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Indian legendary architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi is being honoured with Nobel equivalent, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, an announcement was made on Wednesday. The Pune based architect, who is 90 years old, will be the first Indian to get the honour. Doshi came from a family of furniture makers, and in one interview he credited his early architecture inspiration to his grandfather’s house, upon which new levels were repeatedly added to accommodate a large joint family of three uncles and their families. He is an alumnus of the JJ School of Architecture in Mumbai.

“I owe this prestigious prize to my guru, Le Corbusier,” said Doshi, adding, “His teachings led me to question identity and compelled me to discover new regionally adopted contemporary expression for a sustainable holistic habitat.”Doshi did his architectural apprenticeship under Le Corbusier in his Paris atelier. To this day, at the entrance of his cabin, Doshi keeps a portrait of the Swiss architect next to representations of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesha.

He describes architecture as an extension of the body, and his ability to attentively address function while regarding climate, landscape, and urbanization is demonstrated through his choice of materials, overlapping spaces, and utilization of natural and harmonizing elements.

“Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends. With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture, he has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients, among others,” the Pritzker jury said.

” Its a much-deserved recognition that has come to Prof. Doshi, though long overdue. Early this year we had a meeting with him at ‘Sangath’, his office in Ahmedabad, during which he wanted us to show him a few of our works and while doing so, he sat through it with a twinkle in his eyes. What amazed us the most was the childlike enthusiasm with which he spoke to us about our project and what in it interested him the most. Its hard to tell that he just turned 90 last year, looking at the energy he carries with him.
‘Paths Uncharted’, the autobiography, takes us on an exciting journey and is a must-read for anyone who would like to understand the enigma called Balakrishna Doshi,” said Lijo Jos and Reny Lijo. (A well-known architect firm from Thrissur, Kerala)

Raja Arjun, Founder and Director of strategy, AQB group from Bangalore says: I worked in Ahmedabad for a short while and since then the place has called me back. This happened on one of my visits, got a chance to speak with him with a small band of young architects with no idea about the world ahead. I asked him that, What does it take to design consistently for decades. How does it feel? For which his answer was: “When one looks everyday things which give us joy – clouds, animals, trees, music, colors, speech, they make you realize that there can be a different version of them than what you may have perceived. Corbusier had the wonderful ability to identify this quality and had the ability to see things for the first time. The blue of the sky or the music in the wind. This fresh perspective on things and the ability to appreciate it from different perspectives will teach you what design is and as you get older you realise that design is everywhere. ” His answer was something that has resonated with me for a long time, and I guess, it made a huge impact on how I perceive designing.

He is known as an institution builder. Doshi worked with another towering figure of modernism, American architect Louis Kahn on the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). Doshi also designed IIM in Bangalore and Lucknow, the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Tagore Memorial Hall, the Institute of Indology in Ahmedabad to name a few.

Doshi was significantly involved in the design of Chandigarh, the new state capital of Punjab (Chandigarh now serves as a joint state capital for Punjab and Haryana). He was tasked with designing the living spaces for the thousands of humble government servants. This gave way to his continued interest in producing the best, basic and low-cost communal spaces.

Architect B V Doshi also made an appearance in the Tamil Film O Kadhal Kanmani. One crucial portion of the film was shot at IIM Ahmedabad campus and CEPT University. Nithya Menen plays an architect in the film and renowned Indian architect Doshi plays her professor.