Laurence Wilfred

LAURIE BAKER

PRESENTED BY:
PRATYAKSHA SAXENA
SHRUTI GAUTAM
 LIFE HISTORY
• (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.
 CONTRIBUTION TO
INDIA
• 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 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
 Architectural style
• 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.
• 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 clear-cutting
• 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.
 LOW COST
CONSTRUCTION
Advantages
20-35% Less materials
Decorative, Economical Filler slab
& Reduced self-load
Almost maintenance free
25-30% Cost Reduction

Advantages
Energy saving & Eco-
Friendly compressive Jack Arch
roofing.
Decorative & Highly
Economical
Maintenance free
LOW COST CONSTRUCTION
•Masonry Dome
Advantages
•Energy saving eco-friendly
compressive roof.
•Decorative & Highly Economical
for larges spans.
•Maintenance free

Funnicular shell
Advantages
•Energy saving eco-
friendly compressive roof.
•Decorative & Economical
•Maintenance free
Low cost constructions

•Masonry Arches

Advantages
•Traditional spanning sytem.
•Highly decorative & economical
•Less energy requirement.
Bird eye view-
 The Hamlet
• 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 and a dog house.
Even the dog has a well placed
jali to let...

The Baker’s bedroom

resembles a long railway
compartment....
• Material used from
unconventional sources

• Family eats in kitchen

• Electricity wiring is not

concealed
Drawings

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR
 STEPS LEADING UP
TO FRONT DOOR

steps are made by the

direct cutting in rocks
A VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITE
SIDE

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
INNER COURTYARD …CLOSE TO NATURE
NEVER CUT TREES INSTEAD ADAPTED HIS DESIGN ACCORDINGLY
COURTYARD HAS MANY
GARDENS AND PONDS

Pitched roof made of

manglore tiles
BAKER’S FONDNESS
OF ARCHES

ARCHES LED INTO A BEAUTIFUL

OPEN ROOM
SIMPLE YET BEAUTIFUL
WINDOWS

old traditional kerala design….

 GABLES FOR PROPER
AIR CIRCULATION AND
VENTILATION
GRILL MADE OF BITS AND PIECES
CONICAL STRUCTURE USED…
 COST EFFECTIVE
BAKER’S WINDOW

Louvered window typical

of baker’s type
STAINED GLASS EFFECT
WATER TANK FOR STORING
RAIN HARVESTED WATER
Mrs Nalini Nayak`s residence
(A Social Worker)
Ulloor, Trivandrum (1971)

Requirements:-
• Meeting place.
• working place (training).
• Open spaces.
• Classroom & dormitories.
 External Views
Generous sprawling ground floor with three floor
staking of pentagon
• The main house is formed by a simple three-
floor stacking of the pentagon on nine-inch-
thick 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
Ground floor plan
1st Floor Plan
2nd Floor Plan
The Entrance
View of entrance from living room

 Built
furniture of
bricks
 1st floor bedroom entrance.

Common door for entry and

bathroom