B. V. Doshi

Doshi was born to a Gujarati Vaishnav Hindu family in Pune.^[8] His mother died when he was 10 months old and his father remarried, with his grandfather and aunts helping raise him.^[9][10] At the age of eleven, he was injured in a fire accident, and thereafter walked with a slight limp.^[11] He studied at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai between 1947 and 1950.^[12]

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 having been a major influence on Doshi's later work.^{[citation needed]}

 

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.^{[citation needed]}

Bimanagar Housing Society, located at Ahmedabad is one of the well-known project by Shri B.V Doshi. He once said, "One of my most favourite housing projects is the one I designed for Life Insurance Corporation, at Ahmedabad. Here I knew that the houses would be occupied by several generations of the same family, that they would identify with it, that there will be a strong sense of belonging and that their needs will change, and they may modify parts of it.”

Apart from his international fame as an architect, Doshi is equally known for having been an educator and institution builder. He was the founding director of the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad (1962–72), founding director of the School of Planning (1972–79), founding dean of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (1972–81), founding member of the Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad, and founding director of the Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad.^[13]

Doshi was instrumental in establishing the nationally- and internationally-known research institute Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design. The institute has performed pioneering work in low-cost housing and city planning.^[14] He is noteworthy for his pioneering work on low-income housing, and for his designs that incorporate concepts of sustainability in innovative ways.^[14]

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.^[11]

Doshi said that he had been inspired by historic Indian monuments, as well as the work of European and American architects.^[15]

Doshi married Kamala Parikh in 1955. They had three daughters – Tejal, Radhika, and Maneesha.^[16] Tejal Panthaki is a textile designer,^[17] Radhika Kathpalia is an architect and fashion designer,^[18] and Maneesha Akkitham is a painter.^[19]

Doshi died in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 24 January 2023, at age 95.^[20][21]

Doshi was a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and sat on the selection committee for the Pritzker Prize, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. He was also a fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[22]

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]

 

• Padma Vibhushan (posthumous), Government of India, 2023 ^[23]
• Royal Gold Medal, Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, Government of United Kingdom, 2022^[24]
• Padma Bhushan, Government of India, 2020^[6]
• Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award, 2017^[25]
• Pritzker Architecture Prize, 2018^[14]
• Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, 2007 (first edition)^[26]
• Padma Shri, Government of India, 1976
• Honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania
• Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, France, 2011^[27]
• 6th Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Aranya Community Housing, 1993–1995^[3]

 

 

• 1962 – Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad^[28]
• 1966 – Centre for Environment and Planning Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad^[16]
• 1967 – Tagore Memorial Hall, Ahmedabad^[16]
• 1972 – ECIL Township, Hyderabad.^[29][30]
• 1973 – IFFCO township, Kalol^[16]
• 1976 – Premabhai Hall, Ahmedabad^[16]
• 1977 – Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore^[16]
• 1979 – Sangath, B. V. Doshi's office, Ahmedabad
• 1979 – Shakti Bhavan, Administrative Office of M. P. Electricity Board, Jabalpur^[16]
• 1979 – Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute^[16]
• 1982 – Aranya Low Cost Housing, Indore^[4]
• 1984 – Vidyadhar Nagar, Jaipur^[16]
• 1989 – National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi^[31]
• 1990 – Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
• 1997 – Sawai Gandharva Smarak, Pune^[32]
• 2002 – Udayan the Condoville, Udita (HIG), Utsav (MIG) Utsarg (LIG) 2500 homes, Kolkata^[33]

• 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 88-387-6126-4
• 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
• Doshi, Balkrishna V; Kries, Mateo; Kugler, Jolanthe; Hoof, Kushnu Panthaki; Wolfschalg, Meike; Obrist, Hans Ulrich; Subramanian, Samanth; Thorne, Martha; Pallasmaa, Juhani (2019). Balkrishna Doshi: architecture for the people. Vitra Design Museum. ISBN 978-3-945852-31-6. OCLC 1089207649.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balkrishna Doshi.

• Vāstu Shilpā Consultants
• Talk at TEDxNirmaUniversity on YouTube
• Interview with DD Bharati on YouTube: Part-1 and Part-2
• Texts, Interviews and Projects by B. V. Doshi on Architexturez South Asia
• 27th Annual Architecture Lecture at the Royal Academy of Arts on YouTube