In memoriam: Balkrishna V Doshi (1927 – 2023)
Balkrishna V Doshi, one of India’s preeminent architects and the world’s greatest modernists, has died at the age of 95. To honour his memory, we revisit a story from the Wallpaper* archives

A glance at the dates and it's clear that Balkrishna V Doshi and modern Indian architecture grew side by side. A student at the JJ School of Art in Mumbai when India celebrated its independence in 1947, the architect's career runs alongside the creation of some of the country's most iconic contemporary architecture. From his involvement in the Chandigarh project and India's famous Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn heritage, through to its finest architecture education institution – he designed and founded the School of Architecture and Planning in Ahmedabad in 1962 – Dr Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has been an omnipresent figure for a remarkable period of India's built environment.
The architect inside the Institute of Indology library in 2011. Doshi built it in 1962 to house thousands of rare Indian books, manuscripts and art
In the words of Balkrishna V Doshi (1927 – 2023)
Having personally had a hand in forming what many people see as modern Indian architecture, Doshi's views about how the country's architecture has shaped and will shape its identity carry weight. His position is very much about the bigger picture. ‘Social identity is Indian identity; we are gregarious people,’ he says. ‘Porosity, change and transformation form the Indian identity. And there is no single aesthetic, as stylistic identity is not a real identity. India is not about a production line, it is not about doing things in a certain way.’
Doshi is adamant about addressing the architectural concerns of contemporary India – from the country's painful inequalities to its infrastructure and sustainability issues. It is all about linking great work, especially on an urban level, to India's wider context. 'How can we place our work on a larger canvas? I think this is our problem; the profession is not addressing issues on a larger scale,' he says. 'This doesn't mean we need to eliminate the individual, but architectural work must make some references to the concerns of the people.'
His practice Vastu-Shilpa, which he founded in 1956 (a research institute and foundation of the same name followed in 1962), certainly reflects this. Set up as a partnership firm, where each partner also has their own projects under the Vastu-Shilpa umbrella, the firm has a dynamic research and urban planning leg that works towards translating cultural and climatic characteristics into appropriate architectural forms from the smaller to the larger scale.
Born in Pune in 1927, Doshi is now well into his eighties, but shows no signs of slowing down. 'I still go to the office every day,' he says, when, that is, he isn't travelling the world attending lectures and conferences. Internationally respected by his peers, Doshi has made his mark as a prolific thinker and teacher, perfecting the application of Le Corbusier's modernist teachings - absorbed during a long stint at the master's Indian office in the 1950s – within the Indian context.
Tagore Memorial Hall
His sense of community in relation to architecture is equally strong. 'I began my career talking about low-cost housing and housing for the poor. This is how one has to work, at the lowest level. Because there is a lot more to learn there. The poor are the ones who are ingenious, frugal, simple, their socioeconomic ties are fantastic,' says Doshi. 'And this is the role of architecture; to be a catalyst for change.'
So where does Indian architecture stand today in relation to the rest of the world? There is no doubt that there is plenty of potential in the country. 'There are opportunities for work here both for the iconic, as well as the barefoot architect,' says Doshi. 'The question is how do these really work in the context of the quality that India stands for.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
The entrance lobby at Tagore Memorial Hall
Globalisation is a further opportunity that India should be well placed to handle, he explains, having itself been born from a melange of cultures, people and traditions over centuries. 'In the past, people were working towards absorbing and finding solutions that were appropriate to the place. That concept should be even more relevant now.'
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, it all comes down to the eternal dilemma of sustainability at all levels. 'It really is the fundamental question that needs to be asked when looking for any local identity. All cultures have talked about this,' says Doshi. 'Our culture is like blotting paper; you don't know which layer has happened when. I think that culture is our strength. Despite diverse languages, diverse climates, diverse traditions, we thrive on our interaction with one another.'
A version of this article was first published in the June 2011 issue of Wallpaper*
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Fashion & Interiors: A Gendered Affair’ at MoMu unpacks the hierarchy of the home
The Antwerp exhibition interrogates the relationship between fashion, interiors and gender through the concept of ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, a complete work of art. Curator Romy Cockx gives Wallpaper* a tour
By Dal Chodha Published
-
Milan Design Week: Dropcity challenges detention space design with 'Prison Times'
Dropcity's inaugural exhibition 'Prison Times – Spatial Dynamics of Penal Environments', opens a few days before the launch of Milan Design Week and discusses penal environments and their spatial design
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
ICON 4x4 goes EV, giving their classic Bronco-based restomod an electric twist
The EV Bronco is ICON 4x4’s first foray into electrifying its range of bespoke vintage off-roaders and SUVs
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
At the Institute of Indology, a humble new addition makes all the difference
Continuing the late Balkrishna V Doshi’s legacy, Sangath studio design a new take on the toilet in Gujarat
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
How Le Corbusier defined modernism
Le Corbusier was not only one of 20th-century architecture's leading figures but also a defining father of modernism, as well as a polarising figure; here, we explore the life and work of an architect who was influential far beyond his field and time
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Pretty in pink: Mumbai's new residential tower shakes up the cityscape
'Satguru’s Rendezvous' in Mumbai houses luxury apartments behind its elegant fluted concrete skin. We take a tour.
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
How to protect our modernist legacy
We explore the legacy of modernism as a series of midcentury gems thrive, keeping the vision alive and adapting to the future
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A 1960s North London townhouse deftly makes the transition to the 21st Century
Thanks to a sensitive redesign by Studio Hagen Hall, this midcentury gem in Hampstead is now a sustainable powerhouse.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The new MASP expansion in São Paulo goes tall
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) expands with a project named after Pietro Maria Bardi (the institution's first director), designed by Metro Architects
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continents
We take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Marta Pan and André Wogenscky's legacy is alive through their modernist home in France
Fondation Marta Pan – André Wogenscky: how a creative couple’s sculptural masterpiece in France keeps its authors’ legacy alive
By Adam Štěch Published