Balkrishna Doshi, photographed in 2013.
As a child he came to appreciate how their house grew and changed.
In 1947, shortly before Indian independence, he began architecture school.
Balkrishna Doshi, photographed in 2013. (Photo: Sanyam Bahga viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0))
However, he never finished, a fact which he’d later point to in life as an advantage.
He married his wife Kamala Parikh in 1955.
When he passed, Doshi lived in a house he designed and named for his beloved wife.
Husain-Doshi Gufa, Ahmedabad, an underground art gallery. (Photo:X,X))
He is survived by three daughters, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
Doshi was influenced by the famous Swiss-French architect known asLe Corbusier.
Doshi studied with him in Paris then returned to India to supervise the architect’s work in Ahmedabad.
The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. (Photo: Sanyam Bahga viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0))
In 1956, Doshi founded his own firm calledVastushilpa, meaningenvironmental design.
He also designed his own studio as a series of bubble-like domes rising from the earth.
We did not want to imitate someone elses approach, he told theLouisiana Museum of Modern Artin 2018.
We wanted to find our own identity.
He drew from his pride in Indian culture to create a style distinct from Western designs.
I think of my buildings as my friends, my family, he said.
Aside from his modern works, Doshi was dedicated to creating works to benefit the impoverished.
He designed theAranya Low Cost Housingproject in Indore.
The 6,500 residences accommodate a variety of economic realities.
Doshi’s work as an urban planner allowed him to touch many lives.
Husain-Doshi Gufa, Ahmedabad, an underground art gallery.
The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
