“I am not an architect,” he says with a sparkle in his eyes, “I am merely a person seeking out their destiny.” To the late pioneer of Indian modernism, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, architecture was a practice of self-discovery. The veteran’s stellar works of poetic functionality resulted from a humanist philosophy bearing the influence of modernist principles, Mahatma Gandhi, and Indian spiritual texts. Doshi believed that architecture was synonymous with life - a vehicle for constant celebration; a medium for heightened experiences. His greatest contribution to the architecture community was his powerful words of wisdom that echo the timelessness of his structures.
B.V. Doshi enjoyed an illustrious career, having completed over 100 projects spanning town planning programs, cultural hubs, institutional campuses, residences, and social housing. His professional journey began as a mentee of Le Corbusier, who set up Doshi’s foundation in space, form, light, and ventilation. The Indian designer soon gained an understanding of the fragility and ephemerality of architecture by working with Louis Khan at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Doshi’s notable works like Aranya Low-Cost Housing, Amdavad ni Gufa, Institute of Indology, and his own design studio Sangath have earned him accolades such as the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the RIBA Gold Medal and the prestigious Pritzker Prize. Along with his built marvels, Doshi’s philosophy toward design won the hearts of architects and enthusiasts worldwide.
With a legacy spanning seven decades, Doshi’s work was significantly shaped by his upbringing in a joint-family home that exposed him to the “constant flux of life.” Doshi began his career at a pivotal time in India’s history. Amidst the rapidly changing context of a newly independent country, he extended his priceless experiences with Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn into a sensitive design language for the Indian condition.
The communal and ritualistic nature of Indian lifestyles led Doshi to conclude that architecture is a living organism, rather than a built form. Corbusier’s “leftist” design culture speaks through Doshi’s inputs toward nation-building, reflecting the hopes and needs of shared Indian realities. A deep respect for history and traditions was seen in his work, paving the way for the evolution of contemporary Indian architecture.
At the drawing board, a vision for life takes birth. Ideas form scribbled images, and pictures blend to form narratives. Soon arise walls, doors, staircases, and openings that tell a larger story than the sum of its parts. Doshi's design process is guided by imagination for easy and enjoyable moments. His buildings tactfully sheltered actions and interactions.
His most celebrated design - Aranya Low-Cost Housing in Indore - was built as a model project that currently houses over 80,000 people. Residences for the economically weaker class were structured over a modular system that enabled the building to grow and adapt to future needs. Doshi strongly believed in designing for aspiration, and architecture that “allowed people to become what they have the potential to be.” Every project was an opportunity to bring joy into daily life, created around his careful observation of the human condition.
The inspiration for the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) emanated from the large courtyards, playful scales, and maze-like pathways of the temples of Madurai. The design clearly articulates a contrast between architecture and spatial qualities that influence emotions. Doshi's built forms were vessels for actions, memories, and natural forces such as light, breeze, and silence to interact with the inhabitants. Reflective of the Indian ideology of duality, his architecture was a marriage of constant and change; of the measurable and unmeasurable; of the form and formless.
Doshi’s architecture is a balance between modern and traditional forms. Deeply rooted in the sensibilities of the Indian context, he strived for his buildings to be critical instruments for celebrating life. “Architecture is a manifestation of life and the world that happens through our actions as if it is a backdrop,” he shares in The Promise, a short film on Doshi’s work. His practice focuses on social, cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability, with architecture that remains meaningful to the community.
Towards the later half of his career and well into his institutional-building phase, Doshi designed and started CEPT University, a school of architecture and allied disciplines. Born out of his beliefs and identity, CEPT was a place for collaborative dialogues and multidisciplinary learning. The built form mimicked the spirit of openness as a campus with no doors and boundaries. Today, the university is among India's and the world's most prestigious design institutes.
A benevolent educator, Doshi's most impactful contribution is the learnings he's imbibed in students and practitioners. With his body of work, his university, an autobiography, and countless opportunities for face-to-face interactions, Doshi never failed to inspire the next generation of architects with his thoughts. He was admired for his childlike curiosity and constant eagerness to learn. To seek the unknown was his motto.
B.V. Doshi passed away on the 24th of January, 2023. Leading a life of celebration, his work holds onto the energy of hope he boldly carried. Doshi believed architecture is fluid, lasting from the past to the continuous. As so, his philosophies will live on throughout history, shaping architecture incessantly.
