It required the keen eyes and mind of laurie baker, who reached the state in the mid 1960s and made thiruvananthapuram his home in 1970, to force kerala to rethink, reinvent and in general, revisit its old architectural values. Oct 12, 2016 gandhi told him that anyone willing to work for the people was welcome to the country. Laurie baker building centrepromoted by hudco and dsib, govt. Nick kindly pointed me towards laurie baker, the architects, website, where i found this gem of a manifesto, or architectural principles. 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.
Perhaps much of the content of the manual may be of relevance to many other parts of india. During the world war ii he was an anaesthetist to a surgical team in china where he also worked on control and treatment. The paper showcase embedded dimensions of sustainability in architect laurie bakers philosophy and practice of architecture through looking into his words and works. Laurence wilfred baker, born on 2 nd march 1917 in birmingham, england, moved to india at the peak of the indian independence struggle against the british. In 1966, baker moved south and worked with the tribals of peerumede in kerala. I travelled to kerala back in january 2004 and had indeed had coffee in the spiral coffee shop in trivandrum. Gandhi told him that anyone willing to work for the people was welcome to the country. Nirmithi kendra in kerala center for development studies trivandrum 1975. He emphasised local materials and traditional concepts in constructing dwellings, demonstrating a. Reprinted in 2014, this book authored by gautam bhatia makes an invaluable contribution by documenting the.
Born on march 2, 1917 and brought u in birmingham england, laurence wilfred laurie baker 19172007 was the son of staunch and faithful methazoles parents. Laurie baker or laurence wilfred baker was born on march 2, 1917 in a christian family. Bakers unconventional approach to architecture redefined the concept of housing for the masses and earned him the name of architect of the poor. The book assembles influences, details and observations on and by laurie baker to treat one to an explicit and fitting record to his willingness to accommodate and experiment with architecture of frugality and his continuing capacity to inspire people in reevaluating excess. The materials, the climate, the customs, all of course were different, but the principles were universal. Laurie baker was truly a green architect, with considerable concern for harmony with nature as well as low maintenance cost. Life, works and writings, delves deep into baker s life and gives the readers a comprehensive view of him. Jun 14, 2017 this year, 2017, marks the centenary birth anniversary of arguably indias greenest architect, laurie baker, who was often called the father of sustainable architecture. Rat trap bondrat trap bond brick masonry is an alternative tonormal english bond masonry walls by which 15%of cost can be reduced without comprimising thequality, strength and appearances. The project is intended as a collaborative research of the laurie baker centre for habitat studies lbc, thiruvananthapuram, kerala with the sr sankaran chair in rural labour studies, national institute of rural development, hyderabad. Baker studied architecture in birmingham and graduated in 1937, aged 20, in a period of political unrest for europe.
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. Architect laurie baker view presentation slides online. Laurie bakers architectural principles bringing designs to. Mar 08, 2008 a biography of inspiring britishorigin indian architect laurie baker who pioneered costeffective energy efficient beautiful and simple architecture in india in brick mud and local materials. Gerard da cunha baker of india i was an anarchic 19 year old student of architecture on a study tour to the south of india, when i saw two buildings done by laurie baker. He bared his walls of beautiful brick works or stone masonry and. Laurie baker brick genius more margie australian architectural graduate clare elizabeth kennedy discovers the unsung legacy of laurie bakers brick buildings in kerala, india on a six month sojourn to the subcontinent. Elizabeth baker, in her memoir of her time together with laurie baker, the other side of laurie baker, discussed the berinag tea that they shared that was very special to them, as laurie was a man of exquisite and simple taste, who always loved the simple pleasures of life. How laurie baker revolutionized lowcost housing in 20th. The government of india recognized baker s outstanding contributions to the country s architecture by awarding him the padma shri in 1990. The otherside of laurie baker by late elizabeth baker and lauire baker. Laurie baker building but mohan singhs house where he can live happily with his family. This year, 2017, marks the centenary birth anniversary of arguably indias greenest architect, laurie baker, who was often called the father of sustainable architecture.
Laurie baker represented a unique tradition of architecture that blended man and nature. Mud laurie baker about the author born in birmingham, england, in 1917, laurie baker studied architecture at the birmingham school of architecture from where he graduated in 1937 and became an associate member of the, riba. Exposed bricks, use of jallies in the place of glass windows, a rejection of geometric building designs. Lawrence wilfred laurie baker 2 march 1917 1 april 2007 was a britishborn indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in costeffective energyefficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and maintained an uncluttered yet striking aesthetic sensibility. The hamlet, laurie baker s home thiruvananthapuram, 3. Back of the book laurie baker was an architects architect and he has left his footprints on the sands of time in relation to architecture with a human face. In 1990, the government of india awarded him with the padma shri in recognition of his meritorious service in the field. He can be regarded as the father of green architecture in india.
The first was a onetime home of his with a doughnut plan. The former one was published by dc books and the later by penguin books and it is vailable in all leading book stores. The exterior design incorporates elements from the architecture of the old cathedral. Laurie baker 1999 this manual is mainly put together to help deal with working out inexpensive, effective and acceptable housing schemes for the homeless families in kerala. A biography of inspiring britishorigin indian architect laurie baker who pioneered costeffective energy efficient beautiful and simple architecture in india in brick mud and local materials. Vineet radhakrishnan, his grandson, has released a documentary on his life. In modern archit ect ure hist ory canon, only t he works f rom post independent. The british architect made india his home and its terrain inspired his costeffective, energyconscious architecture. S huts, computer institutes, private homes, hostels, hospitals, churches, technical institutes, auditoriums, film studios and tourist centres. Lecture 3 contemporary architecture laurie baker authorstream. Costford attempts to use some of the construction materials such as lime, bamboo, mud and exposed bricks and architectural elements such as the rattrap bond, filler slab void former roofing used often by laurie baker in his work in kerala. Laurie baker was so different from his contemporaries. Laurie baker vernacular architecture in india natural.
Documentary on britishborn indian architect laurie baker. Government of kerala invites applications for laurie baker. Allow me to draw your attention to laurie baker, who is known for developing beautiful sustainable buildings in india, using traditional construction methods and natural materials. The bakers, now with three children, were forced to move south to the hilly village of vagamon in kerala. Therefore please note that this is definitely a grossly incomplete list and has been pieced together in retrospect. The exterior design incorporates elements from the architecture of the old cathedral that it replaced. Documentary on britishborn indian architect laurie bakers life, work thorugh the life and architecture of laurie baker, the author wants the younger generation to form their own opinions and views about the visionary who was known as the gandhi of architecture for his philosophy. He bared his walls of beautiful brick works or stone masonry and made us admire the beauty of materials. Architect laurie baker architectural design building. Site visits to completed and ongoing projects which are based on the cost effective building technologies and bakers construction approaches.
The hamlet lowcost housing in current india as professor shailaja nair of thiruvananthapurams college of engineering, department of architecture tells us in a phone interview, frankly, there is a disparity between the volume of people who need such housing, and the people who are willing to accept it. Laurie baker first visited thiruvananthapuram some 67 years back while he was working all over india from bombay to calcutta and delhi to thiruvananthapuram. Laurence wilfred laurie baker 2 march 1917 1 april 2007 was a britishborn indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in costeffective energyefficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and maintained an uncluttered yet striking aesthetic sensibility. A week later, the accomplished bharatanatyam dancer met the 64 architect with blue eyes. Jan 07, 20 laurie baker building centrepromoted by hudco and dsib, govt. He obtained indian citizenship in 1989 and resided in thiruvananthapuram trivandrum, kerala. Moving to india in 1945, baker began to work on leprosy centre buildings.
Baker did question the logic of plastered makeup as an unnecessary paste on unlike anybody before in kerala. About the author born in birmingham, england, in 1917, laurie baker studied architecture at the birmingham school of architecture from where he graduated in 1937 and became an associate member of the, riba. Each of these dimensions has been supported through a bakers quote with supporting work illustration. Laurie baker truth in architecture exotic india art. He focused on converting or replacing asylums once used. Government of kerala invites applications for laurie baker national award the department of housing, government of kerala has instituted a national award for sustainable housing, in the name of the renowned architect late dr. 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 architects norms. 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. Laurie bakers architectural principles bringing designs. Because baker did not like to do his jobs on drawing tables rather he preferred on site decisions. Apr 28, 2010 i travelled to kerala back in january 2004 and had indeed had coffee in the spiral coffee shop in trivandrum.
Ive been trying to collect up various manifestos and lists of principles, especially with. Costford attempts to use some of the construction materials such as lime, bamboo, mud and exposed bricks and architectural elements such as the rattrap bond, filler slab void former. Lawrence wilfred laurie baker 2 march 1917 1 april 2007 was a british born indian. Remembering laurie baker, the pioneer british architect who. Australian architectural graduate clare elizabeth kennedy discovers the unsung legacy of laurie bakers brick buildings in kerala, india on a six month sojourn to the subcontinent. Laurie came to india in 1945, worked in the remotest of areas mostly in kerala, and passed away in 2007 at a ripe age o f 90.
In his style we find the confluence of gandhijis thoughts and baker s own artistic view. In 1970, he came to trivandrum and has since been designing and constructing. Soon, she learned that the residence was built by laurie baker. In 1969, they moved to thiruvananthapuram, where baker worked for the remainder of his life. His techniques not only use cheaper materials but also eliminate redundant details from the design. He worked as an architect for an international and interdenominational mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy. About the author atul deulgaonkar is an independent journalist and author of.
Laurie baker was an eminent architect originally from england who made india his home on mahtma gandhis advice. In kerala we have no deserts and no big black cotton soil areas, but it is hoped that some sections of the manual will be of help to anyone planning to build small houses on. Movie featurette for the upcoming full length documentary film on architect laurie baker. The definitive biography of laurie baker laurie baker has worked in india for over forty years and is renowned for being one of the very few architects in the world to have designed and built buildings as diverse as fishermens huts, computer institutes, private homes, hostels, hospitals, churches, technical institutes, auditoriums, film studios and tourist centres. Practical sessions encouraging handson exercises on varied alternatives in architecture. Life, works, writing this book is the most the important and complete publication on laurie baker yet. Aspects of traditional kerala architecture, temple architecture and eastern syrian christian tradition were integrated into the design. Sust ainabilit y, archit ect ure, modernism, laurie baker 1. Costford the centre of science and technology for rural development is an architectural practice in kerala founded by. Laurie baker full movie featurette for uncommon sense. While costford and individual architects have documented bakers work in kerala, the documents have not been published yet. Chandy, he received great encouragement and later married his sister while laurie continued his architectural work and research accommodating the medical needs of the community through his constructions of various hospitals and clinics.
He was an architects architect and he has left his footprints on the sands of time in relation to architecture with a human face. He passed away in 2007 and has many buildings standing in india, but ive found that hes much less well known than some of his contemporaries like christopher alexander. Applications are invited from individuals and organizations in the field of. Remembering the genius architect in his centenary year. Jan 01, 2012 laurie bakers indian coffee house, trivandrum 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. For laurie baker, a house was more than brick and mortar, it was a living thing. Laurie baker emphasised using local building material, even local tradition, in his works. But we took it as vernacular and labeled as an adaptation of kerala style. The britishborn indian architect, laurie baker, known as the gandhi of architecture, gave india lowcost building design with maximum efficiency and great aesthetic. Take a 6 minute crash course on visionary architect laurie baker. Collectively costford has been able to realise about 20,000 buildings in kerala. Laurie baker is an awardwinning britishborn indian architect and. The author gautam bhatia tries to frame most of the works of baker in this book although it was a tough job.
Aug 03, 2015 take a 6 minute crash course on visionary architect laurie baker. He lived for a few years at pithoragarh now in uttaranchal and then at vagamon, a hilly area of kerala. Lecturecumdiscussions on laurie bakers approach to architecture and buildings. During the second world war, he served in the friends ambulance unit in china and burma. Designed by iconic architect laurie baker, the cathedral has a templelike exterior but a conventional church interior. March 2, 1917 april 1, 2007 britishborn indian architect he went 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.
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