ForbesAsia-April2018

78 | FORBES ASIA APRIL 2018

Forbes Life

I

n early March, Balkrishna Doshi was

announced as the winner of the 2018

Pritzker Architecture Prize, the irst

Indian to win the prestigious award.

Doshi, 90, though not well-known outside

of India, worked with 20th-century-archi-

tecture giants Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.

He is also an educator and an urban planner.

he Pritzker jurists wrote of the winner:

“Over the years, Balkrishna Doshi has al-

ways created an architecture that is serious,

never lashy or a follower of trends. With

a deep sense of responsibility and a desire

to contribute to his country and its peo-

ple through high-quality, authentic archi-

tecture, he has created projects for public administrations and

utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences

for private clients, among others. Doshi is acutely aware of the

context in which his buildings are located. His solutions take

into account the social, environmental and economic dimen-

sions, and therefore his architecture is totally engaged with

sustainability.”

Wr i t e s Doshi of his award: “My works

are an extension of my life, philosophy

and dreams trying to create [a] treasury of

the architectural spirit. I owe this presti-

gious prize to my guru, Le Corbusier. His

teachings led me to question identity and

compelled me to discover new regionally

adopted contemporary expression for a sus-

tainable holistic habitat.”

he award was created in 1979 by the

Pritzker family of Chicago—who made their

fortune in the Hyatt Hotels chain. he Pritz-

ker website states that the prize is given “To

honor a living architect or architects whose

built work demonstrates a combination of

those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has

produced consistent and signiicant contributions to humanity

and the built environment through the art of architecture.”

Doshi will formally receive the award in May at the Aga

Khan Museum in Toronto. (All of Doshi’s projects pictured here

are in Ah medabad, India, with the exception of Aranya, which is

in Indore, India.)

Buildings for Everyone

Unlike some of his glitz-and-glamour colleagues, Balkrishna Doshi

creates works for the common folk to enjoy and to live in.

HUGO AYMAR/HAYTHAM-REA/REDUX (TOP)

F

The Amdavad Ni Gufa gallery houses the work of Maqbool Fida Husain.

“My works are an extension of my life”:

Balkrishna Doshi, winner of the Pritzker.

Aranya Community Housing provides afordable housing for 80,000 people.

BY KARL SHMAVONIAN