The booklets provide guidance by the celebrated architect in the construction of low cost buildings using mud/common burnt brick as a basic material in housing.
About the Author: Born in Birmingham, England, in 1917, Laurie Baker studied architecture at the Birmingham School of Architecture from where he graduated in 1937 and became an associate member of the, RIBA. During the World War II he was an anaesthetist to a surgical team in China where he also worked on control and treatment. On his way back to England he had to wait for about three months for a boat in Bombay. There he met Gandhi and was influenced by him. He decided that he would come back to India and work here. During 1945 - 1966, apart from his general freelance architectural practice throughout his life in India, Baker was architect to leprosy institutions in India and 1ived and worked in a hill village in Uttar Pradesh. In 1966, Baker moved south and worked with the tribals of Peerumede in Kerala. In 1970, he came to Trivandrum and has since been designing and constructing buildings all over Kerala. He has served at various times as Governor of HUDCO, on the working group on Housing of the Planning Commission, and on several expert committees at the national and state level.
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