laurie baker center of habitat studies, trivandram architectural elements.

1. CASE STUDY
LAURIE BAKER CENTRE OF HABITAT
STUDIES
PRESENTED BY:
SUMAIYA MUSLIM
HAMDAN SYED
F/O ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICS
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA, NEW DELHI

2. 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.

3. 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".

4. PRINCIPLES

5. 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

6. • 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.

7. COST EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES
• 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.
• .

8. 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 kerala
Of properly made, these mud sun dried bricks are capable of being used for a two story
house

9. 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.

10. 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:

11. 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.

13. 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.

15. 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

17. 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.

19. 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.

21. 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.

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

24. 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.

25. • 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.

26. • 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.

27. 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

28. Jaalis provide
natural ventilation
instead of costly
and
environmentally
damaging air
conditioning.
Jali walls also
provide privacy,
security, cost
reduction in
windows needed,
and – most
dramatically --
aesthetic appeal.
Jali wall is a better
substitute for a
glass window
JAALIS

29. 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

30. 25% of
bricks,
mortar, cost
etc can be
saved by
using the Rat
trap 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 btwn
Can be safely
used up to 3
storeys in
height and is
equally load
bearing
RAT TRAP BOND

31. 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.

32. This technique also
reduces the
unwanted dead load
of roofing. Compared
to other roofing
systems, it is
thermally
comfortable and has
no health hazards.
This technique saves
energy-consuming
concrete. Roofs and
intermediate floors account
for 20-25% of the total cost
of the house. This roofing
costs 30-35% less than
conventionally used
concrete roofing. Thus a
considerable amount is
saved in terms of materials,
energy, and cost.
Lightweight, inexpensive
materials such as
lowgrade Mangalore
tiles, bricks, coconut
shells, glass bottles, etc.
are used as filler
materials in filler slabs to
replace the redundant
concrete in tension
zones.
FILLER SLABS

33. WINDOW OPENINGS
All arch
methods are
equally suitable
for mud wall
construction
adequate width
is be given to
support walls to
deal with the
arch thrust
Use Arches
rather than
lintels

34. 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

35. Mainly stones are
used for flooring.
Tile (unglazed)
floors are
traditional and
effective.
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.
FLOORING

36. The easiest of the
arches is the
corbel arch. It can
be constructed
without any
framework and
needs less skilled
labour
Most common
arch shapes
come in semi-
circular,
pointed,
corbelled, and
bell shapes.
One of the most
effective ways of
spanning an
opening is by
constructing
arches
ARCHES

37. BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION
It is used for
reinforcement,
shuttering, scaffolding,
roofing, piles, filler
material and much
more.
A good bamboo cut
into strips has the
tensile strength almost
equal to that of steel.
It is used to make
staircases.
Since bamboo was
locally available
material, it has been
used abundantly.

38. 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.
Raised rubble masonry
with finished surface can
act as sitting or tables or
even beds. Brick
furniture is generally
finished with a red or
black oxide layer.
Much of the
furniture used is
built-in. These are
either of brick or
rubble masonry
raised above floor
level.

39. OTHER ELEMENTS
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
Steps directly
cut in rock

40. 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

41. 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.