Architect Balkrishna Doshi who worked with Le Corbusier to get Royal Gold Medal

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 10

Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi who worked with the legendary Le Corbusier will receive the Royal Gold Medal for 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Queen Elizabeth of the UK and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailer the achievement and spoke to the distinguished architect on Friday to congratulate him.

“His contributions to the world of architecture are monumental. His works are globally admired for their creativity, uniqueness and diverse nature,” the PM tweeted.

With a 70-year career and over 100 built projects, Balkrishna Doshi, 94, has influenced the direction of architecture in India and its adjacent regions through both his practice and his teaching.

His buildings combine pioneering modernism with vernacular, informed by a deep appreciation of the traditions of India’s architecture, climate, local culture and craft. His projects include administrative and cultural facilities, housing developments and residential buildings.

The citation for Doshi says he has become internationally known for his visionary urban planning and social housing projects, as well as his work in education, both in India and as a visiting professor at universities around the world.

Doshi’s key projects include: Shreyas Comprehensive School Campus (1958-63), Ahmedabad; Atira Guest House (1958), Ahmedabad, low cost housing; The Institute of Indology (1962), Ahmedabad, a building to house rare documents; Ahmedabad School of Architecture (1966, with additions until 2012) - renamed CEPT University in 2002 - which focused on creating spaces that promoted collaborative learning; Tagore Hall and Memorial Theatre (1967), a 700-seat Brutalist auditorium in Ahmedabad; Premabhai Hall (1976), Ahmedabad, former theatre and auditorium; Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru (1977-1992), a business school; Sangath (1981), the studio for his architecture practice, Vastu Shilpa; Kanoria Centre for Arts (1984), an arts and creative hub; Aranya Low Cost Housing (1989), Indore, which won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995; and Amdavad ni Gufa (1994), a cave-like art gallery that exhibits the work of artist Maqbool Fida Husain.

On hearing the news that he will receive the Royal Gold Medal in 2022, Balkrishna Doshi said: “I am pleasantly surprised and deeply humbled to receive the Royal Gold Medal from the Queen of England. What a great honour! The news of this award brought back memories of my time working with Le Corbusier in 1953 when he had just received the news of getting the Royal Gold Medal. I vividly recollect his excitement to receive this honour from Her Majesty.”

Doshi added, “Today, six decades later, I feel truly overwhelmed to be bestowed with the same award as my guru, Le Corbusier - honouring my six decades of practice.”

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