B. V. Doshi

Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, OAL, (born 26 August 1927) is an Indian architect.[1] He is considered to be an important figure of Indian architecture and noted for his contributions to the evolution of architectural discourse in India.[2] Having worked under Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, he is a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecture in India.

B. V. Doshi
Born (1927-08-26) 26 August 1927
Pune, Bombay Presidency, British India
NationalityIndian
Alma materJ. J. School of Architecture, Mumbai
OccupationArchitect
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Pritzker Prize
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
PracticeVastu Shilpa Consultants
BuildingsIIM-Bangalore, IIM Udaipur, National Institute of Fashion Technology New Delhi

His more noteworthy designs include the IIM Bangalore, IIM Udaipur, NIFT Delhi, Amdavad ni Gufa, CEPT University, and the Aranya Low Cost Housing development in Indore which was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.[3]

In 2018, he became the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is considered one of the most prestigious prizes in architecture.[4][5] He has also been awarded the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.[6]

Early life

Doshi was born in Pune.[7] At the age of 11, he was injured in a fire accident, and has walked with a slight limp ever since.[8] He studied at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai between 1947 and 1950.[9]

Career
Doshi with Le Corbusier at the unfinished Shodhan House, c. 1955.

Early projects
Academic Block of IIM-Bangalore
Library Block of IIM-Bangalore
Husain-Doshi Gufa, Ahmedabad

In 1950, he went to Europe. He worked closely with Le Corbusier on the latter's projects in Paris between 1951 and 1954. In 1954, he returned to India to supervise Corbusier's buildings in Ahmedabad, which included the Villa Sarabhai, Villa Shodhan, Mill Owners' Association Building, and Sanskar Kendra. Corbusier is described as a major influence on Doshi's later work.

His studio, Vastu-Shilpa (environmental design), was established in 1955. Doshi worked closely with Louis Kahn and Anant Raje, when Kahn designed the campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In 1958 he was a fellow at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. He then started the School of Architecture (S.A) in 1962.

Teaching

Apart from his international fame as an architect, Dr. Doshi is equally known as an educator and institution builder. He has been the first founder Director of the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad (1962–72), first founder Director of the School of Planning (1972–79), first founder Dean of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (1972–81), founder member of the Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad and first founder Director of the Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad.

Dr. Doshi has been instrumental in establishing the nationally and internationally known research institute Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design. The institute has done pioneering work in low-cost housing and city planning. His work is considered noteworthy for his pioneering work on low-income housing. He is also noted for designs which incorporate concepts of sustainability in innovative ways.[10]

Recognition

Doshi is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and has been on the selection committee for the Pritzker Prize, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. He is also a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects.

Doshi's work on the reunification of Indian and English heritages through his practice was awarded a Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2007, the award's first edition. The award recognized Doshi's significant step in the direction of an alternative development model.[11]

In March 2018, Doshi was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel equivalent for the field, thus becoming the first Indian to receive the honour. The Pritzker jury announced that Doshi "has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends", and noted his "deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture".[5]

Style

Doshi says that he has been inspired by historic Indian monuments, as well as the work of European and American architects.[12]

Awards
C. K. Mehta presenting the Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award to Doshi on 27 June 2017

In recognition of his distinguished contribution as a professional and as an academician, Doshi has received several international and national awards and honours.

Buildings

In 2008, Hundredhands director Premjit Ramachandran released a documentary interviewing Doshi. He appeared as himself in Mani Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani, and Shaad Ali's Ok Jaanu, playing himself.[8]

References
  1. Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi. Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine ArchNet 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  2. Ashish Nangia: "Post Colonial India and its Architecture – II" Archived 10 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, in Boloji, 12-02-2006
  3. "Balkrishna Doshi Named 2018 Pritzker Prize Laureate". ArchDaily. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. Pogrebin, Robin (7 March 2018). "Top Architecture Prize Goes to Low-Cost Housing Pioneer From India". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. Rajghatta, Chidanand (8 March 2018). "B V Doshi 1st Indian to win 'Nobel' for architecture". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. "Padma Awards" (PDF).
  7. Japan Architect, nr.05, 2001
  8. Shah, Devanshi. "9 amazing facts you absolutely wouldn't have guessed about BV Doshi". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  9. "Every object around us is in symphony". BBC News. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  10. Top Architecture Prize Goes to Low-Cost Housing Pioneer From India, By Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 7 March 2018.
  11. Contal, Marie-Hélène; Revedin, Jana (June 2009). Sustainable Design: Towards a New Ethic in Architecture and Town Planning. Germany: Birkhäuser. ISBN 978-3-7643-9938-2.
  12. Saberin, Zeenat (8 March 2018). "Balkrishna Doshi: 'Architecture is a backdrop to life'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  13. "K G Subramanyan awarded Savyasachi Award". The Times of India. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  14. "Global Award for Sustainable Architecture". Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. "B V Doshi conferred France's highest honour for arts | Ahmedabad News – Times of India". The Times of India. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. Barberini, Elisa (12 November 2011). "Balkrishna Doshi – Towniship: Electronics Corporation of India, Ltd., Hyderabad, 1968–1971". Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  17. "9 iconic buildings designed by BV Doshi". Architectural Digest India. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2020.

Further reading
  • Curtis, William J. R., Balikrishna Doshi: An Architecture for India, Rizzoli, New York 1988, ISBN 0-8478-0937-4
  • James Steel, The Complete Architecture of Balikrishna Doshi, Rethinking Modernism for the Developing World, Thames and Hudson, London 1998, ISBN 0-500-28082-7
  • Bruno Melotto ed., Balkrishna Doshi. Sangath. Indian architecture between tradition and modernity, Maggioli Editore, Santarcangelo di Romagna 2012, ISBN 8838761264
  • Bruno Melotto ed., Balkrishna Doshi. The Masters in India. Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn and the Indian Context, Maggioli Editore, Santarcangelo di Romagna 2014, ISBN 978-88-387-6295-6
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