Laurie Baker Center for Habitat Studies

It was a last minute decision to go to the Laurie Baker Center for Habitat studies after the plan to go to Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum had to be abandoned as roads leading to the temple were blocked due to an ongoing protest (Protests are a common sight in Trivandrum according to a local).

LBC is situated in Nooliyode, Vilappilsala which is around 13km from the Trivandrum Central Railway Station. As we had no conveyance of our own we had to rely on an auto rickshaw to take us there. The driver charged us an exorbitant amount, but we had no other choice. Thankfully, we had no trouble finding the place as Google maps has the location marked and we religiously followed the directions to arrive at the destination. However, we felt like trespassers as we walked down the undulating terrain as there was not a soul in sight. Thankfully, a junior architect called Dinesh greeted us and all our fears were put to rest as he couldn’t have been more welcoming.

LBC is the last work of the renowned architect Laurie Baker. It was designed to be a community center for the differently abled children, but the client due to economic limitations couldn’t go through with the plan. Therefore, with the help of the Government of Kerala the land and the buildings were secured and converted into its present form, the Laurie Baker Center for Habitat studies. Presently, there are 8 buildings in the campus with two more planned. 

Source: Laurie Baker Center for Habitat Studies

The LBC functions in parallel with COSTFORD (Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development) and is the learning arm of the organization. It regularly conducts workshops and seminars for students.

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.

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.

As 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.

On the whole, this visit to LBC was worthwhile as it was rich with learning and imagery.