properly built and can span
large open spaces without interior
supports.
Figure32: Residential masonary dome
Ref: njarchitect.wordpress.com
MANGALORE TILES
•
Mangalore tiles (also Mangalorean tiles)
are a type of tiles native to the city
of Mangalore, India.
•
These red tiles, prepared from
hard laterite clay, are in great demand
throughout Indi
•
These were the only tiles to be
recommended for government buildings
in India during the British regime.
•
They are a popular form of roofing and
are preferred over concrete due to their
good quality.
•
They provide excellent ventilation
especially during summer
and aesthetically as well.
Figure33:Nirmiti Kendra, Trivamdru,
Ref: njarchitect.wordpress.com
• Some of them are especially made
to be placed over kitchen and
bathroom for the smoke to escape.
• Over a period of time, these tiles
become dark to black from constant
exposure to soot and smoke.
• They are unique and are made or
available in different size and
shapes depending on the users
need.
• These tiles are not only ecofriendly but also cheap, durable and
costs only one third that of cement.
• Some of the buildings which are 100
yrs. old still have tile roofing.
• These tiles are suited for regions
experiencing heavy rainfall as
water drains easily and fast.
Figure34: Manglore tile as an infill
for roofing.
TERRACOTTA FLOORING
• Flooring is often of terracotta tiles or colour
oxides.
• The bed is made out of broken brickbats
(this saves wastage of brick), over which a
3” mortar layer is laid and tiles are placed
over it.
• Various patterns and designs are worked
out, dependent upon shape, size of tiles,
span of flooring, and clients’ personal taste.
• These tiles require little maintenance and
are cheap.
•
Also the patterns of tiles are visually
attractive. Most commonly, tile shapes
include square, rectangular, hexagonal,
triangular or can be customized. Also,
electrical cables can be run through these
floors.
Figure35: House of Mr.Vijayan Vadavalli
Coimbatore
(Former Director of Salim Ali Centre for
Ornithology and Natural history
FRAMELESS DOORS AND WINDOWS
• Door and window frames are not actually
required.
• They are responsible for almost half the cost
of timber used.
• Avoiding frames considerably reduces the
cost of timber.
• Door planks are screwed together with
strap iron hinges to form doors, and this can
be carried by holdfast fittings carried into
the wall.
• The simplest and most cost-effective door
can be made of vertical planks held
together with horizontal or diagonal
battens.
Figure36: Frameless Door
• The simplest frameless window
consists of a vertical plank (9” wide)
set into two holes, one at the top
and one at the bottom. This forms a
simple pivotal window.
• Wide span windows can be
partially framed and fixed to walls
or can have rows of pivotal planks.
Figure37: Frameless window
THESE METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
LED TO CHARACTERISTIC ELEMENTS
OF BAKER’S STYLE
• JALIS
• TRADITIONAL ROOFS
• STEPPED ARCHES,
• OVERHANGING EAVES
• SKYLIGHTS
• BUILT-IN FURNITURES
MORE INNOVATIVE METHODS
HE ADOPTED….
• DIFFERENT BONDING TECHNIQUES
FOR BRICKS.
• PERFORATED BRICK WALLS
• USE OF DISCARDED BOTTLES , INSET
IN WALL.
• USE OF BRICKS INSPITE OF LINTELS
• CURVED WALLS
• RUBBLE MASONRY
WORKING METHODOLOGY
• Laurie Baker’s method is of improvisation and he never had any
drafted plans rather he liked to improvise on every stage of
construction.
• Curved jail walls are drawn by hand on the site without any
equipments.
• Openings are designed as the wall is being build , niches are carved
in and corners are detailed during the process of actual building.
• He follows a method of construction that creates similar elements
varying according to the function and scale of each project.
He believed in the triad of the Architect , Craftsmen and Client.
Figure38: Baker working
BAKER’S CONTRIBUTION
TO ARCHITECTURE
BAKER’S ARCHITECTURAL CREATIONS EXPANDS
FROM A REMARKABLY VARIED SPECTRUM OF
PROJECTS RANGING FROM VILLAGES TO LOW
COST HOUSES.
Figure39: Sewa center
• Laurie Baker was a prolific builder.
• So passionate was he about his mission to create shelter
for as many as possible that he rarely documented any of
his work per any typical architect's norms.
• Therefore please note there is only grossly incomplete list
available that has been pieced together in retrospect.
• Most of his works have not been recorded specially in north
India
• There are none of his works recorded decade wise, so here
is one of his Notable projects, his own house ‘THE HAMLET’.
THE HAMLET
• This is Baker's home in Trivandrum.
• A remarkable and unique house built on five levels on a plot of land
along the slope of a rocky hill, with limited access to water:
conditions most people would never dream of building anything
much less their homes under!
• However Baker has created a wonderful home for his family.
Figure40: hamlet inner view
• The house is situated on a
site with area of about half
an acre, in
Thiruvananthapuram,
sloping steeply toward the
Nilanchira road.
• The site was unwieldly in
plan steep in section, and
had a rocky surface.
Figure41: the Hamlet entrance
Ref: el.doccentre.info
• First built is a single room hut of timber.
• It housed the library of medical books and also as bedroom,
laundry room, dining room and study.
• The site was highly contoured an rocky, but even Baker did not
disturb even a single rock or a tree , so it is popularly named “right
in the rocks.”
• A house was build on the lower contour for the 4 nieces who
moved to Trivandrum.
• One more house was built for his son Tilak facing the trees.
Figure42: Hamlet inner courtyard
Ref: artnlight.blogspot.com
SECTIONAL ELEVATION
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Figure43: Plan of both the Levels of Hamlet
Ref: nayeemasif.wordpress.com
TILAK’S ROOM ADDITION PLAN AND SECTIONAL ELEVATION
Figure44: Additional room plan and sectional elevation
Ref: nayeemasif.wordpress.com
• The Bakers house- Hamlet is not visible from the road and walks up
towards it is one of the accidental encounters- an entrance , a
steeper gradient along a workshop along a free standing door, a
curved path along the niecery and the final steps leading to the
plinth of the main house.
• The house is made up of
red bricks and roof with
terracotta tiles.
• The house has a rustic
elevation, actively
blending with nature.
• A formal dining space
does not exist.
• If a visitor is present,
he/she eats under the
ceiling of the kitchen
Figure45: Entrance
Ref: https://www.flickr.com/
photos/doctorcasino/60299
18853/in/photostream/
There is a careful orchestration
of contrast like concealing and
revealing ,dark and light and of
opening to the landscape at the
end of a narrow passage which
helps to enrich the feeling of
movement through the building
and provide an architectural
complexity to an otherwise simple
site.
Figure 46: interiors
The heavily shaded areas have surfaced
in stone and lead across changing levels
to doorways mysteriously hidden behind
curved walls.
Figure 47: interiors
Grant entrance having a
Dog house just above it.
Stone , wood and fish tiles
are reused from an earlier
building.
Figure47
It was at a distance from
the main house, such that
it provided the bakers
privacy and the nieces
their independence. This is
a niecery.
Figure48
The large Kerala style
window at the end of
the bedroom provides
both light and a good view.
Figure49
Steps leading up to front
Door
View from the Opposite side
Steps directly cut in a rock
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
Entrance has small sitting
area for guests.
The wall is decorated from
broken pottery, pens
and glass.
A calling bell for visitors
To announce their presence.
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
A morning at Hamlet
Use of natural light in the structures
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
Inner courtyard…close to nature
Never cut trees instead adapt his design
according
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
Simple yet beautiful windows
Gables for proper air circulation
and ventilation
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
Baker’s fondness of arches
Water tank for storing Rain
Harvested Water
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
Cost Effective Baker’s window
Louvered window typical of
baker’s type
Stained Glass effect
Images taken from www.lauriebaker.net
WHAT INSPIRED ME
TO STUDY ON
LAURIE BAKERS WORKS
HIS LOVE FOR
HUMANITY AND NATURE
CONCLUSION
• Laurie baker was a person who was concerned about sustainable
means of architecture.
• His devotion and his inspiration towards his works is awe inspiring.
• The most important aspect for Baker was the building cost;
it had to be minimal.
• Baker had a thorough knowledge and was very committed.
• Neither did he seek publicity nor did he care about critics.
• Some critics said his buildings would not last for more than
10 years but they are still standing.
• THE BUILDING TECHNIQUES BAKER EVOLVED TO SUIT SPECIFIC
PROBLEMS OF HIS CLIENTS IN KERALA IS NOT A FORMULA
APPLICABLE TO ALL SIMILAR SITUATIONS & YET FROM ITS STEMS
AN ENTIRE IDEOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE
- A PATTERN THAT IS REVOLUTIONARY IN ITS SIMPLICITY & ITS
CONTRADICTION OF THE ACCEPTED NORMS OF ARCHITETCURE
IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA.
• In conclusion ,if we look into laurie bakers life we could easily find
that he was a person who likes to lead a simple and serene life, and
from his works we can see that he is trying to make architecture
resonate to the tune o nature, which makes us all inspired and
speechless...
THANK YOU …