LAURENCE WILFRED LAURIE BAKER

(March 2, 1917 April 1, 2007) British-born 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.

In 1990, the Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in recognition of his meritorious service in the field of architecture.

 Baker studied architecture in Birmingham and graduated in 1937, aged 20, in a period of political unrest for Europe. During the Second World War, he served in the Friends Ambulance Unit in China and Burma.

 worked as an architect for an international and interdenominational Mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy. focused on converting or replacing asylums once used to house the ostracized sufferers of the disease - "lepers". Used indigenous architecture and methods of these places as means to deal with his once daunting problems.

 Baker lived in Kerala with Doctor P.J. 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.

 Baker sought to enrich the culture in which he participated by promoting simplicity and home-grown quality in his buildings. His emphasis on cost-conscious construction, An ideal that the Mahatma expressed as the only means to revitalize and liberate an impoverished India.

 Designing and building low cost, high quality, beautiful homes Suited to or built for lower-middle to lower class clients.
Irregular, pyramid-like structures on roofs, with one side left open and tilting into the wind.

Brick jali walls, a perforated brick screen which utilises natural air movement to cool the home's interior and create intricate patterns of light and shadow

 Baker's designs invariably have traditional Indian sloping roofs and terracotta Mangalore tile shingling with gables and vents allowing rising hot air to escape.

Curved walls to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls,

 Baker was often seen rummaging through salvage heaps looking for suitable building materials, door and window frames.

Baker's architectural method is of improvisation.

Initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of the accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself

 His respect for nature led him to let the idiosyncrasies of a site inform his architectural improvisations, rarely is a topography line marred or a tree uprooted. This saves construction cost as well, since working around difficult site conditions is much more cost-effective than clearcutting

 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. His responsiveness to never-identical site conditions quite obviously allowed for the variegation that permeates his work.

Advantages 20-35% Less materials Decorative, Economical & Reduced self-load Almost maintenance free 25-30% Cost Reduction

Advantages Energy saving & Eco-Friendly compressive roofing. Decorative & Highly Economical Maintenance free

Masonry Dome

Advantages Energy saving eco-friendly compressive roof. Decorative & Highly Economical for larges spans. Maintenance free

Advantages Energy saving eco-friendly compressive roof. Decorative & Economical Maintenance free

Funnicular shell

Masonry Arches
Advantages Traditional spanning sytem. Highly decorative & economical Less energy requirement.

 1981: D.Litt conferred by the Royal University of Netherlands for outstanding work in the Third World 1983: Order of the British Empire, MBE 1987: Received the first Indian National Habitat Award 1988: Received Indian Citizenship 1989: Indian Institute of Architects Outstanding Architect of the Year 1990: Received the Padma Sri 1990: Great Master Architect of the Year 1992: UNO Habitat Award & UN Roll of Honour 1993: International Union of Architects (IUA) Award

The use of local materials is an example of economy because there are no transport costs. These styles show that people have discovered that there is a right way and a wrong way of putting materials together so That they are strong and durable

 This is Baker's home in Trivandrum. This is remarkable and unique house built on a plot of land along the slope of a rocky hill, with limited access to water: However Baker's genius has created a wonderful home for his family The living room at 'The Hamlet'. An integration of new building andsalvaged timber from traditional buildings that were being demolished.

 Material used from unconventional sources Family eats in kitchen Electricity wiring is not concealed

Let a brick wall look like a brick wall and a stone wall look like a stone wall. Concrete should look like concrete andnot be plastered or paintedto look like marble.

STEPS LEADING UP TO FRONT DOOR

A VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE

STEPS DIRECTLY CUT IN ROCK

ENTRANCE HAS SMALL SITTING AREA FOR GUESTS

THE WALL IS DECORATED FROM BROKEN POTTERY, PENS, GLASS

A CALLING BELL FOR VISITORS TO ANNOUNCE THEIR PRESENCE

A MORNING AT HEMLET

USE OF NATURAL LIGHT

USE OF NATURAL LIGHT

INNER COURTYARD CLOSE TO NATURE

NEVER CUT TREES INSTEAD ADAPTED HIS DESIGN ACCORDINGLY

ARCHES LED INTO A BEAUTIFUL OPEN ROOM

COURTYARD HAS MANY GARDENS AND PONDS

Pitched roof made of manglore tiles

BAKERS FONDNESS OF ARCHES

SIMPLE YET BEAUTIFUL WINDOWS

GABLES FOR PROPER AIR CIRCULATION AND VENTILATION

GRILL MADE OF BITS AND PIECES

CONICAL STRUCTURE USED

COST EFFECTIVE BAKERS WINDOW

Louvered window typical of bakers type

WATER TANK FOR STORING RAIN HARVESTED WATER

If it is to design a house,I want to know the clientseating habits. Do they all eat together at regular times? Or is it a smash-and-grab affair? I also want to know about the bedroom. Do they merely use it to sleep in? Or does he do his writing in onecorner (like me) and his wifedo her sewing or embroidery inanother corner?

Mrs Nalini Nayak`s residence (A Social Worker) Ulloor, Trivandrum (1971)

Requirements: meeting place working place (training). Open spaces. Classroom & dormitories.

 The main house is formed by a simple threefloor stacking of the pentagon on nine-inchthick brick walls internally each floor divides into the bedroom, bath and landing The additional segment on the ground, forming the living/dining and kitchen, is structured with bays of half-brick thickness, alternating wall and wall and door

View of entrance from living room

Built furniture of bricks

Common door for entry and bathroom

Sun light merging inwards.

2nd floor bedroom.

Bricks to me are like faces. All of them are made of burnt mud , but they vary slightly in shape and color.

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

Construction

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

 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

 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

Challenges : Solution of Computer Centre Design Problems Fitting in naturally and harmoniously with the elevations of the twenty five year old institution

 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.

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

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