Where others have become obsessed with speed and trends, Sergio Membrillas has built a career on slowing down and staying true to his craft. Over 13 years as a professional illustrator, he's evolved a distinct style – bold, graphic, and quietly playful – that feels both timeless and entirely his own. But this evolution, as he's quick to point out, wasn't something he forced. "I believe evolution is essential for every artist," Sergio reflects. "Change is not something I resist; it's something I enjoy and welcome as part of the creative journey." His work, initially influenced by a love of Mid-Century graphic design, has gradually absorbed references as diverse as Etruscan art, Mesopotamian motifs, and early 20th-century traditional tattoos. It's a portfolio built on curiosity, not conformity. Despite his stylistic clarity, Sergio's process remains refreshingly analogue at its core. He still begins each project with pencil and paper, leaning into the tactility of drawing by hand. "I've always valued having a physical relationship with art," he says. "There's something essential about feeling the wood of the pencil, manually erasing mistakes, rather than simply double-tapping a screen." His philosophy of working slowly, attentively, and with purpose shows in the balanced compositions and confident use of negative space that has become his signature. Sergio credits his background in graphic design for this instinctive sense of structure. "There has always been a strong graphic sensibility within me," he says, noting that the discipline of design continues to inform his illustration practice, particularly in editorial and poster work where clarity and storytelling must co-exist. Yet, like many creative careers, his path into illustration wasn't plotted from the start. Initially, Sergio imagined illustration would complement his design projects, not become the main event. "At first, I thought I would incorporate my illustrations into my graphic design projects – but in the end, it turned out to be the other way around." A commission for EasyJet's in-flight magazine marked a pivotal moment that reframed illustration from a hobby to a profession. "It made me realize that being an illustrator is a real profession, just like any other." Fast-forward to today, and Sergio's client list reads like a who's who of publishing and design, from The New Yorker to Pentagram. While the calibre of collaborators has changed, what matters most remains the same: trust. "When a client trusts your work and approaches projects with an open mind, collaboration flourishes," he says. It's in these open, trusting relationships that Sergio finds the space to experiment and further develop his ideas. Unsurprisingly, editorial work holds a special place for him. "Editorial projects offer wider creative margins, allowing for greater flexibility and innovation," he explains. Compared to the tighter confines of advertising, editorial illustration offers the opportunity to tell nuanced stories, and Sergio is clear that he views every assignment, regardless of format, as a collaborative effort. If one thing is clear, though, it's that he's not that he's afraid to say no when needed. Maintaining a strong personal voice is non-negotiable. "I always strive to stay true to myself and ensure that every project I undertake reflects a clear personal signature," he says. For Sergio, authenticity isn't just a matter of artistic pride; it's what differentiates an illustrator in a saturated, increasingly automated industry. Valencia is home for Sergio, a city he credits with much of his creative energy. "Oh, Valencia! It's a beautiful city that inspires me and brings me joy," he says, describing it as a European cousin to Los Angeles with its sun-soaked streets and vibrant cultural scene. The blend of tradition and modernity fuels his practice, offering constant inspiration without the sensory overload that often accompanies larger creative hubs. Given the pressure many creatives feel to keep pace with shifting trends, Sergio's approach feels almost radical. "I'm not particularly interested in trends," he says. "What truly matters to me is the feeling of having done something meaningful and fulfilling by the end of the day." Instead of chasing what's fashionable, he draws inspiration from a surprisingly eclectic bookshelf, mixing everything from Wim Crouwel's graphic design classics to studies on Scandinavian tattoos and Alec Soth's photography. It's a reminder that fresh ideas rarely come from looking where everyone else is looking. In the era of AI and content overload, the role of the illustrator is changing, but Sergio remains optimistic. While machine learning might churn out images at record speed, it can't replicate the nuance and emotional intelligence that underpin great illustration. "Illustrators can tell stories, evoke emotions, and create meaningful connections that machines simply cannot replicate," he says. "Our role is shifting, but the value of authentic, thoughtful illustration remains indispensable." That insistence on authenticity carries through to the advice he offers younger illustrators navigating a commercial landscape. "Create work that makes you happy when you go to sleep at night," Sergio advises. "It's important to find projects that align with your values and passions so your artistic voice remains authentic." It's an ethos that has carried him through more than a decade of creative highs and industry shifts. Perhaps it's the real secret behind the clarity of his practice, which he has built not on chasing trends or algorithms but on careful craft, deliberate evolution, and the simple, enduring joy of a well-made pencil and a blank piece of paper.

Just a day after its release, FromSoftware announced a crucial patch for Elden Ring Nightreign players who prefer to solo queue. The game's developer posted on X that Patch 1.02 will be released next week, delivering some bug fixes and "improvements for solo expeditions." More specifically, FromSoftware will add the effect of “Automatic Revival Upon Defeat” that allows a self-revival once per night boss battle for solo expeditions. Players will also get more runes, which should provide a more balanced gaming experience when venturing alone. This news of this patch follows several criticisms of the game being poorly optimized when playing solo, versus in a party of three as it was designed for. FromSoftware's titles have a reputation for being difficult, but early reviews pointed out that Nightreign offers poor scaling with certain mechanics, abilities and boss fights that cater towards a full party. Despite the millions of copies sold on the first day, Nightreign holds a "mixed" Steam user review rating thanks to the solo queue issues, along with a lack of communication tools, cross-platform play and less replayability than other Souls titles. For FromSoftware, Elden Ring Nightreign represents a stylistic shift into the roguelike genre based on its best-selling predecessor and it might still be working out some of the kinks. The game's director, Junya Ishizaki, told IGN in an interview that jumping into an expedition as a duo was “overlooked during development” but is something that the developer is looking at and considering for post-launch support. Some players are also having issues with matchmaking itself, where FromSoftware recommends restarting the process to get into an expedition. As for rebalancing for solo play, FromSoftware said that more details about this upcoming patch will come next week.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/elden-ring-nightreigns-next-patch-will-make-gameplay-easier-for-solo-players-183644323.html?src=rss

The kitchenette is minimalist but it manages to include all the essentials. Two primary colors dominate: the yellow found in the kitchen tiles with their zigzag pattern and the blue of the cabinets. And a lemon yellow spineAnd then, like lemons dotting the branches of trees, there are many details in bright yellow. They are like elements of punctuation, never overwhelming the space but introducing moments of light. Prominent among them is the custom-designed “stripe” that runs like a line drawn around the bedroom. Shelves, clothes hooks, mirror frames, and other elements, also in yellow, branch off of it. Holding the space together like a common thread in yellow, it serves as both a functional and a narrative element.Above the bed, the skylight adds an almost poetic touch while also playing its functional role of introducing soft and natural light into the room. “I was interested in having everything speak the same language while having the home still feel light with its stylistic themes always remaining unobtrusive,” the architect explains. “Even the bathroom follows this logic. The ceramics using custom Pantone colors and glazed iron elements were all made by local artisans.”In the bedroom, yellow accents abound most notably in the custom-made iron stripe that runs along the walls. This stripe serves as a support for shelves, a mirror, and other elements and it attaches to the side of the bed. A courtyard with a Mediterranean flavorThe home continues outdoors into a 550-square-foot courtyard where the branches of lemon trees weave together to create a natural pergola. Here, a given homeowner can have lunch, read, or sunbathe on a deck chair while forgetting about the city, which is only steps away. The outdoor furniture was also custom designed. Vietri ceramics from Arcea, like those found inside, pepper the walls of the kitchen and bathroom. Each surface is a small story, a mosaic of color and functionality.

Alex Garland is set to adapt Elden Ring, and the director has the perfect stylistic inspiration rooted in his most unconventional horror film. Garland first gained notoriety as a writer, penning scripts for 28 Days Later and Dredd. He even worked in the video game world, as co-writer of the underrated gem Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the reboot game DMC: Devil May Cry. Garland later ventured into directing after rumors circulated that he "ghost-directed" Dredd when problems arose with credited director Pete Travis. He made waves with his official directorial debut, Ex Machina, continuing to helm films like Annihilation, Civil War, and Warfare.

War is hell, but for the movies, it’s something more complicated. Some directors see war as a stylistic challenge, while others view it as an opportunity to drive home the trauma of the men and women on the ground. Netflix has a selection of war films spanning costume drama, science fiction, and recent history, all valuable in reflecting on the human drama of combat. We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. Recommended Videos The King (2019) Pl A David Michôd-directed adaptation of several of Shakespeare’s history plays, The King was arguably the first big-budget film anchored solely by Timothée Chalamet, whose two Oscar nominations followed shortly thereafter. Chalamet, in his gruff-young-striver mode, plays the young King Henry V during his invasion of France as part of the Hundred Years’ War. The sword-clanging action is pleasurable, solid, and steely in places and realistically anti-climactic in others. Joel Edgerton, also a co-screenwriter, is Henry’s fictional drinking buddy Falstaff; most entertaining, though, is Robert Pattinson as Louis, the Dauphin of France, with an outrageous accent and a Lord Fauntleroy simper that make him a perfect foil to Chalamet. Stream The King on Netflix. Black Hawk Down (2001) Co If you prefer your war films jaw-rattling and glamor-less, Ridley Scott’s brutal verité will be right up your alley. In October 1993, the United States led a UN peacekeeping operation in Mogadishu to capture the leader of a Somali terrorist group. A Black Hawk helicopter carrying a contingent of American Special Forces was shot down over the insurgency-torn city. The men aboard were forced to fight their way out, and Hollywood came calling about eight years later. Black Hawk Down is suffused with eardrum-shattering gunfire and almost relentlessly unwilling to depict soldiery as anything but horrifying. A mile-long cast list led by Josh Hartnett heaves with sweat and anxiety. Stream Black Hawk Down on Netflix. Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) Re Aaron Sorkin’s script for this Mike Nichols film, about the United States’ arming of the mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, is Sorkinesque to its bones, down to the obligatory Gilbert and Sullivan reference. (Philip Seymour Hoffman’s sclerotic CIA agent, roaring out his qualifications, finishes with “And I’m never ever sick at sea!”) That’s why it’s so curious that the story has the air of being unfinished, leaping from the meddling of one wily Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) to its consequence — the attacks of 9/11, carried out by the very men the US had trained — without deigning to trace the line between points A and B. Still, the film, Nichols’ last, is delightful, an absurd exploration of the backroom kibitzing that populates battlefields. Stream Charlie Wilson’s War on Netflix. Dune: Part Two (2024) Le Director Denis Villeneuve has made plenty of films about violent conflict —2010’s Incendies (2010) is about the Lebanese Civil War, and 2015’s Sicario is about a CIA strike against a drug cartel. An artistically minded Villeneuve is drawn to the elegant warfare of science fiction. His two-film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune tells the orange-saturated, visually stunning tale of an interplanetary war that is both technologically unsophisticated — our heroes fight with blades and crossbows — and high-tech. (The threat of nuclear warfare hovers.) The action sequences in Dune: Part Two drift rather than rush and sweep rather than shudder. It’s war as a visual exercise, like a battle plan plotted on an otherworldly map. Stream Dune: Part Two on Netflix. Starship Troopers (1997) Sony Pictures A more literal transposition of America’s imperialistic desert wars onto science fiction can be found in Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously dumb adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s crypto-fascistic 1959 novel. Verhoeven wanted to make a satire — a film about an expansionist human species defeating an insectoid alien species called the Arachnids. The goal was to question the militaristic undertones of twentieth-century sci-fi by seeming to espouse them. In Verhoeven’s words, the film’s characters are “fascists who aren’t aware of their fascism.” This metafictional component of the story doesn’t entirely work because the movie lays on the stupidity too thick to be entirely satirical. However, Starship Troopers is a rare film that seems to profit from its shallowness. It was made for a popcorn era that seems to have faded, with Verhoeven’s trademark borderline-softcore love scenes and a cast (Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris) of surpassingly dopey gorgeousness. (Verhoeven says he cast the film to recall the preferred subjects of Leni Riefenstahl, the Nazi documentarian.) Stream Starship Troopers on Netflix.

The Influence of Font Size and Weight on Cognitive Load In this article:See more ▼Post may contain affiliate links which give us commissions at no cost to you.As designers, we obsess over kerning, color palettes and grids, but how often do we stop to consider how our typography choices may tax the readers’ brains? Lately, I have been thinking about cognitive load and how it comes into play with design. It turns out that font size and weight play a much bigger role in user comprehension than we assume. Whether building out a UI dashboard or setting editorial spreads, how you handle type can support the reader’s flow or trip them up. Therefore, it is vitally important to explore how font size and weight influence the way people engage with your work. 👋 Psst... Did you know you can get unlimited downloads of 59,000+ fonts and millions of other creative assets for just $16.95/mo? Learn more »What Is Cognitive Load? Cognitive load is the mental effort someone has to use to understand and retain information. When working on a design project, you are essentially deciding how easy or difficult it will be for someone to process what is in front of them. There are a few different types of cognitive load, but the one that you should ultimately focus on is the extraneous kind. This unnecessary strain comes from confusing layouts or clunky typography. The more noise you create visually, the harder it will be for a user’s brain to work to stay engaged. It is important to keep in mind how someone processes information, especially when designing for adults. Research shows that memory, attention and processing speed start declining around age 30 or earlier. Adding to the fact that the global population aged 60 and older will increase by 40% by 2050, it is clear that designing with cognitive ease is a must. The good news is that typography can lighten the cognitive load. When used intentionally, it can reduce mental friction and make it easier for users of all ages to take in and enjoy the content you create.Get 300+ Fonts for FREEEnter your email to download our 100% free "Font Lover's Bundle". For commercial & personal use. No royalties. No fees. No attribution. 100% free to use anywhere. Font Size and Its Cognitive Impact Readability is a critical factor in design, and font size is often the first thing that comes to mind because it directly affects how easily someone can make sense of the content. Type size has a significant impact on how the brain interprets information. Studies have found that individuals process font dimensions between 17 and 161 points more fluently than sizes outside that range. Text that is too small can slow down reading and increase visual strain. On the other hand, text that is too large can break up the natural flow and increase the load on an individual’s working memory. Fluency matters because it impacts the rate at which someone can read and comprehend the text. When readers can recognize words quickly and automatically, it frees up cognitive resources for understanding. This is where font size intersects with reading rhythm. A comfortable size allows for a natural pace, which gives the brain space to focus on meaning rather than mechanics. When inconsistent or poorly sized text interferes with rhythm, it creates mental friction that chips away at memory and understanding. Even if you reduce body text to fit more on a page, it can still have a measurable effect on how well readers soak in the information. The Role of Font Weight in Processing Font weight is a stylistic choice on the surface, but is also functional in how users take in information. The thickness of letterforms shapes how efficiently people process what they are reading. Heavier weights can draw attention and establish emphasis, especially in headlines, labels and calls to action. Yet, when used excessively, the boldness can overwhelm the eye, slow reading, and create visual fatigue. Conversely, lighter ones can feel refined and modern but may compromise legibility at smaller sizes or lower-contrast backgrounds. Font weight also impacts how the brain prioritizes information. When the hierarchy is clear, readers spend less time figuring out what to read first and more time absorbing the content. That reduction in decision-making lightens the cognitive load and improves flow. Attention span is another factor at play. More weight can signal importance or urgency, guiding focus when used appropriately. Boldness is often associated with strength and power, but you can lose that effect when everything is heavy. Considering these factors, it is essential to use it as a tool for guiding readers and supporting comprehension. The key is balance — using weight to create structure and flow on the page. The Interplay Between Font Size and Weight I often treat font size and weight as separate design variables, but balancing these elements becomes crucial when cognitive processing is at play. Consider a scenario where large, bold headlines dominate a page. While they may grab attention, they can overshadow the content and make it harder for readers to focus on the main message. The same goes for lightweight fonts of small sizes on mobile screens. Smartphones already have limited space to display text, so you must choose the right size carefully. Yet, if the font is too small, the reader ends up straining their eyes or trying to zoom in to see. In the meantime, their brain is trying to process what they should do while retaining the information at the same time, leading to quicker fatigue and reduced comprehension. In practice, achieving the right balance involves: Keep bold at a minimum: Use heavier weights sparingly and in contrast to regular body text to avoid visual competition. Avoid extremes in small text: Pair lighter ones only with larger font sizes, and keep small fonts bold enough to remain legible. Create consistent scale relationships: Establish a modular type scale where size and weight changes feel proportional and deliberate. Adjust for density and whitespace: Consider how the thickness and size affect line spacing and overall rhythm — too tight or loose can interrupt flow. Test with real content: Evaluate how each combination of fonts looks to you to ensure clarity and cohesion before hitting publish. Accessibility and Inclusivity Design is effective when it works for as many people as possible, and typography is still a large part of that. Roughly 16% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability, including visual impairments, cognitive processing challenges and reading disorders. That means people may engage with your content differently from what you expect. That is where clarity, contrast and adaptability become fundamental. For instance, the Bureau of Internet Accessibility recommends using at least 12-point type for body text and no smaller than 9-point type. However, larger sizes may be more suitable, depending on the format and context. Otherwise, text that dips below the thresholds makes the content harder to read, especially for low-vision users. That is why it is important to follow accessibility procedures like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). While WCAG does not define a specific minimum font size, it offers criteria for success in accessible design for people with vision disabilities. Other platforms — like the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) — also create standards for website accessibility, helping you develop digital content that caters to those with disabilities. Font heaviness is just as important as size. I try to avoid using weight alone to communicate meaning since many users with cognitive or visual impairments may not perceive these changes reliably. Instead, merging it with other visual cues like spacing or color contrast is excellent for reinforcing the message. Practical Applications and Industry Relevance for Designers The influence of font size and weight applies across nearly every industry where communication is central. When used strategically, typography can improve engagement, understanding and decision-making. Retail and Packaging Design Font choices directly impact how shoppers perceive products at first glance. On packaging, size and weight influence everything from readability to emotional tone. While part of it concerns standing out on a shelf, understanding immediately is also key. According to recent surveys, 72% of U.S. consumers agree that packaging design influences their purchase decisions. If the product information is hard to read, buyers may move on. Education and Learning Environments In educational settings, typography can support or hinder the learning process. Clear, accessible fonts at the right size and weight can reduce distractions and support comprehension, especially for students with dyslexia or attention disorders. Type that guides the eye and builds structure enhances retention and keeps learners engaged longer. Health Care and Patient Communication Medical documents, prescription instructions and digital health portals require absolute clarity. Otherwise, it can lead to miscommunication or even health risks. If you work in health care as a designer, weight and size decisions matter as much. It ensures patients can find, read and understand essential information without added strain. User Testing and Data-Driven Design In design, you must make hundreds of visual decisions in a single project, but not all of them should rely on instinct alone. When it comes to font size and weight, testing how real users respond can offer insights that improve the usability and effectiveness of a product. While many design systems prescribe standard font sizes and weights, context matters. What reads well on a desktop screen may offer different results on mobile. A weight that looks elegant in a mock-up may strain readers’ eyes in long-form content. User testing allows you to identify these breakdowns early and make adjustments before launch. Typography testing can range from informal preference feedback to more structured approaches like A/B testing or eye-tracking studies. Key factors to observe include: Readability: Can users quickly and accurately scan and interpret the content? Engagement: Does one font pairing lead to longer time-on-page or lower bounce rates? Retention: Are users able to recall the information they have read after interacting with the design? Tracking metrics like scroll depth, click-through rates and user drop-off points can reveal where typography may be helping or hurting comprehension. Designing for Clarity Making minor font size and weight adjustments may not seem like a big deal, but they carry real cognitive weight. The right choices can improve comprehension, reduce mental fatigue and create more user-friendly experiences. While designing, it is easy to become swept up in the aesthetics. However, taking the time to understand the decisions you make can shape attention and how well it works across audiences and industries. Eleanor Hecks Eleanor Hecks is a web designer and design writer of 8+ years, whose work has been featured in publications such as Smashing Magazine, Envato and HubSpot. She currently works as Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine.

Laurie Baker never advocated an imitation of his architecture. He instead intended that his design principles would generate a truly Indian architecture. ‘Be honest and truthful in design, material usage, construction, costs, and about your own mistakes,’ he wrote as one of 20 guiding principles, which he duly respected in his projects. His last major commission started as the Navayatra community living centre, and became the Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies (LBC), a place where his design ethos and philosophy live on.  The project started in 1994, when Baker was 77 years old. Keith Saldanha, an economist based in Canada, decided to relocate to the southern Indian state of Kerala and build a community centre dedicated to fostering creative abilities for children with special education needs. Having purchased a three‑and‑a‑half‑acre site in Vilappilsala, outside the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Saldanha named his project Navayatra, or ‘a new journey’, and reached out to Baker. He had heard of the British‑born Indian architect, whose full original name was Lawrence Wilfred Baker, because his work in the region had been gaining traction. Baker was rigorous in applying his own design principles (Laurie Baker Centre) The small yet densely populated state of Kerala, created in 1956, had become known as a ‘model of development’ in the ’70s. An extended period of political stability under the able stewardship of successive communist governments led to significant improvement of human development parameters, including health, education and housing, despite low economic growth. Baker’s cost‑effective design philosophy and work resonated with the holistic welfare ideology of then chief minister Chelat Achutha Menon, who commissioned him to design several welfare projects, despite his ‘unconventional’ building methods. After he retired in 1985, Achutha Menon founded the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD), a non‑profit, with Baker as its chief architect. His innovative approach to sustainable and cost‑effective architecture emphasised the use of local resources, labour and harmony with the natural environment. ‘Always study your site: its soil, topography, water, climate and neighbours (noisy temples, smelly factories, etc)’ was another of Baker’s principles. In his sketch for Navayatra’s masterplan, Baker meticulously noted the natural features; his proposal made the most of the complex topography, preserving the prominent granite rock formations as well as the scattered coconut and mango trees. The abandoned quarry pit was turned into a rainwater harvesting tank, which catered to the water requirement of the new centre all through the year. Functional spaces were housed on the high rock outcrops so that the natural drainage would not be disturbed and to curtail foundation costs.  Construction began in 1996, with a meandering pedestrian path connecting the different buildings. Each one is unique, but they are held together by the consistent use of exposed brick and the verdant landscape. The canteen hugs the rocky edges of the large granite quarry pit, with steps descending from its kitchen to the water body. The circular array of bedrooms in the guest house preserves the existing trees, while the undulating roof of the dormitory mimics the adjacent rock formations. The curved, perforated brick walls, while appearing irregular, are meticulously designed to respond to the site’s visual context and prevailing breezes. Baker’s rejection of rigid geometries made his spaces fluid, dynamic and adaptable. Each space appears to flow seamlessly into the next, a quality particularly exemplified in the dormitory.  Read Laurie Baker’s Reputations essay Discarded materials such as cut bricks, glass bottles, stone chips, timber pieces and broken tiles, all sourced within a 5km radius of Vilappilsala, were repurposed throughout the site, and local labour was employed. Baker had an in‑depth understanding of brick, timber and stone, which he deployed in myriad ways. He himself facilitated training, in collaboration with his engineer and constant companion PB Sajan. ‘Laurie Baker firmly refused ostentation and decoration for its own sake,’ recalls Sajan, ‘yet his buildings were never dull. There would always be an element of surprise, either in the use of an ordinary material or the geometrical interpretation of space. He believed in the intrinsic beauty of all things, living and non‑living.’     The spaces designed by Baker must be appreciated in light of his design philosophy. The 20 principles of architecture that he advocated in his writing and talks are an amalgamation of his Quaker beliefs and the Gandhian ideal of commitment to social justice and non‑violence; he believed architecture should be a non‑violent insert into the land and local ecology. This new aesthetic was refreshingly non‑invasive, even if it alienated some contemporary modernists. Baker’s innovative adaptation of local craft techniques was both playful and resourceful. His designs, frugal and pragmatic, were driven by a desire to be cost‑effective – rather than the expression of purely stylistic choices.  The programmatic needs of Navayatra evolved and translated into the construction of new structures, including accommodation for invited artists and a residential space for the client. There was no electrical connection on the site; all activities took place in the daytime. The extensive use of perforated walls helped to keep the spaces cool and well ventilated. The dormitory, on the higher western edge of the site, is the last structure Baker designed for Navayatra. It was the primary learning and living quarters for the tutors who conducted classes. Its semi‑open terrace, nestled in the undulating roof, proved an ideal learning and interactive space. Its completion in 2002 marked Baker’s last site visit to Navayatra.  PB Sajan continued work on the site, designing, for example, the two small structures along the pathway at the entrance, for which Baker gave his approval. Both were experiments to test concrete roof slabs using bamboo reinforcement instead of steel rods. The centre continued to function as a vibrant community space for a couple of years, but once Saldanha moved out, due to deteriorating health, managing Navayatra became difficult. At the same time, COSTFORD, still under the guidance of Laurie Baker, required a dedicated space. The architect welcomed Saldanha’s offer to sell Navayatra, with a view to turning it into an independent centre for learning that would focus on innovation and research in alternative building technologies, but financial constraints, as well as Baker’s failing health, delayed the process. Two years after Baker’s death in 2007, Kerala’s finance minister sanctioned 8 million rupees (£70,000) to purchase the land. The Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies was inaugurated in October 2009; Sajan has since been the director of both COSTFORD and the LBC. The centre encourages the appropriate use of natural resources, disseminates non‑conventional and eco‑friendly design strategies, and provides hands‑on training in innovative construction methods. ‘The thrust is not to propagate a “Laurie Baker architecture” but to understand the sound principles behind his life’s work,’ explains KP Kannan, chairman of LBC and COSTFORD, ‘and apply them to questions of housing and inclusive development.’  Due to the steep spike in construction over the decade, Kerala faces an acute shortage of sand (because of uncontrolled sand mining), granite (quarrying of hills is rampant) as well as bricks (as suitable clay is becoming scarce). The LBC’s research on, and advocacy of, alternative and low‑energy construction materials has led them to turn to mud and bamboo, while continuing to explore the use and potential of recycled materials. Sajan and the COSTFORD team designed additional buildings for the LBC, including an office annexe and a four‑storey library used for research. They also added spaces for workshops and for treating bamboo to Baker’s original masterplan, and the entire centre has been availed of electrical and plumbing connections for a better work environment.  Built primarily with mud and bamboo, the new office annexe and library serve the functional purpose of the centre, but stand out from Laurie Baker’s original designs and fail to blend into his original masterplan, even though they do follow nearly all his design principles. Baker liked to advise to ‘use common sense and have fun designing’, but the playfulness feels absent, as these two new buildings are primarily concerned with showcasing construction techniques. As a result, they compromise on spatial quality. While all of Baker’s structures were strategically positioned in relation to one another, the library seems isolated; it is conspicuous instead of blending in with the older brick buildings and the landscape. The play of light and darkness, the fluidity of spaces and the meticulous attention to detail, which are the salient hallmarks of Laurie Baker’s designs, are also missing in these new additions. The temporary sheds used for training sessions and workshops could have been envisioned as thatched pavilions instead of pitched blue tarpaulins.  What makes LBC’s success, however, is the strength of its educational programmes: the sharing of knowledge about alternative building technologies with architecture students, and the willingness to build on existing research and their own archive, which is made accessible to all visitors. Students, professionals and construction workers all come here to learn about dry rubble stone masonry, building with mud, bamboo treating and joinery, brick arches and walls, including Baker’s much loved rat trap bond, as well as the preparation of lime plasters. The centre is interested in further researching water management and establishing a permanent material lab and research space for scholars and professionals. In his lecture ‘Truth in Architecture’ at Thiruvananthapuram’s College of Engineering in 1982, Baker critiqued the resource‑intensive architecture that was starting to mushroom in the city. The indiscriminate use of concrete, excessive ornamentation and overconsumption of resources were popularly understood as a marker of status. Baker foresaw the impending crisis that such excesses would trigger. What he anticipated has only accelerated. In the face of the climate emergency, Kerala confronts significant challenges, including diminishing natural resources and rising construction costs coupled with sluggish economic growth. Ahead of its time, Baker’s practice advocated a pragmatic and reasonable use of resources – ‘don’t rob national resources and do not use them extravagantly and unnecessarily,’ he wrote in his list of principles. To this day, Baker’s philosophy represents a vital rallying call to interrogate contemporary notions of modernity.  This article was featured in the May 2025 Circularity issue. Purchase your copy here