Architect and educator Balkrishna Doshi has earned the rare distinction of being the first Indian to be be honoured with the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel prize equivalent in the field of architecture in its 40-year history. Not just designing buildings and institutions, the famed architect is best known for his innovative and low-cost housing designs. Tom Pritzker of the Chicago-based Hyatt Foundation announced the award on Wednesday. For the last 60 years, Doshi has been a devoted architect, urban planner, and educator. Hyatt Foundation termed Doshi’s work as “functional and poetic” and also applauded his ability to create works which enhanced quality of life in India.
The legendary architect is influenced by the masters of 20th-century architecture like Louis Khan, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret who have helped him interpret architecture and materialize them into a creative piece of architecture. Since the 1950s, Doshi’s architecture has touched lives cutting across socio-economic barriers. Doshi has innumerous achievements to his name, including the Aranya low-cost housing project in Indore which houses over 80,000 people and houses the underprivileged class. He accommodates them through a system of houses, internal pathways and courtyards. Among other works, Doshi is the man behind the Life Insurance Corporation Housing buildings in Ahmedabad, and has also built Amdavad ni Gufa, an underground art gallery.
Speaking to the media, Doshi said that the honour was both for himself and the country. He said that the honour was a culmination of whatever he has done for the last 60 years – working in rural areas and thinking about the country’s welfare. The honour has also reaffirmed his faith that life can be celebrated with the fusion of lifestyle and architecture. The event to award the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2018 will take place at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto this May.