B. V. Doshi

{{Infobox architect

| name = B. V. Doshi

| image = Balkrishna Doshi.JPG

| caption = Doshi in 2013

| nationality = Indian

| birth_name = Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi

| birth_date = {{Birth date |1927|8|26|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|1|24|1927|8|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Pune, Bombay Presidency, British India

| death_place = Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

| practice = Vastu Shilpa Consultants

| significant_buildings = IIM-Bangalore, IIM Udaipur, National Institute of Fashion Technology New Delhi

| significant_projects =

| awards = Padma Vibhushan (posthumous)
Padma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Pritzker Prize
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Royal Gold Medal

| alma_mater = J. J. School of Architecture, Mumbai

| children = 3

| spouse = {{marriage|Kamala Parikh|1955}}

}}

Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi OAL (26 August 1927{{Spnd}}24 January 2023) was an Indian architect.[http://archnet.org/library/parties/one-party.jsp?party_id=12 Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823192406/http://archnet.org/library/parties/one-party.jsp?party_id=12 |date=23 August 2011 }}. ArchNet 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011. He is an important figure in Indian architecture and noted for his contributions to the evolution of architectural discourse in India.{{cite web

| title = Balkrishna V Doshi: The Mythical and the Modern

| url = http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1027

| series= Post-Colonial India and its Architecture – II

| author= Ashish Nangia

| date= 12 February 2006

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510142113/http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1027 | archive-date=10 May 2012 }} Having worked under Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, he was a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecture in India.

His noteworthy designs include FLAME University, IIM Bangalore, IIM Udaipur, NIFT Delhi, Amdavad ni Gufa, CEPT University, and the Aranya Low Cost Housing development in Indore for which was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.{{cite news |date=7 March 2018 |title=Balkrishna Doshi Named 2018 Pritzker Prize Laureate |url=https://www.archdaily.com/890126/balkrishna-doshi-named-2018-pritzker-prize-laureate |work=ArchDaily |access-date=7 March 2018 }} Nalanda International University that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was designed by him.https://nalandauniv.edu.in/about-nalanda/history-and-revival/

In 2018, he became the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.{{Cite news|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/arts/design/pritzker-prize-balkrishna-doshi.html|title=Top Architecture Prize Goes to Low-Cost Housing Pioneer From India|date=7 March 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 March 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link=Robin Pogrebin}}{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news|title=B V Doshi 1st Indian to win 'Nobel' for architecture|last=Rajghatta|first=Chidanand|date=8 March 2018|work=The Times of India|access-date=7 May 2018}} He was also awarded the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan, and the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal for 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitions-landing-page/awards/royal-gold-medal|title=Royal Gold Medal 2022 recipient: Balkrishna Doshi|access-date=11 December 2021|language=en-GB}}

Early life

Doshi was born to a Gujarati Vaishnav Hindu family in Pune.{{Cite AV media

| author= Utpal Sharma

| orig-date = 9 October 2015 | year= 2018

|title=In Conversation: B.V. Doshi|url=https://www.sahapedia.org/conversation-bv-doshi|access-date=24 January 2023|website=Sahapedia|language=en}} His mother died when he was 10 months old and his father remarried, with his grandfather and aunts helping raise him.[https://wrightwood659.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/WW659_Doshi_Timeline_FN.pdf Balkrishna Doshi. Timeline of his life & works]{{Cite magazine|title=Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi|date=2001

| magazine= Japan Architect

| issue= 5

|url=https://backnumber.japan-architect.co.jp/english/2maga/au/magazine/2001/05/architect/001/main.html|access-date=24 January 2023|via=backnumber.japan-architect.co.jp}} At the age of eleven, he was injured in a fire accident, and thereafter walked with a slight limp. He studied at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai between 1947 and 1950.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43326825|title=Every object around us is in symphony|date=8 March 2018|work=BBC|access-date=5 March 2020}}

Career

=Early projects=

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.{{cn|date=January 2023}}File:Le_Corbusier_Balkrishna_Doshi_Shodhan_House.jpg at the unfinished Shodhan House, c. 1955.]]

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.{{cn|date=January 2023}}

== Bimanagar ==

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.”

=Teaching=

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.archerindia.com/bv-doshi|title=About BV Doshi|date=25 January 2023|website=www.archerindia.com|access-date=27 October 2023}}

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. He is noteworthy for his pioneering work on low-income housing, and for his designs that incorporate concepts of sustainability in innovative ways.{{Cite news|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|date=7 March 2018|title=Top Architecture Prize Goes to Low-Cost Housing Pioneer From India|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/arts/design/pritzker-prize-balkrishna-doshi.html|access-date=24 January 2023|issn=0362-4331}}

=Media=

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.{{cite web|last1=Shah|first1=Devanshi|title=9 amazing facts you absolutely wouldn't have guessed about BV Doshi|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/9-amazing-facts-about-architect-bv-doshi/|website=Architectural Digest|date=26 August 2017 |access-date=8 March 2018}}

Style

Doshi said that he had been inspired by historic Indian monuments, as well as the work of European and American architects.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/balkrishna-doshi-architecture-backdrop-life-180309122903881.html|title=Balkrishna Doshi: 'Architecture is a backdrop to life'|last=Saberin|first=Zeenat|date=8 March 2018|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=5 March 2020}}

Personal life and death

Doshi married Kamala Parikh in 1955. They had three daughters – Tejal, Radhika, and Maneesha. Tejal Panthaki is a textile designer,{{Cite web |title=Tejal Design Studio |url=https://www.baroda.com/2/Shop-Talk/Tejal-Design-Studio |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=www.baroda.com}} Radhika Kathpalia is an architect and fashion designer,{{Cite web |title=VSC Vāstu Shilpā Consultants – Team |url=https://www.indian-architects.com/en/vsc-vastu-shilpa-consultants-ahmedabad/team |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=Indian-Architects |language=en}} and Maneesha Akkitham is a painter.{{Cite web |title=Maneesha Doshi |url=https://www.saffronart.com/artists/maneesha-doshi |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=Saffronart}} Khushnu Panthaki Hoof is Doshi's grand daughter and architect and currently head Balkrishna Doshi Archives and Vastushilpa Foundation. She along with her husband Sönke Hoof are Principal Architects of Studio Sangath.https://www.vastushilpa.org{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/arts/balkrishna-doshi-dead.html | title=Balkrishna Doshi, Modernist Indian Architect, is Dead at 95 | work=The New York Times | date=24 January 2023 | last1=Bernstein | first1=Fred A. }}{{cite web | url=https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/insight/architecture-as-a-craft | title=Architecture as a Craft - Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and Sönke Hoof of Studio Sangath }}

Doshi died in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 24 January 2023, at age 95.{{Cite web |title=Celebrated architect Balkrishna Doshi passes away at 95 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/jan/24/celebrated-architectbalkrishna-doshi-passes-away-at-95-2540948.html |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=The New Indian Express|date=24 January 2023 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/arts/balkrishna-doshi-dead.html|title=Balkrishna Doshi, Modernist Indian Architect, Is Dead at 95|first=Fred A.|last=Bernstein|work=The New York Times |date=24 January 2023|accessdate=25 January 2023|via=NYTimes.com}}

Recognition

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.{{cn|date=January 2023}}

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.{{Cite book|last1=Contal|first1=Marie-Hélène|title=Sustainable Design: Towards a New Ethic in Architecture and Town Planning|last2=Revedin|first2=Jana|publisher=Birkhäuser|date=June 2009|isbn=978-3-7643-9938-2|location=Germany}}

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".

File:27 June 2017 Balkrishna Doshi (Sthapatya) Saraswat Award.jpg to Doshi on 27 June 2017]]

Padma Vibhushan (posthumous), Government of India, 2023 {{Cite web |title=Padma Awards 2023 announced |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1893797 |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=www.pib.gov.in}}
Royal Gold Medal, Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, Government of United Kingdom, 2022{{Cite web|url=https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/balkrishna-doshi-wins-2022-royal-gold-medal-for-architecture|title=Balkrishna Doshi wins 2022 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture|first=Ellie Stathaki last|last=updated|date=9 December 2021|website=wallpaper.com|accessdate=25 January 2023}}
Padma Bhushan, Government of India, 2020{{cite web |title=Padma Awards |url=https://padmaawards.gov.in/PDFS/2020AwardeesList.pdf}}
Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award, 2017{{cite web|title=K G Subramanyan awarded Savyasachi Award| website=The Times of India|date=28 June 2015|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/K-G-Subramanyan-awarded-Savyasachi-Award/articleshow/47848888.cms|access-date=15 July 2010}}
Pritzker Architecture Prize, 2018
Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, 2007 (first edition){{Cite web|title=Global Award for Sustainable Architecture|url=http://www.citedelarchitecture.fr/en/article/global-award-sustainable-architecture|access-date=4 June 2020|website=Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine|language=en}}
Padma Shri, Government of India, 1976
Honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania
Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, France, 2011{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/B-V-Doshi-conferred-Frances-highest-honour-for-arts/articleshow/9928307.cms|title=B V Doshi conferred France's highest honour for arts {{!}} Ahmedabad News – Times of India|date=11 September 2011|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=5 March 2020}}
6th Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Aranya Community Housing, 1993–1995

Buildings

File:IIM-B 016.jpg]] File:Amdavad ni gufa.jpg, Ahmedabad]]

1962 – Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad{{Cite web |date=7 March 2018 |title=Institute of Indology |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/institute-of-indology_o |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=www.architectmagazine.com}}
1966 – Centre for Environment and Planning Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/contemporaryarch0000unse |title=Contemporary Architects |date=1987 |publisher=St. James Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-912289-26-7 |editor-last=Lee Morgan |editor-first=Ann |pages=234–237 |editor-last2=Naylor |editor-first2=Colin}}
1967 – Tagore Memorial Hall, Ahmedabad
1972 – ECIL Township, Hyderabad.{{cite web |url= https://identityhousing.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/balkrishna-doshi-towniship-electronics-corporation-of-india-ltd-hyderabad-1968-1971/|title=Balkrishna Doshi – Towniship: Electronics Corporation of India, Ltd., Hyderabad, 1968–1971 |last=Barberini |first=Elisa |date=12 November 2011 |access-date=20 November 2018 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/photos-9-iconic-buildings-designed-by-architect-bv-doshi/|title=9 iconic buildings designed by BV Doshi|date=26 August 2017|website=Architectural Digest India|language=en-US|access-date=5 March 2020}}
1973 – IFFCO township, Kalol
1976 – Premabhai Hall, Ahmedabad
1977 – Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
1979 – Sangath, B. V. Doshi's office, Ahmedabad
1979 – Shakti Bhavan, Administrative Office of M. P. Electricity Board, Jabalpur
1979 – Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute
1982 – Aranya Low Cost Housing, Indore
1984 – Vidyadhar Nagar, Jaipur
1984 – Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.ldmuseum.co.in/about.php |website=Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum}}
1989 – National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi{{Cite web |date=22 February 2020 |title=When Hauz Khas ruins, kund steps and gopuram gateways inspired BV Doshi to design NIFT Delhi |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/a-house-for-fashion-6277351/ |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}
1990 – Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
1997 – Sawai Gandharva Smarak, Pune{{Cite web |last=Shahane |first=Devayani |date=2 January 2003 |title=PM to inaugurate Sawai Gandharva Smarak |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/pune-times/pm-to-inaugurate-sawai-gandharva-smarak/articleshow/33129300.cms |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}
2002 – Udayan the Condoville, Udita (HIG), Utsav (MIG) Utsarg (LIG) 2500 homes, Kolkata{{Cite web |title=Udayan ~ The Condoville |url=https://www.ambujaneotia.com/business_vertical/udayan/ |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=Ambuja Neotia |language=en-US}}

References

External links

[https://www.sangath.org/ Vāstu Shilpā Consultants]
{{YouTube|id=9a_2DyN_GtM|title=Talk at TEDxNirmaUniversity}}
Interview with DD Bharati on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yAL384tdMg Part-1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4akHvuohuE Part-2]
[http://architexturez.net/documents/author/23114 Texts, Interviews and Projects by B. V. Doshi] on Architexturez South Asia
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_kz-KxzExs 27th Annual Architecture Lecture] at the Royal Academy of Arts on YouTube