AR-607

Laurie Baker
(1917-2007)

SUBMITTED TO- SUBMITTED BY-

AR.DEV ADITYA JAIN YASHVARDHAN
BARN1AR18008
6th SEM
 Laurie Baker ‘Cost-effective houses are not just for the poor,
they are for everyone’
(1917-2007)

“… in 1943, Gandhi told Baker that his knowledge of western architecture would be of
very little help in India, where the rural areas needed more attention than the cities.
Gandhi gave Baker his idea of building houses, saying that the materials needed to build
a house should be acquired from within 5 miles of the site. This idea was to have a great
impact on the architect s life a few years down the line.”

Though being a foreigner, Baker adopted and adapted with India more than any other Indian.
From the early days making chairs for leprosy patients in Chandakh, Uttarakhand, to building
small little modest houses and community buildings in Kerala, his practices are visible proof of
his understanding of culture, climate and context

Economic: Being Cost-effective “The equation that a cost-effective house is

a house for the poor, implying a bad looking house, can definitely be proved wrong.
Isn’t it the responsibility of the upper and middle classes to stop indulging in
extravagance and make better looking houses instead?”
Construction
technique
1. THE RAT TRAP BOND
2. FILLER SLABS
3. ARCHES AND DOMES
4. TERRACOTTA ROOFING AND FLOORING
5. FRAMELESS DOORS AND WINDOWS
6. BRICK JALI WALLS OR PERFORATED BRICK ARCHITECTURE

7. CURVED WALLS

8. LATTICED BRICK WALLS

9. LETTING TREES LIVE AND BUILDING WITH MUD

Key works
-Leprosy homes across India, various dates Children’s
Village, Kulashekaram, 1965
-Loyola Women’s Hostel, Sreekaryam, 1971
-Centre for Development Studies, Ulloor, 1971
-St John’s Cathedral, Thiruvella, 1973
-Fisherman’s village, Poonthura, 1974
-Chitralekha Film Studio, Thiruvananthapuram, 1976
-Tourist Centre, Ponmudi, 1980
-Experimental Houses, New Delhi, 1980
-Indian Coffee House, Thiruvananthapuram, 1989

Awards
Padma Sri, 1990
UN Roll of Honour, 1992
Sir Robert Matthew Prize for Improvement of Human
Settlements, 1993