Uncommon Sense

A loving portrait of Birmingham-born architect Laurie Baker and his pioneering buildings in India.

Laurie Baker studied at Birmingham School of Architecture and then, led to conscientious objection by his Quaker beliefs, worked for the Friends Ambulance Unit during the war. An encounter with Mahatma Gandhi back in Britain inspired a trip to India, where he spent the rest of his life creating a series of ingenious, quirky buildings, using local materials and sustainable techniques long before the term ‘green architecture’ had been thought of. This documentary portrait has been crafted with love by his grandson, and in Laurie Baker’s centenary year there’s a nice symmetry in bringing Uncommon Sense to his hometown for its UK premiere.