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

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

: Construction of massive Samsung semiconductor fabrication plant

In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland

Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.

5 hours ago - Inside Climate News

A construction crew working on SunZia.

How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on

The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.

6 hours ago - Grist

A rendering of the basketball court, a green court under a blue sky.

MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court

The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.

7 hours ago - Gothamist