Balkrishna Doshi

Balkrishna Doshi was one of the founders of modern Indian architecture and a leading teacher of the subject. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2020 ^[1] and was named for the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 2023, from Gujarat ^[2].

Apprenticeship with Le Corbusier

Doshi was born on 26 August 1927 and began his studies at the JJ School of Architecture in Bombay ^[3]. He then spent four years in Paris, from 1951 to 1954, as a senior designer with Le Corbusier, followed by four more in India supervising Le Corbusier’s buildings in Ahmedabad ^[3]. In 1955 he set up his own practice, Vastu Shilpa ^[3].

Buildings and campuses

His work ranged from dozens of townships to educational campuses, among them CEPT University in Ahmedabad, the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore ^[3]. He also founded the Vastu Shilpa Foundation for research in environmental design ^[3].

Teacher and institution builder

Doshi was the founding director of Ahmedabad’s School of Architecture from 1962 to 1972 and of its School of Planning from 1972 to 1979 ^[3]. The architecture school came to be seen as a starting point for modern architecture and planning education in India ^[3]. From 1958 onward he also taught regularly in the United States and Europe and held chairs at American universities, and he sat on the juries of major prizes, including the Aga Khan Award and the Pritzker Prize ^[3].

Honours

He received the Padma Shri in 1976, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1996, and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2018 ^[3]. In 2022 he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects ^[3].

Doshi died on 24 January 2023, the day before his Padma Vibhushan was announced ^[2][3].