LAURIE BAKER

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

SUBMITTED BY:
PALLAVI V AND SOWMYA S
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 INTRODUCTION
• He is renowned for his
initiatives in cost-effective
energy-effective
architecture
• Influenced by Mahatma
Gandhi and his own
experiences in the remote
Himalayas
• He was a pioneer of
sustainable architecture as
well as organic architecture 2
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

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 IMPORTANT WORKS

CDS-Centre For Development Studies HAMLET

INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE St. John's Cathedral 4

 CDS-CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

LOCATION : Thiruvananthapuram , Kerala

YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION:1970
FUNCTION: Institute

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CAMPUS PLAN

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Evolution of campus

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 MAIN BLOCK
• Focal point of the site
• 12 sided polygon extending
to seven storeys
• Access to the floors is
through spiral staircase
around central shaft

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 ADMINISTRATIVE
BUILDING

COMPUTER CENTRE

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 OPEN AIR THEATRE
AND AUDITORIUM

CLUB HOUSE

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 BUILDING ELEMENTS

• Rat-trap Bond
• Jali Wall
• Filler Slab
• Frameless Doors and Windows
• Built in Furniture

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ST.JOHN’S CATHEDRAL TRIVALLA

LOCATION:TIRUVALLA,KERALA
FUNCTION:CHURCH
YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION: 1972
CAPACITY: 2000 PEOPLE

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• Design attempt to beak away from the
massive Baroque prototype of church
architecture first imported by Portuguese
missionaries.
• Implicit in these changes was a call for
more accessible and culturally appropriate
church architecture.
• Circular plan and tent-like wooden roof,
this Keralan cathedral is a response to the
modern Vatican; an attempt to design an
indigenous church type.
• The structure is built of local materials.

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• Stone piers are the main load-
bearing elements.
• Long plywood trusses, assembled
at the site, spring from the piers to
meet at the apex of the structure
about 25meters above the floor.
• Collar of dormer windows, is
crowned with an impressive cross
• The interior experience is inspiring
moody and reminiscent of soaring
gothic spaces.

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Cathedral has a temple like exterior
but a conventional church interior.

Traditional KERALA ARCHITECTURE

Temple architecture and eastern

Christian tradition were integrated
into the design

The exterior design incorporates

elements from the architecture of
the old cathedral that is replaced

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His objective in choosing such a structure
was to provide a place of leisure,
ecumenism, and prayer that facilitates
inter-generational and inter-faith
interaction

All the while sticking to local materials and

building techniques and provides for
ventilation, so important in south Indian
climatic conditions.

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• The altar which has
paintings of the 12 apostles
behind, gives a dramatic
effect with light and shade
falling on it from behind,
making it glow with almost
a halo around it.
• The proportions and height
of the interiors are grand.
• The major attraction in
the Church’s interior is the
depiction of biblical themes
in stained glass.

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 The Indian influences on the
architecture of the cathedral
include the shape and space –
the sky spaces found between
the ‘Goopurams’ shrines have
been incorporated. The steeply
sloped, vertical roof over this
simple and large space of the
church gives it the necessary
proportions and direction.

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The outer walls are made of brick and local granite jali, which
replicate the effect of the stained glass windows and provide
light and ventilation inside the building. The walls of the church
are made alternatively with tiles and red laterite stones into
which beautiful sculptures are carved out.

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