Pioneer of low cost housing Laurie Baker died

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 1 (UNI) Veteran architect and pioneer of the low-cost housing technology Laurie Baker died here today.

He was 90 and was ailing from illness rlated to old age for the past so many days. His end came in the morning at his residence 'the hamlet'.

Born in Birmingham, England, on March two, 1917, Baker was educated in King Edward's Grammar School and the Birmingham School of Architecture. He came to India in 1945 as part of missionary work and since then lived and worked here and obtained Indian Citizenship in 1989.

A pioneer of cost effective architecture movement in India, Baker had become well known for designing and building near-impossibly low cost, high quality homes, with a great portion of his work suited to or built for lower-middle to lower class clients.

His initial commitment to India had him working as an architect for an international Mission dedicated to the care of those suffering from leprosy. A chance meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in the 1940s turned out to be a turning point in his life.

Drawing inspiration from the teachings of the Mahatma, Baker returned to India in 1945, initially to work among leprosy patients.

Three years later he married Elizabeth Jacob, a doctor from Kerala.

The Bakers worked in Pithorgarh of Uttar Pradesh for 16 years, before moving to Wagamon in Kerala. After that he shifted to Thiruvananthapuram in 1970 and since then he was living here.

The ''Baker Style'' home had gained popularity, much to Mr Baker's own chagrin, since he felt that the ''style'' being commodified was merely the inevitable manifestation of the cultural and economic imperatives of the region in which he worked.

Mr Baker, Founder of the Centre for Science and Technology for Rural Development (Costford), was the recipient of many awards and recognitions, including the Padmasree (1990), the U N Habitat Award (1992) and the International Union of Architects Award (1993). He had also been conferred with Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Central England, University of Kerala and the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

The Literacy Village in Lucknow, The Centre for Social Studies in Surat, The Bhasha Institute Thiruvananthapuram, Mithraniketan and Chitralekha film studio in Thiruvananthpuam are some of his major projects.

He was a great architect of all times who proved that it was not impossible to build houses with low budgets on land written off by everyone. Effectively combining traditional techniques with indigenous innovations, he managed to bring down the cost of construction by half.

Baker's architecture, focused on retaining a site's natural character, and economically minded indigenous construction, and the seamless integration of local culture stood as a votary of architectural truth that would continue to inspire long beyond his lifetime.

His cremation would take place tomorrow at the Christ Church, Palayam.

UNI