Renowned architect and Padma Bhushan awardee Balkrishna Doshi passes way

Condolences poured in from various quarters over the demise of Doshi, widely regarded as the foremost architect of modern India.

Well-known architect and Padma Bhushan recipient Balkrishna Doshi, who worked with legends like Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, died at 95 at his home in Ahmedabad on January 24, 2023.

“We are deeply saddened to inform you about the passing away of Balkrishna Doshi (August 26, 1927-January 24, 2023), loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather,” his family said in a statement.

Born in 1927 in Pune, Doshi worked with architecture legends like Le Corbusier. He also worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and many other acclaimed projects.

His family members said no one loved life more than Doshi. “‘Anand karo’, celebrate life, as he would always say. He had so many people that he loved dearly and who loved him back,” they said.

Some of Doshi’s projects include the Institute of Indology, CEPT University and Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, and Aranya Low Cost Housing, a township for low- to middle-income families, in Indore which won the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995.

Doshi founded his own practice, Vastushilpa, in Ahmedabad in 1956. Several members of his family are architects.

In 2018, he received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of architecture, becoming the first Indian architect to receive the honour.