Laurie Baker: Perbedaan antara revisi

Baker belajar [[arsitektur]] di [[Birmingham, Inggris|Birmingham]] dan lulus pada 1937, dalam usia 20 tahun, pada saat-saat pergolakan politik di Eropa. Komitmen awalnya atas India membuat ia bekerja sebagai arsitek untuk sebuah lembaga misi internasional dan antar-denominasi yang mengabdikan diri pada pemeliharaan para penderita [[lepra]]. Karena obat-obatan baru untuk penyakit ini menjadi semakin banyak tersedia, tanggung jawabnya terpusat pada usaha mengubah atau menggantikan tempat-tempat tinggal penderita yang dulunya digunakan untuk menampung meeka yang dijauhi oleh masyarakat karena penyakitnya. Baker kemudian menyadari bahwa pendidikan konstruksinya di Inggris ternyata tidak memadai untuk jenis-jenis masalah dan bahan-bahan yang dihadapinya: [[rayap]] dan [[muson]] tahunan, serta [[laterit]], [[kotoran sapi]], dan dinding-dinding dari lumpur yang dikeringkan. Karena itu, mau tak mau Baker harus mengamati dan belajar dari metode dan praktik-praktik arsitektur masyarakat setempat. Ia segera paham bahwa arsitektur dan metode-metode masarakat di tempat-tempat ini ternyata adalah sarana satu-satunya yang ada untuk mengatasi masalah-masalah yang mulanya membuatnya hampir putus asa.

 

After India had gained her independence and [[Mahatma Gandhi]] (a personal acquaintance and powerful influence on Baker's building philosophy) had been assassinated, Baker lived in [[Kerala]] with

Doctor P.J. Chandy, from whom he received great encouragement and whose sister he would later wed. Herself a doctor, Elizabeth Chandy and Laurie were married

[[Berkas:Dolas house.png|left|thumb|Baker's works, such as this house, blend seamlessly into the natural settings.]]

Baker's architectural method is one of improvisation, in which initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of the accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself. Compartments for milk bottles near the doorstep, windowsills that double as bench surfaces, and a heavy emphasis on taking cues from the natural condition of the site are just some examples. His Quaker-instilled respect for nature lead him to let the idiosyncrasies of a site inform his architectural improvisations, rarely is a topography line marred or a tree uprooted. This saves construction cost as well, since working around difficult site conditions is much more cost-effective than clear-cutting. ("I think it's a waste of money to level a well-moulded site") Resistant to "high-technology" that addresses building environment issues by ignoring natural environment, at the [[Centre for Development Studies]] (Trivandrum, 1971) Baker created a cooling system by placing a high, latticed, brick wall near a pond that uses air pressure differences to draw cool air through the building. His responsiveness to never-identical site conditions quite obviously allowed for the variegation that permeates his work.-->

== Kematian ==

[[Berkas:Hamlet ‍baker.png|thumb|''Kampung'' di [[Nalanchira]] dekat [[Thiruvananthapuram]], yang menjadi tempat tinggal Baker dan istrinya sejak 1970. Rumah ini, yang terletak di puncak bukit, dirancang oleh Baker.]]

* [http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/30/stories/2003113004960400.htm Penghargan D.Litt kepada Laurie Baker]

* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2005/stories/20030314000906400.htm Perjalanan kreatif Laurie Baker] Frontline - oleh Joginder Singh dan Shrinivas Warkhandkar

 

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