SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) Building – Trivandrum – Laurie Baker
Laurence Wilfred “Laurie” Baker (March 2, 1917 – April 1, 2007) was an award-winning British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilization and a simple but beautiful aesthetic sensibility. He came to India in 1945 as a missionary aid worker and since then lived and worked in India for over 50 long years.
The Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies in Thiruvananthapuram has been set up to propagate the philosophy and legacy of late the Dr. Laurence Wilfred Baker (affectionately called Laurie Baker), the Master Architect, who charted a cost-effective, environment-friendly and local resource-based alternative to building construction in India.
Adjacent to the LBC campus is the training facility centre owned and managed by the Self Employed Women’s Association, Trivandrum (SEWA-T), which is an association of self-employed women workers affiliated to the all India SEWA. The campus of SEWA also houses beautiful brick structures including an auditorium with 150 seats, a dormitory with an occupancy capacity of 60, three guestrooms with double beds and a cafeteria with a seating capacity of 60, designed and built by COSTFORD under the direct supervision of Laurie Baker during 2002-04.
