Architectural genius Laurie Baker: The man you did not know

Architect Laurie Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) knew how to sculpt spaces, he could twist and turn buildings to fit in beds by windows, lofts within rooms, and ponds on roof tops. All this at one-third the market rate. How did he achieve it? By using local materials and a lot of common sense. That his design genius was sympathetic to the environment, the terrain and its people, was the other secret. British-born Baker was given Indian citizenship in 1988, nearly four decades after he made India his home. He settled in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and some of his best known architecture can be seen there, from homes to institutions, schools to churches. His buildings could be called political because it addressed the needs of people, quite often those who had little money; he questioned the excesses of construction material, and worked out the economics to make structures as cost-effective as possible. He introduced jaalis in buildings, changed the way bricks were laid out to reduce use of concrete, made his roofs lighter, and encouraged local craft through traditional flooring techniques. (Text: Shiny Varghese)

Baker was deeply influenced by Gandhiji who told him that India is in its villages. And that in an ideal village, an ideal home will be built with materials that are within 5km radius. A pacifist, he hated the idea of war and nuclear aggression, since he had seen the aftermath of World War II. (Text: Shiny Verghese)

Author Nerada didn't like cooking, so Baker gave her multiple windows in the kitchen so that she could view the birdbath on one side, and her paisley pond on the other. Baker also gave them a stained glass kaleidoscope in their living room, stacked nearly 10-ft high, using waste bottles found at local junk shops. As the afternoon light streams into the living room, the terracotta floor sees a dance of colours. (Text: Shiny Verghese; Photo: KB Jayachandran)

Baker's was famous for asking: Is it necessary? In Nalini's house he has given a door that doubles as the bathroom and bedroom door. It is frame-less and moves on a pivot. His reason was that since she lived alone, she didn't need that extra door, that extra expense. Nalini, an activist who works among women in the unorganised sector, needed her privacy. Baker built her a tower, so that she can retreat there when she needed her moments of quiet. The rest of the house has lavish grills that allow nature to flood the living spaces. (Text: Shiny Verghese)

A man of economy, Baker introduced jaalis into Kerala's landscape, which is known for its humid, tropical weather. Not only did these simple designs transform his brick facades, but its generous usage allowed for ample air and light to pass through the building. This was his alternative to windows. It also allows users to play hide and seek with the sky. (Text: Shiny Verghese)

This helical building opposite the main bus stand in Thiruvananthapuram is the pride of the city. With built-in seating and a tiny window afforded by the jaali beside each table, visitors spend hours here drinking filter coffee and tucking into beef cutlets. While there were plans to demolish the India Coffee House building, the people of the city refused, and today it stands as a symbol of what they are proud to inherit. (Text: Shiny Verghese; Photo: KB Jayachandran)

The Centre for Development Studies, a research centre set up in 1970, was Laurie Baker's seminal work. The seven-storey high library tower was the first building that saw his design genius in its polygonal shape. Its intrinsic jaali designs make it the thing of beauty several feet above the ground. His love for water can be seen in several places in the campus, where waterbodies abound. (Text: Shiny Verghese)

Each of Baker's buildings twist and turn. The Ladies Hostel was one such where he experimented with the S-shaped wall. His theory of simply physics held that a straight wall would not be as strong as a curved one. To prove it, he would make a single sheet of paper stand, and then fold it many times over to make a zig zag pattern, which would stand, proving his point to the sceptics. (Text: Shiny Verghese; Photo: KB Jayachandran)

This was a Christmas card Baker had done for architect PB Sajan, who currently heads COSTFORD, the organisation that Baker founded with then Kerala chief minister C AchuthaMenon, social activist Chandra Dutta, and economist KN Raj in 1985. This non-profit organisation that engages with urban and rural development stands true to Baker's techniques and principles of cost-efficient technologies. This card suggests his love for the “mango” pattern, which is ubiquitous is many of his buildings, as in-lays or waterbodies or courtyard shapes. He believed the king of the fruits is the ultimate symbol for Indian design. (Text: Shiny Verghese)