Laurie Baker was a British-born Indian architect known for his cost-effective and environmentally-friendly building techniques using local materials. Some of his key principles included using locally available and low-cost materials like mud, brick, stone and terracotta tiles. He pioneered techniques like rat-trap bond, filler slabs, arched structures, frameless doors and windows, and built-in furnishings. All of his designs emphasized minimizing costs, waste and energy usage while respecting the natural environment. Baker's approach transformed architecture in India by focusing on affordable, sustainable construction methods especially for rural communities.

1. COST EFFECTIVE AND
NATURE FRIENDLY
BUILDING
TECHNIQUES BY
LAURIE BAKER!

2. LAURIE BAKER’SWAY
OF ARCHITECURE
REVIE
W : 1

3. SCHEDULE OF DESSERTATION
REVIEW
BASIC INTRODUCTION OF BAKER’S CONCEPTS.
MUD AND BRICK CONSTRUCTIONS ,CASE STUDIES
SPATIAL PLANNING & INFERENCE WITH A COMPARISION STUDY

4. CONTENTS……
• LAURIE BAKER
• PRINCIPLESAND MOTTO
• TECHNIQUES
INTRODUCT
ION
• TECHNIQUES
• CHARACTERISTICS
• INNOVATIONS
IN DETAIL

5. WHO IS LAURIE BAKER?
• LAWRENCE WILLFRED ( MARCH 2, 1917 –APRIL 1,2007 ).
• BRITISH BORN INDIAN ARCHITECT.
• RESIDENCE –THE HAMLET,TRIVANDRUM.
• ONE OF (20)AWARDS – PADMASRI (1990).
• NOMINATED FOR PRITZEKER (2006).

6. Laurie Baker– Living for a
causeOur perceived thought that architecture is a
profession that can be practiced only with enough
money, has limited this noble profession to
metropolitan cities.
While doctors, on the other hand, are practicing in
rural areas and have made their profession well
known all over the country, irrespective of the
economical background of the people.
Construction could be a means to achieve fame,
records and grandiosity irrespective of its location,
and this has been proved by the great Indian

7. As the youngest child with two elder brothers
Leonard and Norman and a sister Edna. His
father was the chief accountant with the
Birmingham Gas Distribution Authority. At the
age of 15, he passed out from the Edward
Grammar School in Aston, England; he was an
ordinary student with an adventurous life.
He would accompany his father to visit
cathedrals and other old buildings and then he
would build models and draw pictures of what
he had seen.
CHILDHOOD…………

8. The principal of his school persuaded his father to make Laurie Baker
opt for architecture as profession and send him to the Birmingham
School of Architecture. Baker’s adventure continued and while he was
doing his architecture, he went on a cycling tour of Europe with his
friends.The unfolding vistas of nature, landscape, cities, the different
life patterns of people and the differences in the houses from place to
place fascinated him, and that tour proved to be a turning point in his
life.

9. WHAT MADE MYSELFTO
CONNECT…………
HUMANITY AND
LOVE
TOWARDS

10. CHINA : As a doctor, nurse, pharmacist
and pathologist.
• He graduated in 1937, and thereafter became an associate of the Royal
Institute of British Architects (RIBA).In 1939, the Japan-China war was at
its peak and Baker went to China to help the wounded as a volunteer
with a group called Quakers, after resigning from RIBA.
• In the 1930-40s leprosy was a much-feared disease. So much so that
lepers were frequently burnt or buried alive for fear of contamination
and spreading of the disease. Naturally, the sisters had not found anyone
willing to go and look after the leper colony.When Laurie heard of the
plight of the lepers he agreed to go until the sisters could find someone
permanent. He dressed their ulcers, gave them medicines when
available. On Sunday’s he was even the parson at their church!

11. India and Gandhi ji
• One day while on a walk through the city he happened to see a board
that said, ‘Mission to Lepers ‘ Baker's interest and curiosity were
aroused,The Mission had been in dire need of an architect.
• Advances in medicine meant leprosy was no longer an untreatable
disease. Instead of the existing asylums and colonies they now needed to
build many new hospitals to treat these leprosy patients. For Laurie, this
was finally a chance to use his architectural skills to help people in need.
Laurie had no second thoughts and true to his word he arrived in India in
1945.

12. • Through Quaker associates, he was introduced to Gandhi Ji
who at that time was there; Gandhi Ji expressed his concern
over the state of Indian architecture and asserted that much
good could be done in rural India by committed architects.
Gandhi Ji’s philosophy and his charismatic personality
thrilled Baker.
• For the first three years he travelled all over the country
helping the leprosy mission, and in the process he got
exposed to indigenous architecture and was amazed at the
way in which simple materials could be exploited to
produce buildings with refined aesthetics and lasting
qualities.These formative years laid the foundation of
Baker's approach to architecture.

13. Baker met and married an Indian medical doctor, Elizabeth
Jacob, and the two of them worked for years in the Himalayas,
building and operating schools and hospitals, working with
lepers and the poor. In 1963, Baker and his wife moved to the
southern state of Kerala, Elizabeth’s homeland, establishing
themselves in the city ofTrivandrum in 1970.Working with
local materials and exploring indigenous architectural
traditions, Baker’s adventure in architecture started realizing.
Baker has been able to transform the Gandhian philosophy through
architecture by practicing it for people who actually needed it. His
every project is like a small scale industry within itself, changing lives of
people. Laurie Baker has been committed to not only learning from
and using traditional Indian architectural techniques and technology,
but also building with traditional Indian materials.

14. ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES
• COST EFFECTIVENESS
• USE OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS
• RESPECT FOR NATURE
• AVOIDANCE OF ENARGY INTENSIVE MATERIALS
• ELIMINATION OF REDUNDANT DETAILS
• WASTAGE MINIMIZATION
• SPATIAL PLANNING

15. LAURIE’S MOTTO
LOW COSTRY A HABIT AND A
WAY OF LIFE , BY REUSING
EVERYTHING , FROM BRICKTO
GLASS BOTTLES, AS BUILDING
MATERIALS.

16. WHAT HE SAYS…….
• “ I DON’TTHINK I’VE EVER BEEN INSPIRED BYWHAT OTHER
ARCHITECTS HAVE DONE BUT MORE BYWHAT ORDINARY
CRAFTSMEN HAVE CREATED.”
• “COST-EFFECTIVE HOUSES ARE NOT JUSTT FORTHE POOR,THEY
ARE FOR EVERYONE.”THE EQUATIONTHAT A COST EFFECTIVE
HOUSE IS A HOUSE FORTHE POOR, IMPLYING A BAD LOOKING
HOUSE, CAN DEFINITELY BE PROVED WRONG.
• “THE PRACTICE OF AN ARCHITECT CANNOT BE DIVORCED FROM
THAT OF A BUILDER.”

17. BAKER’S GREAT SORROW…
ABOUT INDIAN GOVERNMENT POLICY
MAKERSWASTHAT
“THEY HAVEN’TTHE FAITH INTHEIR
OWN MATERIALS.”

18. HIS POPULAR CONSTRUCTION
TECHNIQUES
• USE OF RATTRAP BOND
• FILLER SLABS
• ARCHES
• TERRACOTTA ROOFING
• FRAMELESS DOORS AND WINDOWS

19. MORE INNOVATIVE METHODS HE
ADOPTED….
• DIFFERENT BONDINGTECHNIQUES FOR BRICKS.
• PERFORATED BRICKWALLS.S
• USE OF DISCARDED BOTTLES , INSET INWALL.
• USE OF BRICKS INSPITE OF LINTELS
• CURVEDWALLS
• RUBBLE MASONRY

20. THESE MEHODS ANDTECHNIQUES LEDTO
CHARACTERISTIC ELEMENTS OF BAKER'S
STYLE.
• JALIS
• TRADITIONAL ROOFS
• STEPPEDARCHES,
• OVERHANGING EAVES
• SKYLIGHTS
• BUILT-IN FURNITURES

22. WHAT IS RATTRAP BOND?
This double-wall technique uses bricks on edge with a cross brick between
each and produces a 9-inch thick wall with an insulating air cavity in
between.

23. HOW A COMPLETED MASONRY
LOOKS...

25. COMPLETED RATTRAP BOND MASONRY –
THE MANGO HOUSE

26. • Surprisingly, this technique reduces the
number of bricks required by 25%, thereby
reducing material used, including mortar
(1:8 mix), and overall cost.
•Rat-trap technique is equal to the strength
of a solid 9-inch wall in either Flemish or
English bond.

27. WHAT IS A FILLER SLAB ????
Lightweight, inexpensive
materials such as low-grade
Mangalore tiles, bricks, coconut
shells, glass bottles, etc. are used
as filler materials in filler slabs to
replace the redundant concrete in
tension zones.

28. WHY FILLER SLABS???
The reason why, concrete and
steel are used together to
construct RCC slab, is in their
individual properties as
separate building materials and
their individual limitation.
Concrete is good in taking
compression and steel is good
in tension.Thus RCC slab is a
product which resists both
SIMPLY SUPPORTED SLAB CROSS-SECTION.

29. The fig. indicates the neutral axis and also tension concrete in the
bottom fibres of the slab which is in tension but the top fibres will be in
compression.
Tension in a slab is on the bottom fibre and compression on the
top fiber. that means if we want to optimise the structure we
can remove concrete from the tension zone where it is not much
needed. that’s the key behind filler slab construction.

31. FILLER MATERIALS ADVANTAGES OF FILLE
SLAB
Bricks
Tiles
Cellular
Concrete
Blocks
Pots
Waste
bottles

32. FILLER SLABS IN LAURIE’S
BUILDINGS………….
LAURIE BAKER BUILDING
CENTER,
TRIVANDRUM.
COSTFORD,TRIVANDRUM

33. ARCHES ………
• THE ARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A
STRUCTUREWHICH ELIMINATESTENSILE STRESS
IN SPANNINGAN OPEN SPACE.
• THIS IS USEFUL BECAUSE SEVERAL OFTHE
AVAILABLE BUILDING MATERIALS SUCH AS STONE,
CAST IRON AND CONCRETE CAN STRONGLY RESIST
COMPRESSION BUT AREVERYWEAKWHEN
TENSION, SHEAR ORTORSIONAL STRESS IS

34. TYPES OF ARCHES….!!!
CORBELARCH FLAT ARCH SEMI-CIRCULAR ARCH SEGMENTALARCH

35. ARCHES IN BUILDINGS
COSTFORD,
TRIVANDRUM
THE SALIM ALI CENTRE FOR
ORNITHOLOGY AND NATURAL
HISTORY AT ANAIKATTY NEAR
COIMBATORE

36. MANGLORETILES FOR ROOFING
• Mangalore tiles (also Mangalorean tiles) are a type of tiles native to the
city of Mangalore, India.
• These red tiles, prepared from hard laterite clay, are in great demand
throughout Indi
• These were the only tiles to be recommended for government buildings
in India during the British regime.
• They are a popular form of roofing and are preferred over concrete due
to their good quality.
• They provide excellent ventilation especially during summer
and aesthetically as well.

37. • Some of them are especially made to be placed over kitchen
and bathroom for the smoke to escape. Over a period of time,
these tiles become dark to black from constant exposure
to soot and smoke.
• They are unique and are made or available in different size
and shapes depending on the users need.

38. MANGLORETILES IN BAKER’S
BUILDINGS….
NIRMITI KENDRA,
TRIVANDRUM
THE HAMLET,TRIVANDRUM

39. MANGLORETILE AS AN INFILL FOR
ROOFING!!!!
These tiles are not only eco-
friendly but also cheap, durable
and costs only one third that of
cement. Some of the buildings
which are 100 yrs. old still have
tile roofing.These tiles are
suited for regions experiencing
heavy rainfall as water drains
easily and fast.

40. TERRACOTTA FLOORING
• Flooring is often of terracotta tiles or colour oxides.The bed is
made out of broken brickbats (this saves wastage of brick),
over which a 3” mortar layer is laid and tiles are placed over it.
• Various patterns and designs are worked out, dependent
upon shape, size of tiles, span of flooring, and clients’ personal
taste.
• These tiles require little maintenance and are cheap. Also the
patterns of tiles are visually attractive. Most commonly, tile
shapes include square, rectangular, hexagonal, triangular or
can be customized. Also, electrical cables can be run through

41. HOUSE OF MR.VIJAYAN,VADAVALLI,COIMBATORE.
(FORMER DIRECTOR OF SALIMALI CENTRE FOR
ORNITHOLOGY
AND NATURAL HISTORY)

42. FRAMELESS DOORS ANDWINDOWS
• Door and window frames are not actually required.
They are responsible for almost half the cost of timber
used. Avoiding frames considerably reduces the cost
of timber.
• Door planks are screwed together with strap iron
hinges to form doors, and this can be carried by
holdfast fittings carried into the wall.The simplest and
most cost-effective door can be made of vertical

44. The simplest frameless
window consists of a vertical
plank (9” wide) set into two
holes, one at the top and
one at the bottom.This
forms a simple pivotal
window. Wide span
windows can be partially
framed and fixed to walls or
can have rows of pivotal
planks.

46. JALIS
INDIAN COFFE HOUSE,
TRIVANDRUM.

47. 1.CECNTER FOR
DEVELOPMENT
STUDIES.
2.IISE ,
TRIVANDRUM
3.LAYOLA
WOMEN’S
HOSTEL,
TRIVANDRUM.

48. TRADITIONAL ROOFS
• A SIGNIFICANT BAKER FEATURE IS IRREGULAR,
PYRAMID-LIKE STRUCTURES ON ROOFS,WITH ONE
SIDE LEFT OPEN ANDTILTING INTOTHEWIND.
• BAKER'S DESIGNS INVARIABLY HAVETRADITIONAL
INDIAN SLOPING ROOFSWITH GABLES ANDVENTS
ALLOWING RISING HOT AIRTO ESCAPE.

49. THE HAMLET,TRIVANDRUM

50. STEPPED ARCHES

51. OVERHANGING EAVES

52. SKYLIGHTS
Mr. Vijayan

53. BUILT-IN FURNITURES
Much of the
furniture used by
COSTFORD is
built-in.These are
either of brick or
rubble masonry
raised above floor
level. Raised rubble
masonry with
finished surface
can act as sitting or

54. REFERENCES
• http://arch-essays.blogspot.in/2005/01/laurie-baker-living-for-
cause.html
• http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-
59702003000400012
• http://lauriebaker.net/index.php/life/india-and-gandhiji

55. THANKYOU !!!
BY SNEGA SEKAR