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LAURIE BAKER

Name Laurence Wilfred Baker Nationality British-origin, Indian Birth date March 2, 1917(1917-03-02) Birth place Birmingham, England Date of death April 1, 2007 (aged90) Place of death Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Laurie Baker was interested in design. 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. After his matriculation, he joined the Birminghams School of Architecture and became an Associate Member of the Royal Institute of Architects (ARIBA) in 1938 .

GANDHI INFLUENCE

He came into contact with some Quakers ,who believed in the power of non-violence and to live in respect of every person small or big, rich or poor. Later, he would similarly be drawn to the similar beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi who would be a major influence on his work in India. The ideal houses in the ideal village will be built materials which arc all found within a five-mile radius of the house.

In 1963 he moved to rural Kerala and started an Ashram at Kurisumala in a place called Vagamon. Both in Pithoragarh and Vagamon baker started a hospital and several schools and these were the opportunities for him to design and build. After that he moved to Trivandrum. Here his work include just 1000 residences and 40 churches chappels and other buildings. In 1941, Laurie volunteered to go on a mission to help at a medical camp at Kutsing in inland China.

He worked at the leper colony. He dressed their ulcers, gave them medicines when available. He was doctor, nurse, pharmacist and pathologist. On Sundays he was even the parson at their church! The Mission was in dire need of an architect this was his chance to use his architectural skills to help people in need. Laurie had no second thoughts and arrived in India in 1945,he decided to stay with Dr. P.J Chandy who ran one of the leprosy hospitals in Faizabad and had become one of his closest friends. He also decided to take only the same salary Dr. Chandy received. It was here that he met his future wife Elizabeth, also a doctor when she came to Faizabad to perform an operation on her brother and look after the hospital while he recuperated.

LAURIE BAKERGandhian principles infused his work, as they did his life. I now think Gandhi was right, he wrote in 1975, when he said that all the building materials should be found within five miles of the site, and Low-cost techniques should not be considered only for the poor our aim should be to design only the simplest of buildings for all.

his architectural principles of cost-effectiveness, use of locally available materials, respect for nature, avoidance of energy-intensive materials and wastage minimization to create low-cost, beautiful, high quality buildings which long pre-empted modern concepts such as eco-friendliness and sustainable architecture. He has designed and built a dance village, computer institutes, fishermens huts, chapels and churches, factories, schools, film studios, orphanages, tourist resorts, residences, technical institutes, earthquake and tsunami resistant houses, leprosy homes, a Literacy Village, hostels, slum dwellings improvement, an ornithology centre, government buildings, a blind childrens international school and a museum. . He has also done pioneering work into earthquake and tsunami proof housing.

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD HOUSING1. It should be made very clear that the Principles of good housing for whatever strata of society inwhatever geographic or climatic regions, and concerning planning, design, materials and constructiontechniques are in no way different whether for rural or urban housing.a) We must plan for the people who will occupy the house their needs, their pattern of living, theirreligious ideals, their occupations etc.b) We must as far as possible use locally available inexpensive materials.c) These materials must be as energy-free or as energy conserving as possible.d) The striving for structural stability together with an acceptable and pleasing look must be maintained.

The structure will be able to cope with all aspects of climate, whether of intense heat or cold, or of heavy rain or driving wind etc. Planning must be not only of a house, but of its services and its land and it must take into full

Consideration possible occupations including the keeping of livestock

It is frequently assumed by planners of all sorts that the rural housing is inferior to urban housing. This is not so.

Usually the needs and the planning and the implementation of rural housing is more complex and calls for more planning

We should also keep in mind, as planners, the very long traditions and patterns of rural living. In particular the use and planning of the space surrounding a house that is the compound, however small, is of more important and value to the occupants than the few rooms of the house. Many occupations providing preparation of food, utensils and tools, farming, live-stock and so on are done outside, not inside the house.

4. There is no one type of plan, no one set of materials, no one type of construction techniques, no one set of rules that will be applicable to all parts of India, but the above principles do apply everywhere.

Architectural style:1. Each area has evolved empirically over centuries, ways of building to use local materials so that they remain structurally stable and withstand local climatic hazards. They also have coped with traditional, local, religious and social patterns of living.2. Obviously you can and should continue the Research & Development -e.g.: improve thatch to be fire retardant and more durable, or stabilise mud to add strength and prevent termites etc. But dont just substitute with a modern material because it is the in- thing.Consider the energy used in its manufacture, also transport, and its acceptability, (e.g.: you can sleep on mud or tile but not on a cement floor)3. A common urge of contemporary architects, planners and do-gooders is to put in large glass windows. Remember that in rural areas you often work in the sun and enter a house to be away from heat and glare. You also want to be able to shut out insects, mosquitoes, bats etc. Also remember that a square metre of window costs about ten times as much as the square metre of plain wall it replaces.

4. Also security is important. A whole rural family may be out in the fields for long parts of the day. The fewer your possessions, the more valuable and essential they are to you!5. Very often a Jali wall is a better substitute for a glass window. It lets in general subdued light. It also deals with ventilation but prevents driving rain from entering. You can look from the inside to the outside but from the outside you cannot see inside. It is secure and thieves or animals cannot enter.6. Jalis can be made from brick, tile, laterite, stone, cane or bamboo and so on. Their patterns are endless and pleasing. Unlike windows, simple Jalis cost less than the wall they replace.

Rat trap bond:1. Use bricks in districts where it is made and is plentiful2. 4.5" walls are stable and strong if corrugated or buttressed.3. 9" walls are usually capable of being load bearing up to three storey height4. 25% of bricks, mortar, cost etc can be saved by using the Rat trap Bond. This can also usuallybe safely used up to 3 storeys in height and is equally load bearing

Mud wall:1. Their main advantage over burnt brick walls is that no energy / fuel are used in their manufacture.2. There are many varieties of mud wall systems3. Mud must be protected from water of any sort.4. Use local methods unless you can prove advanced methods are genuinely superior.5. The easiest type of mud wall is to use the same shape and size brick as the burnt brick, but leaveit un-burnt. Masons do not have to relearn-they use it in exactly the same bond and methods asthey do the burnt brick.

Window opening:

1. Use Arches rather than lintels2. Many varieties of arches (see booklet) flat, segmental, pointed rounded, corbelled, and so on.3. All arch methods are equally suitable for mud wall construction4. Remember to give adequate width of support walls to deal with the arch thrust.5. Frame work, templates, arch frames must be removed immediately the arch is completed (to allow for compression as the mortar dries and shrinks)

Doors and Windows:1. Wood is getting scarce and costly. Use as little as possible.2.1n many instances frameless doors and windows are acceptable and reduce both quantity oftimber, labour and costs

3 .Board and batten type shutters are less costly, use less labour and less timber than panelledshutters.4. Glass is often not necessary. Only use when it has a useful purpose and is essential.5. Glass manufacture is Energy intensive. It is extravagant or unnecessary use is ANTI-NATIONAL.Floors1. Use local materials2. Remember that cement is energy intensive and should not be used if there is a good localalternative.3. Tile (unglazed) floors are traditional and effective.4. In many areas there is a local flooring stone available. Where so, use it.

Roofs and intetrmediate floors:cost and other problems have to be studied locally before the better choice is made. 4. Regarding Concrete roofs:C.B.R.I etc have a variety of systems-L-panels, double funicular shells, etc. In practice the latteroften has leak problems.Both use steel and cement and have to be over designed to cope with handling and transport.

l. In many areas tile roofs are OK but call for a lot of timber support (purloins, rafters, battens etc)2. On the other hand prefabricated and various R.C slabs use energy-intensive steel and cement.3. Both systems have advantages and evil disadvantages. These including labour and transport

Roofs and intermediate floors:

Alternative slab in-situ systems include filler slabs (void formers) which reduce materials and costby about 30%, but shuttering is costly. Again, local balancing and comparing of overall costs,transport, labour, and energy used etc, have to be made before a choice is made and it will varyfrom place to place.5. Domes and vaults can be done but are mainly not acceptable to live under: In certain drier areasthe Hassan Fathi or Egyptian system of frameless domes and vaults is good-but usually un-Indian

Foundation:

Fig. 1. An orthodox foundation of a wide trench,lined with concrete on which stepped stone wallsform a basement.Fig. 2. But... A 45-cm stone wall in a 45-cm widetrench is normally adequate.Fig. 3. The soft infilling often absorbs falling rainand damp walls are the result.1. Dont dig deeper than is necessary. Consistency of soil is more important than solidity.2. Only dig as wide as your foundation / basement wall is going to be (usually 45cm)3. Use the dug out soil as infilling. So throw it into the building area, not outside it.

4. If there are intact local traditional houses over 50 years old, there is no need to do any other sortof foundation / basement - unless you can simplify it and lessen its cost without involving energyand transport.5. Special difficult soils may well benefit from more scientific methods. For example, reclaimedsoils and black cotton soils are notoriously bad and difficult and dangerous.a) The traditional deep excavations and infilling with sand or gravel etc can be replaced with asurface beam.No excavation is required except the removal of the top few centimetres of top soil.b) The Beams can be reinforced with bamboo instead of steel. In section, the beamcan taper upwards, e.g.: a wide flat base, say 50cm,50 or 60cm height, tapering to a top surfaceonly 20 or 25 cm wide,c) The plan is made to fit on to a series of parallel beams.

d) These beams are very much like the pontoons of amilitary bridge. They rise and fall as the black cotton soilsolidifies in the dry weather and expands like a sponge inthe wet weather.e) The aggregate of the concrete can be quite large (60 mm metal)6. Where stone is available, this is usually the best foundation and basement material, but it shouldbe bonded properly. If so bonded, it can either be a dry wall (if locally used) or it can be built ina mud mortar. If and where necessary, a lime or cement pointing can be used above ground on theoutside.7. An extra thick wall is not necessarily a stronger wall. Bonding is more important than thicknessof the wall8. Stones should be laid flat-not upright

Foundations:- Cost reduction.

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LAURIE BAKER'S 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. This building, courtesy of its unusual design has become one of the most recognisable structures in Trivandrum. The entire building is conceived as a continuous spiral ramp, with a central circular service core and with dining spaces provided on the outer side. The form of the building is thus unconventional & bears Bakers trademark jaalis to let in light & ventilation. The building is well proportioned, a cylindrical brick-red spiral continuing for a couple of floors and then terminating in a smaller cylindrical volume on top, giving a very unsymmetrical balance to the whole structure.

What one needs to appreciate is Bakers masterful intervention in a very small plot in the middle of a busy urban area. The solution to the design programme is bold and unusual, yet, one which successfully integrates all the elements of the programme and one which creates a comfortable and interesting dining experience. Most of the people who see this building are automatically drawn into it due to curiosity. On the inside, Baker has successfully solved the programmatic requirement of providing eating spaces by creating modules of built-in table and seating, with an individual table and its two benches placed on an individual horizontal platform. Thus, on the outer side abutting the external jaali wall, there are continuous horizontal platforms incrementally rising in height along with the slope of the spiral

The material palette is again typical Baker. The walls are made of exposed brickwork which has been painted over white on the inner side & brick-red on the exterior. There are no windows jaalis serve to bring in plenty of light & ventilation, ensuring that the interiors are nice & comfortable. The table and the seats are built-in. The table consists of a concrete slab fixed to the wall & with a semicircular taper on one side. This slab is resting on a small brick arch which serves as the legs. The seats are again interestingly designed and accommodate 2 people comfortably on either side. The seats of adjacent tables are abutting back to back, but are at 2 different levels to accommodate the slope. The seats are again made in brickwork and are finished with block-oxide on top and the backrest. The remarkable thing about these built-in furnitures is that Baker has designed them so very precisely ergonomically that they are very comfortable to use, inspite of being so simple.

There is a circular service core in the centre, which consists of 2 concentric circles. The inner smaller circular core is a narrow vertical shaft open on the top, with openings at different levels. This shaft provides ventilation to the central areas and works on the principle of Stack effect, a very simple but effective solution that is so typical of Baker. Around this circular core are the service areas, especially the toilets & hand wash. The kitchen is placed on the ground floor and has a separate service entrance.