B.V.

DOSHI
August 26, 1927

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

ANJI MAHARJAN (03) AR. NISHA RC
ANSHU MANDAL (04) ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT
B.V DOSHI
Balkrishna vithaldas doshi

26 august 1927(93)

Pune,bombay presidency,british india

Nationality -Indian

Awards-
● Padma bhushan
● Padma shri
● Pritzker Prize
LIFE HISTORY

➔ Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi was born in Pune,

India in 1927.
➔ He did his bachelors from J. J. School of Art,
Bombay in 1950.
➔ He worked for four years with Le Corbusier as
senior designer (1951-54) in Paris.
➔ In 1956 he established a private practice in
Vastu-Shilpa, Ahmedabad and in 1962 he
established the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation
➔ He also founded and designed the School of
Architecture and Planning in Ahmedabad.
➔ Doshi has worked in partnership as Stein, Doshi & Bhalla
since 1977.
➔ Doshi worked closely with Louis khan and Anant raje,
when Kahn designed the campus of the Indian Institute of
Management.
➔ In 1958 he was a fellow at the Graham Foundation for
Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.
➔ Doshi has been a member of the Jury for several
international and national competitions including the
Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Aga Khan
Award for Architecture.
➔ He was presented in 1995,Aga Khan Award for
Architecture, for the Aranya Community Housing in
Indore, India
PHILOSOPHIES DOSHI
ARCHITECTURE

● A deep understanding of the past and a

comfortable relationship with the present could
only invent a sustainable future CONTEMPORARY TRADITIONAL
ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE
● Architecture of a building is conceived not as a
container of specific activities but as a place to
be inhabited, as a place to facilitate the course of
human environment
● Interrelationship of indoor and outdoor space
● An appropriate and honest approach to materials
proper climatic response
● Observance of hierarchy and order that has always
been present in the best modern architecture.
● Construction of scale models and of full scale
mockups to make decisions jointly with the client
ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES

● MYTHICAL SCIENCE
● VASTU-PURUSHA MANDALA
● TRANSFORMATION OF ENERGY
● HUMAN INSTITUTIONS
● FLEXIBLE APPROACH
● SYMBOLISM
● AMORPHOUS FORMS
● TIMELESSNESS
Building style & forms that would best express his ideas:

● The building profile will have natural

light + air + movement + access
elements against the sky to express
the cosmic relationship.
● The building base will gradually
widen towards the ground through
platforms, terraces, and steps.
● The building mass will integrate roof,
rainwater, cascades, water bodies,
natural landscapes, gardens, foliage.
● The external finish of the building will
express one homogenous mass but
will have adequate details/ textures/
surface modulations.
● The main arrival to the building
will be at a higher or raised
level- with provision for a lower
entry to express duality.
● Not all movements within the
building will be symmetrical but
will shift axis to give unexpected
experiences and provide
ambiguous / dual impressions
● Aesthetic considerations will
take into account by local
symbolism, context, casting of
shadows, breaking of mass,
rhythms in the structure, solids,
voids, will be the mode of
expression.
 IMPORTANT BUILDINGS

● Aranya Low-Cost Housing,

India
● Kamala House, India.
● Life Insurance Corporation
Housing, India.
● Sangath, India. School of Architecture, CEPT, India.
Amdavad Ni Gufa, India
● Amdavad Ni Gufa, India.
● School of Architecture,
CEPT, India.
● National Institute of
Fashion Technology, India.

Indian Institute of Management, India Institute of Indology, India

Amdavad ni Gufa
➢ Designed by : Ar. B.V. Doshi
➢ Location : Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
➢ Construction started: 1992
➢ Completed : 1995

An underground art gallery in Ahmedabad,

represents a unique blend of architecture and art.
It’s a mixed work by architect BV Doshi and indian
artist MF Husain. It’s a art gallery for exhibition of
artist’s work. The gallery is called gufa (cave)
because of its resemblance to a cave.
● The structure's contemporary architecture
draws on ancient and natural themes.
● The references for the Gufa are elemental
and primeval. The circle, mountains,
historical precedents as Caves (Karli,
Ajanta), Stupas etc.
● The difference between stupa and the Gufa
is the 25-millimetre thin ferrocement shell
that has been used as the structure of
Doshi’s museum ,as well as the sloping
columns that has been used internally.
CONCEPT

● The domes are inspired by the shells of

tortoises and by soap bubbles.
● The entire design is made up of circles and
ellipses.
● The Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora
inspired Doshi to design the interior with
circles and ellipses, while Hussain's wall
paintings are inspired by Paleolithic cave art.
EXTERIOR & INTERIOR

● The cave-like underground structure has a

roof made of multiple interconnected
domes, covered with a mosaic of tiles.
● The mosaic tiles on the roof are similar to
those found on the roofs of the Jain
temples at Girnar, and the mosaic snake is
from Hindu mythology.
● The interior is divided by tree trunks or
columns similar to those found at
Stonehenge.
● Irregular tree-like columns support the
domes.
● The structure is specifically oriented to let in
the maximum amount of heat & light to give
the interior a golden glow.
● Light comes in as shafts through a few
circular openings in the dome, the diffused
light adding to the mystic ambience HUSSAIN
DOSHI
● Some shell consists appeared snouts with
apertures (hole), used to capture Fresh air and
light..
CONSTRUCTION
A simple floor of wire mesh and mortar was used instead of a
traditional foundation. All the structure's components are self-
supporting, relieving stress by their ubiquitous continuity. Ferro
cement, only one inch thick, was used for the undulating walls and
domes in order to reduce load.The domes themselves are supported
by irregularly shaped inclined columns, similar to those found in
natural caves.

Work was carried out in two phases:

1. Construction of the main cave as an underground art gallery

2. Covering the surrounding structures including the paving, the
café, and a separate art gallery for exhibitions
Sanghat

Architect- Ar. BV Doshi

Location- Ahmedabad,gujarat

Construction started-1979

Construction Completed-1981

Building type-architectural office

Construction system-concrete
Function areas

The architects design studio

It includes reception areas,office

spaces,workshop,library,conference
room and other ancillary space.
Design concept and feature

Design concern of climate

(temperature or humidity or sunlight)
❖ Extensive use of vaults
➢ The vaulted roof in of locally made
clay fusses over the concrete
slab,which provide non-conducting
layer
➢ The structure is closely integrated
with outer spaces.
Site plan
Ground floor plan

First floor plan

Second floor plan

Terrace floor plan

Passive solar design
Indirect/diffused light
❖ There are three ways by which natural light is drawn
within.
● By upper-level large openings towards north
direction, which is cool,and consistent light is
reflected off the clouds.
● Skylights,which are projected masses from the
roof,reflect the light on the white inner wall
surface,which further radiates light into the room.
● Innermost spaces are lit up through small cutouts in
the roof slab,which are then filled with hollow glass
blocks that take away the glare and transmit diffused
light.
Material and construction
Sandwiched construction of work-
● The vaulted roof is of locally
made of clay fuses over the
concrete slab,which provides a
non- conducting layer.
● The top finish of china mosaic
glazed tiles further adds to the
insulation.
● Being white and glossy it reflects
sun while being made from clay it
retards the heat transmission.
● Use of secondary waste material
● Exposed natural finishes
● the concrete of slabs and wall
surfaces are kept bare unplastered
as final visual finishes,which provide
a natural look and save on finishing
material quantity.
Landscaping
● Watercannels
● Pond
➢ Rainwater and overflow of pumped water
from roof tank are harnessed through roof
channels that run through a series of
cascading tanks and water channels to finally
culminate in a pond from where it is recycled
back or used for irrigating vegetation.
● Terracottapot and sculpture
● Grassy steps
Tagore memorial hall

Architect- Ar. BV Dhosi

Location- Amhedabad

Completed -1965

Building type- threatre

Tagore memorial hall
A series of rigid frames in reinforced concrete folded plates
provide the outer shell to this hall. Vertical folds are 17m high,
increasing in depth from 1.15m at the base to 2.4m at the top
with a constant plate thickness of 15cm. Horizontal folds are
2.4m deep and span 33.5m with a plate thickness of 10cm
increasing to 15 cm near the supports.

Inside the hall, a 'seating bowl' with a capacity of 700 is

supported on an independent structure. Sculptural columns and
cantilevers of this bowl dominate the lobby area. The hall,
located on the banks of Sabarmati River, is supported on
individual and strip footings resting on a sandy strata.
Exterior
A large entrance with its transparent foyer
reveals details of the voluminous concrete
structure and enables both informal and
formal interactions among performers,
critics and the public. The detached bowl-
shaped seating sans balcony adds greater
intimacy to artists despite of the exposed
concrete structure and the floating
acoustical clouds. The folded plate roof of
110ft span, incorporates the services.
Site plan
Renovation of
Tagore
Memorial Hall
- Master Plan
Renovation of Tagore Hall -
Basement Plan
Renovation of
Tagore Hall -
Basement Plan
showing proposed
conference hall
facilities
Renovation of Tagore Hall -
First floor plan, proposal
showing arthists'
accomodation and
caretakers' apartments
Renovation of Tagore Hall -
Second floor plans, proposal
showing arthists'
accomodation and caretakers'
apartments
Renovation of third
floor
Interesting facts about balkrishna doshi
1) Doshi’s office, Vastu Shilpa, created a list of “must-see” architecture sites in the city of
Ahmedabad so that visitors to the office can see the city and understand the context in which
Doshi creates his buildings.

2) From 1951 to 1955, B.V. Doshi worked directly for Le Corbusier as an architectural
apprentice in his Paris atelier. To this day, at the entrance of his cabin, Doshi keeps a portrait of
the Swiss architect next to representations of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesha.

3) Le Corbusier spoke to Doshi in broken English. But the Indian architect later recalled, “When

you don’t know the language, the conversation becomes more visual and spatial.”

4) He got his unpaid job with Le Corbusier based on a non-traditional qualification: his

handwriting. Doshi told the India Times in 2017 that he wasn’t asked to submit a portfolio, but

“an application in my own handwriting.”

5) He first visited America on a Graham Foundation scholarship in 1959.

6) Doshi was significantly involved in the design of Chandigarh, the new state capital of Punjab

(Chandigarh now serves as a joint state capital for Punjab and Haryana). He was tasked with

designing the living spaces for the thousands of humble government servants. This gave way to his

continued interest in producing the best, basic and low-cost communal spaces.

7) In the 1960s Doshi opened The School of Architecture at Ahmedabad with an alternative curriculum,

known from 1972 onwards as the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT).

Louis Kahn served as an early adjunct faculty member.

8) A closer look at the structural aspect of some of Doshi’s work reveals a practical and widespread

use of bearing walls—these thick walls serve as efficient thermal masses in India’s hot climate.
AWARDS
● Padma Bhushan, Government of India, 2020
● Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award, 2017
● Pritzker Architecture Prize, 2018
● Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, 2007 (first edition)
● Padma Shri, Government of India, 1976
● Honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
● France's highest honour for arts the Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, 2011
● 6th Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Aranya Community Housing, 1993–1995
CONCLUSION
B.V.Doshi has worked with two great Masters Architect of the world Louis I Khan and Le Corbusier
and it is very difficult to come out from the shadow of such Master architect but still Doshi has tried to
create his originality in architecture by using the principles of ancient architecture along with modernism
learned by these two Master architects. He has wholeheartedly accepted the influence of both architects.

He derives ancient design principles of Stupa’s for Hussain Doshi Gufa and contemporary design
principles of Kimbell art museum for the Sangath. For campus planning, he derives the ancient design
principles from Fathepur Sikiri for IIM Bangalore and ancient design principles of step well and courts for
NIFT campus. B.V.Doshi maintains his originality in detailing out these fusions of ancient and
contemporary design principles
REFERENCES
.https://www.archdaily.com/

https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/

https://www.slideshare.net/lavanyagrandhi16/bvdoshi

https://bluprint.onemega.com/doshi-2018-pritzker-prize-winner/

https://www.krishisanskriti.org/vol_image

https://issuu.com/sambhavjain4/docs/final

https://www.architectsworld.in/2019/12/amdavad-ni-gufa-basic-facts-about.html
THANK YOU