About Us

Rat trap bond

Rat trap bond

Rat trap bond brick masonry is an alternative to normal English bond masonry walls by which 15% of cost can be reduced without comprimising the quality, strength and appearances.
  1. Laurie Baker Building Center was setup in early 1990 in New Delhi, jointly promoted by Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). As the name suggests, the centre pays tribute to the ideologies and creations of the renowned Architect, Padma Shri Laurence Wilfred Baker.

  2. We adopt cost effective and eco-friendly technologies such as rat-trap bond, filler slabs, arches and domes for cost effectiveness which are aesthetic in addition to normal constructions, which are architecturally designed and constructed on a turn-key basis.

  3. Unlike English or Flemish bond practiced in solid 9 inch thick masonry, in Rat Trap Bond vertical cavities are generated wherein air arrested acts as insulation. As a result, 2 degree temperature is controlled. Summers are cooler and winters warmer in side resulting energy savings.

  4. In Rat Trap Bond there is also saving in number of bricks by 25% and equivalent mortar. Use of these technologies results in an overall saving to an extent of 15% to 20% in overall cost of buildings beside being green and eco-friendly.

  5. Other than these we also undertake usual constructions like framed R.C.C. structures in compliance with earthquake resistance norms. That is all services like architectural design, structural design, project management, labour and material management from day 1 up to completion of project.

  6. We are a government promoted Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) run on no profit no loss basis. The cost effective technologies we promote and adopt stand validated by Anna University, which suit all constructions. We undertake projects like institutional buildings, schools, hospitals, group housing societies other than residential buildings and farmhouses etc.

Aims and Objectives

  1. Dissemination of cost-effective and alternative technologies.
  2. Turn-key consultancy and project management.
  3. A wide range of construction projects for government and private sectors.
  4. Institutional projects such as Vocational training centers, schools, health centers, hospitals, open air theaters and religious structures.
  5. Technology dissemination programs such as participation in exhibitions, conducting on the job training programs for technicians, artisans, etc.

Awards and Citations

  1. Commendation award for excellence in display on build tech at India International Trade Fair (1995).
  2. Commendation for outstanding performance by HUDCO (1994-1995).
  3. Commendation by India trade promotion organization (1995).
  4. Second prize in low cost housing competition by HUDCO and Hari Om Trust, Gujarat (1997).
  5. Commendation for outstanding performance in the field of alternative technologies by HUDCO (1998).

Rat trap bond

Rat trap bond

Rat trap bond brick masonry is an alternative to normal English bond masonry walls by which 15% of cost can be reduced without comprimising the quality, strength and appearances.

Filler Slabs

Filler slabs

Filler slabs employ replacing 'un-productive' concrete by a 'Filler' material which reduces the weight of the slab and also the cost by reducing the amount of concrete used. Also, since the weight of the slab is thus reduced, lesser steel is required for reinforcement, further reducing the cost.

Arches

Arches

The arch is significant because it provides a structure which eliminates tensile stresses in spanning an open space. All the forces are resolved into compressive stresses. This is useful because several of the available building materials such as stone, cast iron and concrete can strongly resist compression but are very weak when tension, shear or torsional stress is applied to them.

Domes

Domes

A dome can be thought of as an arch which has been rotated around its central vertical axis. Thus domes, like arches, have a great deal of structural strength when properly built and can span large open spaces without interior supports.