The 94-year-old renowned Indian architect Balakrishna Doshi has won the Royal Gold Medal 2022, the highest honor for architecture in the United Kingdom.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) made the announcement praising Doshi’s influence on the architecture of India and its neighbouring regions.
RIBA further added that with a 70 year career, which included 100 projects, the acclaimed architect’s influence has been two-fold through his practice and his teaching.
As the news of Doshi winning the prestigious award came in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the distinguished architect on being awarded the Royal Gold Medal 2022.
He further added that the contributions of Doshi to the world of architecture have been monumental. He said that the renowned architect’s works are admired globally for being creative, unique and diverse in nature.
Doshi said that the news of winning the award came as a pleasant surprise and he was deeply humbled to have won it. Doshi added that he was deeply humbled by the honour since the Royal Gold Medal was approved personally by Queen Elizabeth II.
The famous architect recounted an incident where his guru, celebrated Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, won the award in 1953, adding that he was overwhelmed to have received the same award six decades later.
Balakrishna Doshi was born in Pune and studied architecture at the JJ School of Architecture Bombay. He worked in Paris for four years before coming to India to work and supervise projects. He is globally known for his visionary urban planning projects as he blends the modern and local to give life to his buildings.
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