LAURIE BAKER CENTER OF HABITAT STUDIES

CASE STUDYLAURIE BAKER CENTRE OF HABITAT

STUDIES

PRESENTED BY:

SUMAIYA MUSLIMHAMDAN SYED

F/O ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICSJAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA, NEW DELHI

LAURIE BAKER

• Laurie baker was an award-winning British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilization 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  Trivandrum, Kerala, since 1970, where he later set up an organization called COSTFORD (center of science and technology for rural development), for spreading awareness for low cost housing.

EDUCATION• Baker studied architecture at Birmingham. • Institute of art and design and• Graduated in 1937, age 20.• 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 asylums once used to house the ostracized sufferers of the disease - "lepers".

PRINCIPLES

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

• Throughout his practice, Baker became well known for designing and building low cost, high quality 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 utilises natural air movement to cool the home's interior and create 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. Curved walls enter Baker's architectural vocabulary as a means to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls. Baker's architectural method is one of improvisation, in which initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of th accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself.

• FILER SLAB

Filer slabs employ replacing un-productive concrete by a filler material which reduces the weight of the slab and also the cost by reducing the amlunt of concrete used. Also since the weight of the slab is thus reduced, lesser steel is required for reinforcement, further reducing the cost.

• ARCHES

The arch is significant because it provides a structure which eliminates tensile stresses in spanning an open space. All the forces are resolved into compressive stresses. This is useful because several of the available building materials such as stone, cast iron and concrete.• .

DOMES

A dome can be thought of as an arch which has been rotated around its central vertical axis. Thus domes, like arches, have a great deal of structural strength when properly built and can span large open spaces without interior supports.

ADOBE OR SUN DRIED BRICKS

This is very old, well tried and tested mud brick system common in many parts of keralaOf properly made, these mud sun dried bricks are capable of being used for a two story house

FINISHES

Finishing takes up a major chunk of the overall building cost.This may be saved by minimizing applied finishes like plastering, painting, polishing, etc. These are not only initial expenses, but also recurring.Most of the building blocks, viz. country burnt bricks, stone, and concrete blocks, etc. have pleasing color and texture and are quite capable of resisting adverse weather.Therefore, plaster can be completely avoided without affecting the strength of the structure.In case brighter surfaces are required, a few coast of lime wash can be applied directly on the masonry surface.

LAURIE BAKER CENTER

The 3.34 acre (1.35 hectares) campus is an undulating piece of land dense with trees and other flora and fauna. The campus at present has five buildings that represent the last set of buildings personally designed and built by Laurie Baker for one of his friends who wanted to start a community centre for differently able children and adults who will also interact with other persons in the society. This initiative could not continue and hence a proposal was made to secure the land and buildings for establishing the LBC with financial assistance from the Government of Kerala.

The LBC Campus is located in the Nooliyode Village in Vilappilsala Panchayat, 12 kms away from the centre of Thiruvananthapuram city. It is 12 kms away from the Trivandrum Central Railway Station and 18 kms from the Trivandrum International Airport.

LOCATION AND ACCSSEBILITY:

The campus has nine buildings including:(1) an office, (2) a kitchen with a dining hall, (3) a dormitory to house 16 persons with a lecture hall, (4) a guest house to house seven persons, (5) a tower that houses a rain water harvesting tank and a view tower where discussion sessions can be held.

DORMITORY• Dormitory is used to house a large number of people in a school or

institution• Dormitory of LBC can house 16 people at a time and has a lecture hall.• It is situated in between the entrance of the institution and the other

building block of the centre,• There is seating space provided outside.• Low cost housing techniques are used throughout the dormitory• This building features some of Baker’s most virtuosic brick work.  curved

jali  walls creating a breezy, shaded space.  • The monolithic walls rise up two stories, and end in a handrail on the

second storey balcony.  • Private rooms are located at the back of the building, shielded from the

public walkway• The building’s plan, like others on the campus, was planned around

existing plants.

GUEST HOUSE • A guest house to house seven persons, with a waiting room• There is courtyard surrounded by the rooms.• In-built furniture's.• The guest house is situated behind the office building.• Low cost housing techniques are used throughout

CANTEEN/ DINING HALL• At the entrance is the dining hall• Followed by a washroom in the centre• A kitchen and storage space on the left • A serving space at the back.• The furniture is built-in.• Filler slabs and skylights are used on the roof• Terracotta tiles are used on the floor.

ADMIN BLOCK• The administrative building is sited in the main route through

campus, and is approached by a rock cut staircases, that connects to the first floor level.

•  The building’s plan, like others on the campus, was planned around existing plants; here, a dramatic open space holds two towering trees.  

•  A narrow staircase leads to a dynamic roofscape dotted with benches and mango-shaped plant troughs.

• There is a visitor space with a balcony.• And an admin room which contains all the work of bakers in books. 

OFFICE• The ground floor contains office room, storage spaces, and a

visitors space.• Much of the furniture used is built-in. These are either of brick or

rubble masonry raised above floor level.• Most common arch shapes come in semi-circular, pointed,

corbelled, and bell shapes.• The first floor of the building is the residence of the office staff.• The main feature of this office building is the bamboo staircases.

WATCH TOWERA tower that houses a rain water harvesting tank and a view tower where discussion sessions can be held.

PLANNING• The overall master plan incorporates the varying levels of the site, and the

rain water harvesting tank is situated at the highest point.• To minimize the cost of construction,  all the buildings incorporate Laurie

Baker’s well-known construction technique – the Filler Slab.• The magnificence of using filler slabs can be seen in the thin roofs which

adorn the landscape. The roofs don’t seem to follow any rule and flow with the landscape.

• Typical of Laurie baker’s structures –  brick jalis, mango motifs, and openings are all part of these buildings.

• The campus exemplifies the practice of sustainable architecture. Built on a granite quarry, the deep excavations provide contours to the site. Laurie Baker, true to his principle of building with minimum intervention to the site shapes the buildings along these quarry lines. The load bearing buildings have no footings and are built  on a random rubble masonry foundation.

• What was once a barren land, is now abundant with trees. The 1200 odd saplings have grown into a forest rich with flora and fauna within a span of 15 years.

• As it is his style of working, none of the buildings have any drawings. The Junior Architect admitted to the trouble he had documenting these buildings with varied curvatures and heights as the dimensions were nowhere near to a whole number.

• Before the construction of these buildings, the campus was a rubble quarry with very little of green cover and top soil. However, within a period of ten years the campus has been turned into a dense green covered area with many plants and trees. It also houses a patch of forest-like area with wild growth of trees and plants. It is proposed to introduce organic agriculture without disturbing the existing green cover. There is also a plan for setting up a biogas plant as well as solar energy generating units.

• This simple ideology of Mr. Baker made him the person who successfully evolved new ways of construction which were cost-effective and energy-efficient.

Some elements of Baker’s Construction Technique:

• Rat-trap Bond• Jali Wall• Filler Slab• Frameless Doors and Windows• Rubble Masonry• Arches• Lintel• Bamboo Construction• Flooring• Mud Construction• Built in Furniture• Half Brick Wall

Jaalis provide natural ventilation instead of costly and environmentally damaging air conditioning. 

JAALIS

no energy / fuel are used in their

manufacture.

The brick of same shape and size is used as the burnt brick, but leave it

un-burnt

Mud must be

protected from water of any sort

MUD WALL

25% of bricks, mortar, cost etc can be

saved by using the Rat trap

BondThis 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 btwn 

Can be safely

used up to 3

storeys in height and is

equally load

bearing

RAT TRAP BOND

Use of Rat-trap Bond for masonry:  1. The hollow nature of such walls improves its thermal properties.2. Electrical conduits can be accommodated in the hollows, which

avoid chasing of walls as is normally practiced.3. Can be used for load bearing structures up to 2 storeys high. 4. Proves to be very economical.5. Use of nets (perforations in a wall)6. Created for allowing light and ventilation (the most common

being a wall with its header blocks removed).7. Modifying the proportions of perforations, according to solar

angle can help control the influx of radiations to quite an extent.8. Brick nets sealed with pieces of glass can economically provide

pleasing, diffused light.

This technique also reduces the unwanted dead load of roofing. Compared to other roofing systems, it is thermally comfortable and has no health hazards.

FILLER SLABS

WINDOW OPENINGS 

Door and window frames are not actually required. They are responsible for almost half

the cost of timber used. .

Board and batten type shutters are

less costly, use less labour and

less timber than panelled

shutters.

Glass is often not necessary. Only use when it has a useful purpose and is

essential.

FRAMELESS DOORS AND WINDOWS

Mainly stones are used for flooring.

FLOORING

The easiest of the arches is the corbel arch. It can be constructed without any framework and needs less skilled labour

ARCHES

BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION

BUILT IN FURNITURE

To make it interesting, tiles are fixed to these oxides to form an integrated design pattern. Bay windows, outdoor sittings, loft beds, study tables, etc. are common examples of built-in furniture.

OTHER ELEMENTSStained glass

in form of bottles and glasses are

used to fill the window voids

to create a light effect.

Water tank is used to store rain harvesting

Steps directly cut in

rock

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES:• Steps directly cut in rock• Entrance has small sitting area for guests• The wall is decorated from broken pottery, pens, glass• A calling bell for visitors to announce their presence• Use of natural light• Never cut trees instead adapted his design accordingly• Inner courtyard, close to nature• Arches led into a beautiful open room• Courtyard has many gardens and ponds• Pitched roof made of Mangalore tiles• Baker’s fondness of arches• Gables for proper air circulation  and ventilation• Simple yet beautiful windows• Grill made of bits and pieces• Conical structure used.• Cost effective baker’s window• Louvered window typical of baker’s type• Stained glass effect• Water tank for storing rain harvested water

OBSERVATIONS• All the natural elements are maintained aptly.• Usage of natural light has taken care of, most of the rooms has Jaalis and

skylights to allow natural light to enter.• Pitched roofs made of Mangalore tiles. • Gables are used for proper air circulation and ventilation• Grills of doors and windows are made of bits and pieces of iron and steel• Stained glass in form of bottles and glasses are used to fill the window

voids to create a light effect.• Water tank is used to store rain harvesting water.• Jaali forms are made out of bricks on walls and windows to allow natural

light to enter.• Water bodies in form of ponds present to give a cooling effect.