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“I have my own
principles, which I am
unwilling to abandon. I
dislike falsehood and
deceit. A building should
be truthful.” - Laurie
Baker.        (1917-2007)
Laurie Baker
Born Laurence Wilfred Baker
in Birmingham in 1917

Trained at the Birmingham
School of Architecture 1937.
Through Quaker friends, he met
Mahatma Gandhi, who sent him to
see the city's concrete slums and
asked the young architect to think
about better ways of housing India's
poor.

Inspired by Gandhi's
challenge, Baker went
home to England and
promptly returned to
India .
‘Bricks to me are
         like faces.’ All of them
         are made of burnt
         mud, but they vary
         slightly in shape and
         colour.
          I think these small variations give
         tremendous character to a wall
         made of thousands of bricks, so I
         never dream of covering such a
         unique and characterful creation
         with plaster, which is mainly dull
         and characterless.”


Quotes   I like the contrast of textures
         of brick, of stone, of
         concrete, of wood.
Quotes   People in most
         countries of the
         world are accusing
         their architects of
         failing to produce a
         modern form of their
         own previously
         distinctive
         architectural styles!
Quotes   “I don't think I've
         ever been inspired
         by what other
         architects have
         done but more by
         what ordinary
         craftsmen have
         created. “
Architectural
Principles
•Cost-effectiveness
•Use of locally available
materials
•Respect for nature
•Avoidance of energy-intensive
materials
• Wastage minimization to
create low-cost, beautiful, high
quality buildings

which long pre-empted modern
concepts such as eco-friendliness and
sustainable architecture.
"Cost-effective
houses are not just
for the poor, they
are for everyone.”
The equation that a cost-
effective house is a house for
the poor, implying a bad
looking house, can definitely
be proved wrong.

This entire
classification is
wrong."
“The practice of an
architect cannot be
divorced from that
of a builder. “


Architecture as a craft means
its theory and its practice are
indivisible.
Construction techniques

     •Use of Rat Trap
     Bond
     •Filler Slab
     •Arches
     •Corbelling
     •Terracotta
     Roofing
Baker also innovated
different bonding
techniques for brick,
which allowed him to
build of half- brick
thickness.

To add rigidity,
many a times these
walls were designed
in a stepped or
curved form.
Laurie Baker
Laurie Baker
Laurie Baker
Laurie Baker
Laurie Baker
Laurie Baker
Stairwell in Nalini
Nayak's residence in
Thiruvananthapuram,


Perforated brick
walls
create dappled
patterns
of light.
Baker's innovative
use of discarded
bottles, inset in
the wall

At Col. Jacob's residence in
Thiruvananthapuram,

creates a stained
glass effect.
Laurie Baker has not
turned his back on the
modern world; the homes
and offices he has built have
running water, electricity, and
sometimes garages.

But in his embrace of
brick, mud, bamboo, and much
more, Baker has done what
tragically few people in any
field in the Third World
have done, which is to be
intelligently selective
about what they take
In an era of superstar
architects designing
museums more famous than
the artwork they
display and skyscrapers as
testaments to corporate
power,

Baker’s philosophy is a
welcome change.


“My feeling is that you’re not trying
to put up a monument which will be
remembered as ‘Laurie Baker’s
Building,’ but Mohan Singh’s
house where he can live happily with
his family.”- Baker.
Baker's great sorrow
           about Indian
           government
           policymakers
M YOPI A   was that

           "They haven't the
           faith in their own
           materials.“

           And I would add
           “within themselves
           also.”

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Laurie Baker

  • 1. “I have my own principles, which I am unwilling to abandon. I dislike falsehood and deceit. A building should be truthful.” - Laurie Baker. (1917-2007)
  • 3. Born Laurence Wilfred Baker in Birmingham in 1917 Trained at the Birmingham School of Architecture 1937. Through Quaker friends, he met Mahatma Gandhi, who sent him to see the city's concrete slums and asked the young architect to think about better ways of housing India's poor. Inspired by Gandhi's challenge, Baker went home to England and promptly returned to India .
  • 4. ‘Bricks to me are like faces.’ All of them are made of burnt mud, but they vary slightly in shape and colour. I think these small variations give tremendous character to a wall made of thousands of bricks, so I never dream of covering such a unique and characterful creation with plaster, which is mainly dull and characterless.” Quotes I like the contrast of textures of brick, of stone, of concrete, of wood.
  • 5. Quotes People in most countries of the world are accusing their architects of failing to produce a modern form of their own previously distinctive architectural styles!
  • 6. Quotes “I don't think I've ever been inspired by what other architects have done but more by what ordinary craftsmen have created. “
  • 7. Architectural Principles •Cost-effectiveness •Use of locally available materials •Respect for nature •Avoidance of energy-intensive materials • Wastage minimization to create low-cost, beautiful, high quality buildings which long pre-empted modern concepts such as eco-friendliness and sustainable architecture.
  • 8. "Cost-effective houses are not just for the poor, they are for everyone.” The equation that a cost- effective house is a house for the poor, implying a bad looking house, can definitely be proved wrong. This entire classification is wrong."
  • 9. “The practice of an architect cannot be divorced from that of a builder. “ Architecture as a craft means its theory and its practice are indivisible.
  • 10. Construction techniques •Use of Rat Trap Bond •Filler Slab •Arches •Corbelling •Terracotta Roofing
  • 11. Baker also innovated different bonding techniques for brick, which allowed him to build of half- brick thickness. To add rigidity, many a times these walls were designed in a stepped or curved form.
  • 18. Stairwell in Nalini Nayak's residence in Thiruvananthapuram, Perforated brick walls create dappled patterns of light.
  • 19. Baker's innovative use of discarded bottles, inset in the wall At Col. Jacob's residence in Thiruvananthapuram, creates a stained glass effect.
  • 20. Laurie Baker has not turned his back on the modern world; the homes and offices he has built have running water, electricity, and sometimes garages. But in his embrace of brick, mud, bamboo, and much more, Baker has done what tragically few people in any field in the Third World have done, which is to be intelligently selective about what they take
  • 21. In an era of superstar architects designing museums more famous than the artwork they display and skyscrapers as testaments to corporate power, Baker’s philosophy is a welcome change. “My feeling is that you’re not trying to put up a monument which will be remembered as ‘Laurie Baker’s Building,’ but Mohan Singh’s house where he can live happily with his family.”- Baker.
  • 22. Baker's great sorrow about Indian government policymakers M YOPI A was that "They haven't the faith in their own materials.“ And I would add “within themselves also.”