Balkrishna Doshi: First Indian to Receive Architecture's Highest Honor

The 2018 Pritzker Prize has been awarded to a 90-year-old from India. Balkrishna Doshi is known for his commitment to social causes.

2 minute read

March 8, 2018, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Balkrishna Doshi

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore | Photo courtesy of VSF / 2018 Pritzker Prize

Chidanand Rajghattal reports: "Balkrishna Doshi, the legendary Indian architect who designs not just buildings but institutions, is being honored with the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel equivalent for the field, it was announced on Wednesday."

Here's how Rajghattal summarizes Doshi's career:

An alumnus of the JJ School of Architecture in Mumbai, Doshi worked with the legendary Le Corbusier in Paris in the 1950 before returning to India to supervise the architect's projects. He established his studio Vastu-Shilpa (environmental design) in 1955 and worked with Louis Kahn and Anant Raje in designing the campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He would go on to design IIMs in Bangalore and Lucknow, the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Tagore Memorial Hall, the Institute of Indology in Ahmedabad, among other fine campuses and buildings across India, besides many low-cost housing projects.

Rajghattal also spends more time describing the many institutions that flourished under Doshi's leadership.

Aranya Low Cost Housing (photo courtesy of VSF)

For more on the news of this historic acknowledgement, here's a list of additional resources:

News of past winners:

Wednesday, March 7, 2018 in The Times Of India

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