I have been touring homes and buildings built by Laurie Baker and Costford. Laurie has a wonderful life story or growing up in Britain, moving to China to serve the medical needs of the British Army, moving to India, marrying a woman in the India Independence movement, running his wife's leprosy clinics, and then finally beginning an architecture career. The way people talk about Laurie is unnerving at first; they speak with great admiration, warmth and devotion. Yet after many days of exploring the work and vision of Laurie I can see that it is well deserved.
Costford was established by Laurie with the goal being to build cost effective ecologically sensitive buildings. Through the years they have established methods of building that incorporate passive cooling, local materials, site specific design, low maintenance, and much more. The building as simply beautiful, particularly when you realize that they are often built for 60% of the cost of a building using traditional methods.
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| Home built by Costford, Kerala India |
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| Images from the Braille without Borders Campus built by Costford |
I will talk more about Laurie Baker's building model and the work Costford is doing, but it is far more important for you to know that Laurie Baker had a thing for mangoes. Possibly bordering on obsession; the man drew then, made staircases and ponds in their shape, made walkways with mango designs. It's the where's waldo of Costford building. It is inevitable that someone will cry out mango upon their discovery of the hidden fruit.
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| Laurie Bakers Mango Collages |
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