LAURIE BAKER AND BRICK

Laurie baker was a British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilisation and simple but aesthetic sensibility.

He sought to incorporate simple designs with local materials and achieved fame with his approach to sustainable architecture as well as in organic architecture.

he is known for constructing economic housing for lower and middle class people in india.

Also known as the ' BRICK MASTER' he uses brick as a building material in most of his designs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrNGVpvQohc

http://lauriebaker.net/

His book on brick work a important part of my design as I have adapted his rat trap bond method of construction in the buildings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PsH8sUaO8A

The main features of Rat-trap bond wall are:

• Strength is equal to standard 10" (250mm) brick wall, but consumes 20% less bricks.
• The overall saving on cost materials used for construction compared to the traditional 10" wall is about 25%.
• The air medium or cavity created in between the bricklayers helps in maintaining a good thermal comfort inside the building. This phenomenon is particularly helpful for tropical climate of South Asian and other countries.
• As the construction is done by aligning the bricks from both sides with the plain surfaces facing outwards, plastering is not necessary except in a few places. The finished surface is appealing to the eye from both internally & externally,
• Buildings up to two stories can easily be constructed with this technique. Mr. Laurie Baker has pioneered this type of construction and had built such houses more than 40 years ago without having any signs of distress till now.
• In R.C.C. framed structures, the filler walls can be made of rat-trap bond.
• Due to lesser load on the base of the walls, the width of foundation is also decreased, resulting in a saving of about 8% on use of bricks, cement and sand in foundation and plinth.

I have used his building techniques as a inspiration for design.