Balkrishna Doshi, the legendary Indian architect is being honoured with the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel equivalent for the field, it was announced on Wednesday.
The Pune-born Doshi, who is 90, is the first Indian to receive the honour, the highest in the profession. Previous winners include world-renowned architects like Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, IM Pei, and Shigeru Ban.
“Over the years, Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends. With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture, he has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients, among others,” the Pritzker jury said in its announcement.
“My works are an extension of my life, philosophy and dreams trying to create treasury of the architectural spirit. I owe this prestigious 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 sustainable holistic habitat,” Doshi said in response to the honour.
“Doshi’s architecture explores the relationships between fundamental needs of human life, connectivity to self and culture, and understanding of social traditions, within the context of a place and its environment, and through a response to Modernism,” the Pritzker jury seconded.
Doshi will travel to Toronto in May to receive the Prize and give a public lecture.
(Source: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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