LAURIE BAKER

(March 2 , 1917 April 1 , 2007)

PRESENTED BY :

JANDEEP SINGH (10)

MAYANK SAINI (04) 3RD YEAR SEC- A

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 Thiruvana thapuram (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.
Baker studied architecture in Birmingham and graduated in 1937, aged 20, in a period of political unrest for Europe.

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. 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, 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

HONOURS
1981: D.Litt conferred by the Royal University of Netherlands for outstanding work in the Third World 1983: Order of the British Empire, MBE 1987: Received the first Indian National Habitat Award 1988: Received Indian Citizenship 1989: Indian Institute of Architects Outstanding Architect of the Year 1990: Received the Padma Sri 1990: Great Master Architect of the Year 1992: UNO Habitat Award & UN Roll of Honour 1993: International Union of Architects (IUA) Award

 1993: Sir Robert Matthew Prize for Improvement of Human Settlements 1994: People of the Year Award 1995: Awarded Doctorate from the University of Central England 1998: Awarded Doctorate from Sri Venkateshwara University 2001: Coinpar MR Kurup Endowment Award 2003: Basheer Puraskaram 2003: D.Litt from the Kerala University 2005: Kerala Government Certificate of Appreciation 2006: L-Ramp Award of Excellence 2006: Nominated from the Pritzker Prize

THE HAMLET , LAURIE BAKERS RESIDENCE

The Hamlet: This is Baker's home in Trivandrum. This remarkable and unique house built on five levels on a plot of land along the slope of a rocky hill, with limited access to water: conditions most people would never dream of building anything much less their homes under! However Baker's genius has created a wonderful home for his family
STEPS LEADING UPTO FRONT FLOOR

USE OF NATURAL LIGHT AT HAMLET

THE WALL IS DECORATED FROM BROKEN POTTERY, GLASS

NEVER CUT TREES INSTEAD ADAPTED HIS DESIGN ACCORDINGLY

ARCHES LED INTO A BEAUTIFUL OPEN ROOM

GABLES FOR PROPER AIR CIRCULATION AND VENTILATION

CONICAL STRUCTURE USED

INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE India coffee house a small building for an expensive restaurant outside d main bus stop in thiruvananthapuram, shows how free he was from pre-conceived ideas, as well as any fear from apparent strangeness of his own solutions. Here the dining area is a curving ramp that rises about two floors and winds tightly about a functional service core housing the pantry and stores. Built in seats and tables hug the curving outer jali wall, whose perforations throw a playful pattern of light on the spiraling floor while lending a tapestry like feel to the wall when viewed from outside.

(EXTERIOR VIEW ICH)

(INTERIOR VIEW ICH)

LOYOLA CHAPEL AND AUDITORIUM

Loyola Chapel and Auditorium built in 1971 and located in Sreekaryam,Kerala,India has a high school and post graduate school campus,both sharing a common chapel and auditorium.It was here that Baker's skills of cost reduction met their greates challenge as it required a seating capacity of one thousand. Inorder to increase the lateral strength of the high brick wall, without the introduction of steel or concrete, Baker devised a wide cavity double-wall with cross-bracing brick. The Hamlet's Inner Courtyard has the significant Baker feature which is irregular, pyramid-like structures on roofs, with one side left open and tilting into the wind. Baker's designs invariably have traditional Indian sloping roofs and terracotta Mangalore tile shingling with gables and vents allowing rising hot air to escape.

INSIDE VIEW OF CHAPEL

BRICK WORK ON WALLS

CENTER OF DEVOLOPMENT STUDIES

The Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Thiruvananthapuram, the project that secured Bakers reputation in the 1970s, is built using his innovative system of cavity walls in un-plastered brick, reinforced concrete filler slabs (where recycled clay tiles replaced a fair bit of the concrete), and brick jalis (patterns of perforation) instead of expensive windows. The buildings are sited carefully and laid out at different levels on a sloping site to minimize excavation and earth filling. As elsewhere, Baker keeps out the rain, lets in the breeze and modulates daylight by controlling openings, introducing jalis, providing roof overhangs, and wrapping internal spaces around intimate courtyards. These same functional devices also form the unique visual identity of his buildings. In this early project, Bakers capacity to combine social consciousness and expressive freedom in a witty and vivid manner is already clearly evident.

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