Laurie Baker’s eco-friendly buildings, which showcase the architecture he championed, are living museums of his philosophy and art
The Hindu
Laurie Baker’s buildings that showcase the architecture he championed are living museums of his philosophy
Surprises abound in every Laurie Baker building. The iconic architect, and champion of sustainable housing, was an artist and Gandhian who built spaces that had character. His buildings were not monotonous rectangular spaces that conformed to a pattern. Instead, inside his buildings, light paints picturesque interiors; cleverly-laced doors and windows in different sizes and shapes bring the outdoors indoors; exposed, red bricks create the perfect backdrop for lush tropical gardens; ceilings dip, rise and twirl around.
Using local building materials and fusing elements and methods of vernacular architecture in his design, he pioneered architecture that was affordable to all.
Born in 1917 in Birmingham, UK, Laurence Wilfred Baker, a.k.a. Laurie Baker, made the southern state of Kerala his home in 1963 and lived in Thiruvananthapuram from 1969 to 2007, inspiring generations of architects with his architectural vocabulary and humanitarian approach.
Five award-winning architects talk about their favourite Baker building while Baker’s daughter Vidya Radhakrishnan reminisces about The Hamlet, the home that Baker built in Thiruvananthapuram.
Founder of Benny Kuriakose and Associates
There was a church designed by Laurie Baker in Thiruvalla, a combination of modernity and tradition. Although Baker designed a few churches, this one was unique since Baker’s approach to designing this church blends traditional techniques with modern sensibilities.
People used to call it Ambala Palli since it resembled the circular sanctum santorum of some of the temples in Kerala.