Denizens go ‘Beyond the Bricks’ to explore Laurie marvel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The installations put up as part of the ‘Beyond the Bricks’ programme organised by the Indian Institute of Architects’ (IIA) Thiruvananthapuram centre have evinced a tremendous response from city folks, with many of the visitors taking a trek along the stretches to marvel at the creative oeuvre made using the bricks used for Friday’s Attukal Pongala.

The installations which dot the cityscape have been set up to mark the birth centenary celebrations of visionary and master architect Laurie Baker.“Baker was a master. You cannot compare him to any architect. His legacy is his philosophy. Moreover, the time frame within which he introduced his model of architecture is highly important. It was a time when people were just coming up with buildings minus any clear idea. Significantly, it took a foreigner (Baker) to put a stop to it all and provide a sustainable model,” said architect B Sudheer, chairman of the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IID), Kerala chapter. The IID too has set up its installation titled ‘Maze to Space’. Over one lakh bricks used by devotees during the pongala were collected by the IIA and the installations dot the Kowdiar-Spencer Junction stretch.

“I think the Baker Model hasn’t been promoted enough. It should reach more people. We are just splurging money. Baker underscored the need to utilise locally available resources. The public should be adequately briefed on the benefits of the model. Besides, efforts should be made to dispel the myths surrounding the model propagated by private firms,” said Rajasekharan Nair,  a former banker while checking out one of the installations.

Although several buildings make tall claims on their ‘green quotient’, the approach followed in today’s construction is largely meant to meet the statutory requirements, says P Anil Kumar, retired Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department who considers Baker’s Model to be way ahead of its time. “Although, one may feel  the construction adheres to the Baker Model, it is a make-believe and just follows the brick and mortar way. Baker’s Model seamlessly blends with the ecology but the construction nowadays is phoney,” he says.

According to Giri N S, a chartered accountant at IBS, Technopark, “We are still trapped in the brick and mortar concept and cannot easily embrace the Baker Model. His thoughts are highly appreciable in terms of eco-friendliness and cost-effective houses but when people - myself included- build our homes, we always go in for modern luxuries. So the truth is, we are a generation which loves these concepts, but unwilling to embrace it”. The installations will be on display till Tuesday. The bricks will later be used to build houses for indigent sections.