Lessons from the life of Laurie Baker, the Gandhi of Architecture

This Methodist Protestant, who passed away in 2007 at the ripe age of 90, was a pioneer of what is now called sustainable architecture. Baker was interested in limiting the use of reinforced concrete to its bare minimum since the very beginning of his career. Throughout his practice, he preferred to foreground organic and artisanal materials, eventually showing a particular affinity for terracotta bricks.

Today, hordes of students throng the Laurie Baker Center for Habitat Studies, a set of studios in the forested hamlet of Vilappilsala on the hills that border Thiruvananthapuram, to learn from the know-how of the Master. On-site, enthusiastic teachers take blatant pleasure in transmitting the legacy of the so-called Gandhi of Architecture and his famed obsession with frugal methods.

Pioneer Of Organic Architecture

Long before the specter of global warming had started haunting people around the world, Baker saw the necessity of preserving nature by designing energy-efficient buildings. It is this which inspired the Double Skins and the openings on the external walls of his structures which help avoid air-conditioning. It also explains why Baker banished concrete from his constructions. The substance has cement as its main component—one of the most energy-hungry of building materials!

One Brick At A Time 

The architect applied his principles for the first time to a small house in the center of Trivandrum. One can still visit the structure, drowned in vegetation and wedged between two modern buildings that seem ready to swallow it whole. The old couple who have been living there for more than five decades assure us that they have never spent a single rupee on its upkeep. It stands thanks to the simplicity of its construction! In Benedict Nagar, the Bishop of the city—and a friend of the family who had given Baker a piece of land to construct his own house—talks fondly of the hillside cottages which the architect's descendants share today with 

Baker's masterpiece undoubtedly is the Center for Development Studies (CDS), a research facility in Ulloor—a neighborhood located in the heart of the capital of Kerala, which was founded in 1973. CDS is a lush university campus replete with classrooms, amphitheaters, a canteen, and wavy-fronted student rooms. Baker was not fond of straight lines and loved "imitating nature"; the structures are mostly illuminated by indoor skylights and dotted with small water bodies which invite refreshing drafts of cool air.
 

Perhaps the best way to appreciate Baker's foresight is to take a moment and drink a cup of black coffee at the Indian Coffee House in Trivandrum. The black marble tables here are spread out along an ascending spiral. Winter or summer, the breeze flows across the building through thousands of triangular openings dotting the outer wall. An apt location for delicious moments.