Sustainable Architectural Design Using Laurie Baker’s Method for Building Construction

Abstract

Affordable and environmentally friendly housing is a major trend in architecture these days. People today want an inexpensive, environmentally sustainable urban lifestyle. It’s a fact that everyone wants to build their home creatively and affordably, but because of a lack of awareness and a tight budget, people are choosing to forego better construction practices that designers and engineers offer. As a result, people are choosing to use unauthorized contractors and subpar building materials for their low-budget construction, which is a major problem these days. In this project, we work on the Rat Trap Bond and Filler Slab Concept for an alternative low-cost construction technique. Filler slab technology is a simple and very innovative technology for slab construction. Architect Sir Laurie Baker provides better Thermal Insulation to buildings. Thus, the RCC slab is a product that resists both compressions as well as tensile. One such building technique is the use of ‘RAT TRAP BOND’ masonry. In this project, we have outlined the importance of Laurie Baker’s technologies along with the construction details and also provided some comparative calculations to highlight the savings that can be achieved against conventional solid brickwork. Also, quantities of material required have been calculated in detail.