Laurie Baker
Encyclopedia
Laurence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) was an award-winning British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilisation and simple but beautiful aesthetic sensibility. In time he made a name for himself both in sustainable architecture
as well as in organic architecture
.
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 Thiruvananthapuram
(Trivandrum), Kerala
, since 1970, where he later set up an organization called COSTFORD (Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development), for spreading awareness for low cost housing.
In 1990, the Government of India
awarded him with the Padma Shri
in recognition of his meritorious service in the field of architecture.
family, the youngest son of Birmingham Gas Department's chief accountant, Wilfred Baker and Emily. His elder brothers, Leonard and Norman, were both studying law, and he had a married sister, Edna. In his teens Baker began to question what religion meant to him and decided to become a Quaker
, since it was closer to what he believed in. Baker studied architecture
at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
, Birmingham
and graduated in 1937, aged 20, in a period of political unrest in Europe.
During the Second World War
, as a conscientious objector
, he served in the Friends Ambulance Unit in China and Burma.
His initial commitment to India had him working as an architect for World Leprosy Mission, an international and interdenominational Mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy
in 1945. As new medicines for the treatment of the disease were becoming more prevalent, his responsibilities were focused on converting or replacing asylum
s once used to house the ostracized sufferers of the disease - "lepers". Finding his English construction education to be inadequate for the types of issues and materials he was faced with: termites and the yearly monsoon
, as well as laterite
, cow dung
, and mud walls, respectively, Baker had no choice but to observe and learn from the methods and practices of the vernacular architecture
. He soon learned that the indigenous architecture
and methods of these places were in fact the only viable means to deal with his once daunting problems.
Inspired by his discoveries (which he modestly admitted were 'discoveries' only for him, and mere common knowledge to those who developed the practices he observed), he began to turn his style of architecture towards one that respected the actual culture and needs of those who would actually use his buildings, rather than just playing to the more "Modern-istic" tunes of his paying clients.
which was to have a lasting impact on his ideology and also his work and building philosophy. After India gained her independence and Mahatma Gandhi
was assassinated, Baker lived in Kerala
with Doctor P.J. Chandy, from whom he received great encouragement and whose sister he would later wed in 1948. Herself a doctor, Elizabeth Jacob and Laurie were married and moved to Pithoragarh
, a small village in Uttarakhand
, where they lived and worked for the next 16 years. Elizabeth's medical training was put to use aiding the afflicted in the village while Laurie continued his architectural work and research accommodating the medical needs of the community through his constructions of various hospitals and clinics. It is here that Baker would acquire and hone those skills from the local building community which had so fascinated him during his missionary work. In 1966, Baker moved south and worked with the tribals of Peerumed, Kerala
, and in 1970 moved to Thiruvananthapuram
.
Baker sought to enrich the culture in which he participated by promoting simplicity and home-grown quality in his buildings. Seeing so many people living in poverty in the region and throughout India served also to amplify his emphasis on cost-conscious construction, one that encouraged local participation in development and craftsmanship - an ideal that the Mahatma expressed as the only means to revitalize and liberate an impoverished India. This drive for simplicity also stemmed from his Quaker faith, one that saw indulging in a deceitful facade as a way to fool the 'Creator' as quite pointless. Instead, Baker sought to provide the 'right' space for his clients and to avoid anything pretentious.
Eventually, he was drawn back to work in India as more and more people began commissioning work from him in the area. The first client being Welthy Honsinger Fisher
, an elderly American woman concerned with adult illiteracy throughout India, who sought to set up a 'Literacy Village' in which she intended to use puppetry, music and art as teaching methods to help illiterate and newly-literate adults add to their skills. An aging woman who risked her health to visit Laurie, refused to leave until she received plans for the village. More and more hospital commissions were received as medical professionals realized that the surroundings for their patients were as much a part of the healing process as any other form of treatment, and that Baker seemed the only architect who cared enough to become familiarized with how to build what made Indian patients comfortable with those surroundings. His presence would also soon be required on-site at Ms. Fisher's "Village," and he became well known for his constant presence on the construction sites of all his projects, often finalizing designs through hand-drawn instructions to masons and laborers on how to achieve certain design solutions.
tile shingling with gable
s and vents allowing rising hot air to escape. Curved walls enter Baker's architectural vocabulary as a means to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls, and for Laurie, "building [became] more fun with the circle." A testament to his frugality, Baker was often seen rummaging through salvage heaps looking for suitable building materials, door and window frames, sometimes hitting a stroke of luck as evidenced by the intricately carved entry to the Chitralekha Film Studio (Aakulam, Trivandrum, 1974–76): a capricious architectural element found in a junk heap.
Baker's architectural method is one of improvisation, in which initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of the accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself. Compartments for milk bottles near the doorstep, windowsills that double as bench surfaces, and a heavy emphasis on taking cues from the natural condition of the site are just some examples. His Quaker-instilled respect for nature lead him to let the idiosyncrasies of a site inform his architectural improvisations, rarely is a topography line marred or a tree uprooted. This saves construction cost as well, since working around difficult site conditions is much more cost-effective than clear-cutting. ("I think it's a waste of money to level a well-moulded site") Resistant to "high-technology" that addresses building environment issues by ignoring natural environment, at the Centre for Development Studies
(Trivandrum, 1971) Baker created a cooling system by placing a high, latticed, brick wall near a pond that uses air pressure differences to draw cool air through the building. Various features of his work such as using recycled material, natural environment control and frugality of design may be seen as sustainable architecture or green building
with its emphasis on sustainability
. His responsiveness to never-identical site conditions quite obviously allowed for the variegation that permeates his work.
Many of Laurie Baker's writings were published and are available through COSTFORD (the Center Of Science and Technology For Rural Development) the voluntary organisation which carried out many of his later projects, at which he was the Master Architect. COSTFORD is carrying on working towards the ideals that Laurie Baker espoused throughout his life.
Articles
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world...
as well as in organic architecture
Organic architecture
Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated...
.
He went to India in 1945 in part as a missionary and since then lived and worked in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for over 50 years. He obtained Indian citizenship in 1989 and resided in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
(Trivandrum), Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, since 1970, where he later set up an organization called COSTFORD (Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development), for spreading awareness for low cost housing.
In 1990, the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
awarded him with the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
in recognition of his meritorious service in the field of architecture.
Education and missionary work
Baker was born into a staunch MethodistMethodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
family, the youngest son of Birmingham Gas Department's chief accountant, Wilfred Baker and Emily. His elder brothers, Leonard and Norman, were both studying law, and he had a married sister, Edna. In his teens Baker began to question what religion meant to him and decided to become a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, since it was closer to what he believed in. Baker studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and graduated in 1937, aged 20, in a period of political unrest in Europe.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, he served in the Friends Ambulance Unit in China and Burma.
His initial commitment to India had him working as an architect for World Leprosy Mission, an international and interdenominational Mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
in 1945. As new medicines for the treatment of the disease were becoming more prevalent, his responsibilities were focused on converting or replacing asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
s once used to house the ostracized sufferers of the disease - "lepers". Finding his English construction education to be inadequate for the types of issues and materials he was faced with: termites and the yearly monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, as well as laterite
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
, cow dung
Cow dung
Cow dung is the waste product of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle , bison , yak and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residue of plant matter which has passed through the animal's gut. The resultant faecal matter is rich in minerals...
, and mud walls, respectively, Baker had no choice but to observe and learn from the methods and practices of the vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
. He soon learned that the indigenous architecture
Indian vernacular architecture
Indian vernacular architecture is the informal, functional architecture of structures, often in rural areas of India, built of local materials and designed to meet the needs of the local people...
and methods of these places were in fact the only viable means to deal with his once daunting problems.
Inspired by his discoveries (which he modestly admitted were 'discoveries' only for him, and mere common knowledge to those who developed the practices he observed), he began to turn his style of architecture towards one that respected the actual culture and needs of those who would actually use his buildings, rather than just playing to the more "Modern-istic" tunes of his paying clients.
Gandhian encouragement and initial work
After he came to India Laurie had a chance encounter with Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
which was to have a lasting impact on his ideology and also his work and building philosophy. After India gained her independence and Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
was assassinated, Baker lived in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
with Doctor P.J. Chandy, from whom he received great encouragement and whose sister he would later wed in 1948. Herself a doctor, Elizabeth Jacob and Laurie were married and moved to Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh, is a city with a Municipal Board in the Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, was carved out of district of Almora in 1962.-Geography:...
, a small village in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, where they lived and worked for the next 16 years. Elizabeth's medical training was put to use aiding the afflicted in the village while Laurie continued his architectural work and research accommodating the medical needs of the community through his constructions of various hospitals and clinics. It is here that Baker would acquire and hone those skills from the local building community which had so fascinated him during his missionary work. In 1966, Baker moved south and worked with the tribals of Peerumed, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, and in 1970 moved to Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
.
Baker sought to enrich the culture in which he participated by promoting simplicity and home-grown quality in his buildings. Seeing so many people living in poverty in the region and throughout India served also to amplify his emphasis on cost-conscious construction, one that encouraged local participation in development and craftsmanship - an ideal that the Mahatma expressed as the only means to revitalize and liberate an impoverished India. This drive for simplicity also stemmed from his Quaker faith, one that saw indulging in a deceitful facade as a way to fool the 'Creator' as quite pointless. Instead, Baker sought to provide the 'right' space for his clients and to avoid anything pretentious.
Eventually, he was drawn back to work in India as more and more people began commissioning work from him in the area. The first client being Welthy Honsinger Fisher
Welthy Honsinger Fisher
Welthy Honsinger Fisher was the American founder of and . Welthy was married to Frederick Bohn Fisher, a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, missionary, author, and Official in Methodist Missionary and Men's movements...
, an elderly American woman concerned with adult illiteracy throughout India, who sought to set up a 'Literacy Village' in which she intended to use puppetry, music and art as teaching methods to help illiterate and newly-literate adults add to their skills. An aging woman who risked her health to visit Laurie, refused to leave until she received plans for the village. More and more hospital commissions were received as medical professionals realized that the surroundings for their patients were as much a part of the healing process as any other form of treatment, and that Baker seemed the only architect who cared enough to become familiarized with how to build what made Indian patients comfortable with those surroundings. His presence would also soon be required on-site at Ms. Fisher's "Village," and he became well known for his constant presence on the construction sites of all his projects, often finalizing designs through hand-drawn instructions to masons and laborers on how to achieve certain design solutions.
Architectural style
Throughout his practice, Baker became well known for designing and building low cost, high quality, beautiful homes, with a great portion of his work suited to or built for lower-middle to lower class clients. His buildings tend to emphasize prolific - at times virtuosic - masonry construction, instilling privacy and evoking history with brick jali walls, a perforated brick screen which invites a natural air flow to cool the buildings' interior, in addition to creating intricate patterns of light and shadow. Another significant Baker feature 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 MangaloreMangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
tile shingling with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s and vents allowing rising hot air to escape. Curved walls enter Baker's architectural vocabulary as a means to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls, and for Laurie, "building [became] more fun with the circle." A testament to his frugality, Baker was often seen rummaging through salvage heaps looking for suitable building materials, door and window frames, sometimes hitting a stroke of luck as evidenced by the intricately carved entry to the Chitralekha Film Studio (Aakulam, Trivandrum, 1974–76): a capricious architectural element found in a junk heap.
Centre for Development Studies
The Centre for Development Studies , Trivandrum, Kerala, India is a premier social science research institution. Over the years it has established a tradition of interdisciplinary research on development problems in India. Its main objective is to promote research, teaching and training in...
(Trivandrum, 1971) Baker created a cooling system by placing a high, latticed, brick wall near a pond that uses air pressure differences to draw cool air through the building. Various features of his work such as using recycled material, natural environment control and frugality of design may be seen as sustainable architecture or green building
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
with its emphasis on sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. His responsiveness to never-identical site conditions quite obviously allowed for the variegation that permeates his work.
Death
Laurie Baker died at 7:30 am on 1 April 2007, aged 90, survived by wife Elizabeth, son Tilak and daughters Vidya and Heidi. Until the end he continued to work in and around his home in Trivandrum, though health concerns had kept his famous on-site physical presence to a minimum. His designing and writing were done mostly at his home. His approach to architecture steadily gained appreciation as architectural sentiment creaks towards place-making over modernizing or stylizing. As a result of this more widespread acceptance, however, the "Baker Style" home is gaining popularity, much to Baker's own chagrin, since he felt that the 'style' being commoditised is merely the inevitable manifestation of the cultural and economic imperatives of the region in which he worked, not a solution that could be applied whole-cloth to any outside situation. Laurie Baker's architecture focused on retaining a site's natural character, and economically minded indigenous construction, and the seamless integration of local culture that has been very inspirational.Many of Laurie Baker's writings were published and are available through COSTFORD (the Center Of Science and Technology For Rural Development) the voluntary organisation which carried out many of his later projects, at which he was the Master Architect. COSTFORD is carrying on working towards the ideals that Laurie Baker espoused throughout his life.
Awards
- 1981: D.Litt. conferred by the Royal University of Netherlands for outstanding work in the developing countries.
- 1983: Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error... - 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 EnglandBirmingham City UniversityBirmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
- 1998: Awarded Doctorate from Sri Venkateshwara University
- 2001: Coinpar MR Kurup Endowment Award
- 2003: Basheer Puraskaram
- 2003: D.Litt. from the Kerala UniversityKerala UniversityThe University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is an affiliating university located in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It was established in 1937, long before the birth of the state of Kerala in India...
- 2005: Kerala Government Certificate of Appreciation
- 2006: L-Ramp Award of Excellence
- 2006: Nominated for the Pritzker PrizePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
(considered the Nobel Prize in Architecture)
Further reading
- Bhatia, Gautam, Laurie Baker, Life, Work, Writings, Viking PressViking PressViking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
, 1991. ISBN 0-670-83991-4 - Bhatia, Gautam, Laurie Baker, Life, Work, Writings, New Delhi, India, Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, 1994. ISBN 0-14-015460-4 - The Other Side of Laurie Baker: Memoirs, by Elizabeth Baker. ISBN 81-264-1462-6.
- Voluntary Agencies and Housing: A Report on Some Voluntary Agencies Working in the Field of Housing in India, by Madhao Achwal. Published by UNICEF, 1979. Chapter 3:Laurie Baker.
External links
- Official Website of Architect Laurie Baker
- Laurie Baker, Homepage at Centre for Education and Documentation (CED).
Articles
- Laurie Baker: The man we will never forget Rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
- Master mason by G. SHANKAR.
- Of Architectural Truths and Lies
- ARCHIPLANET article: Includes fuller list of buildings designed by Laurie Baker
- "Here was a Baker"- a tribute
- Laurie Baker Building Center, New Delhi
- "Significance of Laurie Baker" by B Shashi Bhooshan.