BV Doshi Article_260092012

8/9/2019 BV Doshi Article_260092012

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Photos courtesy: Vastu Shilpa Consultants and Anuja Khokhani

Dr. B.V. Doshi dons several hats with elan. An architect, artist,teacher and speaker, he’s one of the pioneers who shapedmodern architecture in India. His holistic and comprehensiveapproach to design — he considers architecture a socialenterprise — has, over decades, ensured a body of work thatanoints him the master of his craft.

The master architect speaks to Teja Lele Desai on how his designsensibilities were forged, why the interior must be relevant tothe exterior, and why art, architecture and life need to co-exist.

THE MAESTROAND HIS MAGIC

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Ar. B. V. Doshi’s architecture is conceived ‘as a place to be

inhabited, as a place to facilitate the course of human interaction’

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Born in 1927 in Pune, Doshi studiedat the J. J. School of Architecture,Mumbai. He then headed for London,after which he stopped off at Pariswhere he worked under masterarchitect Le Corbusier. Corbusierwas a strong inuence on Doshi’s

work and life. His years in Paris —1951–54 — led to a wide range of“exposure”, he says, resulting instrong fundamentals of modernarchitecture and materials.

Doshi returned to Ahmedabad tosupervise Le Corbusier’s numerousprojects in the city, working on themfrom 1955–59. He set up his ownstudio, Vastu Shilpa (environmentaldesign), in 1955, and also workedclosely with Louis Kahn whenKahn designed the campus of theIndian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad. This was an importantperiod in Indian architecture, onein which Indian architects had todeal with foreign legacies and adaptthem to Indian conditions. Doshi’s architecture takes prideof place for “combining certainenduring values of modern archi-tecture with research into thesubstructure of Indian traditions”.Over the years, he developed his

own language of architecture,

forging design sensibilities thatwere inherent to India’s climateand conditions. Take any of hisprojects, be it IIM Bangalore, L DInstitute of Indology, CEPT Campus,his own residence, all have a senseof scale, proportion and light that’s

trademark Doshi. His environmentaland urban concerns, and his abilityto adapt modern architecture to anIndian context makes his work oneof the most important models formodern Indian architecture.

Most of the rm’s projects show

that Doshi does not favour theimposition of any particular style,his architecture is conceived “not asa synthesised container of specic

activities but as a place to beinhabited, as a place to facilitatethe course of human interaction”.The rm also works to conserve

energy, human or mechanical,optimize technologies, adoptinnovative ways of building andalternative materials, and places anemphasis on urban design.

In Amdavad-Ni-Gufa, a bookpublished by Doshi’s Vastu ShilpaFoundation, the architect writes:“…in true architecture one mustexperience joy and celebrations,

it must affect our inner self. It cannot

be distinguished separately eitheras modulation of light or surfaces orsupporting system. On the contrary,a good design merges oors, walls,

ceilings into one contiguous whole

and creates an organic space almostlike a living being… It then becomesa small universe, a microcosm whichwe can call paradise.”

The Interior and the Exterior

The inside and the outside. Shouldthey be kept at arm’s length fromeach other or should they co-exist?Doshi believes that during the designprocess, architects need to keep inmind that the interior and exteriorform an integral whole. “Can the

interior reect the exterior? Can theexterior give a clue to the interior?Will they allow the unfolding ofexperience and imagery?” he asks. “Ithink about the interior and exteriorlike a living organism. Like in a body,there should be nothing superuous,

there must be no compartments.All should come together to form aseamless whole,” he claries.

Presently, he believes that interiorand exterior are often viewedseparately by designers. “We often

operate on a micro scale, losingsight of realities. We need tofunction on a macro scale. After all,the exterior is nothing but interior

The IIM Campus in Bengaluru refects the

sense of scale, proportion and light

that’s trademark Doshi

Sangath, Ahmedabad, was designed to function as Doshi’s studio and visualises traditional Indianarchitecture in a modern medium

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on a larger scale. So it’s paramountthat we expand our vision andhorizon, and take a look at all themicro layers that make a designmacro,” he says.

Interior — be it the inside of abuilding or a product — should talkabout sustainability, how it relatesto the outer environment. Interioris experienced through movements

from all sides; like a kaleidoscope,memories and perceptions change.He turns thoughts on their head byposing a question. “What is a streetif not the interior between twobuildings?” Clearly, says the masterarchitect, the scope of interiordesign needs to be widened. “Itmust be more inclusive so as toinclude large-scale projects suchas airports, stations, infrastructureprojects and enclosed public spaceswithin its ambit.”

His Favourites

Doshi favours a tightly knit teamwhen it comes to work, the reasonwhy he’s limited the size of the rm.

This also ensures having substantialparticipation in all projects by theprincipals. His rm has developed

and consistently embraced a designmethodology that revolves arounddesign teams framed at the outsetof each project to work together —from concept phase to completion.

At Vastu Shilpa, the development ofdesign begins from the conceptualbase of the project and generatesa formal vocabulary that ultimately

Ar. Doshi believes that architecture ‘cannot be distinguished separately either as modulation of

light or surfaces or supporting system’

A good design merges foors, walls, ceilings into one contiguous whole and creates an organic

space almost like a living being, Ar. Doshi says

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Husain and I were both independentand yet inter-dependent. That iswhy the Gufa is so special,” Doshisays of the structure that representsthe rst collaboration between art

and architecture.

Inspiring Generations

Apart from his international fameas an architect, Doshi is renownedas an educator and institutionbuilder. He was the rst Founder-

Director of School of Architecture,Ahmedabad (1962–72), rst Founder-

Director of School of Planning(1972–79), rst Founder-Dean of

Doshi, who believes that awarenessand interest has grown manifold inrecent times, offers simple adviceto students who turn to design asa profession. Try a self-exerciseand question yourself. Why are youdoing this? What is your intent? Doyou intensely love this eld or are

you entering it because someonehas recommended it to you? Wouldyou pursue this if you had nancial

hardships? “For architecture is not

merely a hobby, it is a professionthat necessitates commitment as itmust be a part and parcel of yourlives,” he says.

When it comes to interiors, hepoints out that often many peoplewho work in the eld are not

professionals, they are peoplewho are there on account of theirinterest. “Can academics beexpanded to include these peoplein the profession,” he asks. On howinstitutes and the media can help,

he offers a suggestion. “How aboutidentifying an architectural trail ineach city, places and buildings thatstudents must visit so that they can

learn and imbibe facets of design,be it proportions, scale, space orlight… Education often turns out tobe fragmented,” he says. “This willensure that they take in all facets,”he adds.

Doshi, a Fellow of the Royal Instituteof British Architects and a Fellow ofthe Indian Institute of Architects,was in 1976 awarded the PadmaShri, an esteemed national civilianhonour. Apart from a clutch of awardsdown the years, he has also receivedan honorary Doctorate of Arts by theUniversity of Pennsylvania (1989)

and McGill University, Montréal,Canada (2006), and the GreatGold Medal of the French AcademyInstitute of Architects.

Doshi continues to remain tireless —about art, architecture and design.“Hindu philosophy talks of Navarasa — the entire diverse expressionsand experiences of life come out.Hidden in them are the manyfunctions… that’s why I believethere is no distinction between art,architecture and life,” he ends.

Centre for Environmental Planningand Technology (1972–81), foundermember of Visual Arts Centre,Ahmedabad, and rst founder

director of Kanoria Centre forArts, Ahmedabad. He was also theforce behind the nationally andinternationally known researchinstitute Vastu Shilpa Foundationfor Studies and Research inEnvironmental Design, an instituteknown for pioneering work in low-

cost housing and city planning.

Doshi, who has been visiting theUnited States and Europe since1958 and has held important chairsin American Universities, hasbeen a continuing inspiration forgenerations of students who passout of design schools in India andabroad. Many of them, such asacademicians and professors KurullaVarkey, Saumitro Ghosh, GurjeetMatharoo, Shivanand Swami,Trilochan Chhaya, Nilkanth Chhaya

and Krishna Shastri, have madetheir mark on the profession ofarchitecture and inspire yet anothergenerations of students.

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Inspired by the earth-hugging forms of the Indian vernacular, Sangath also draws upon the vault

suggestions of Le Corbusier’s work

Passers-by and local labourers like to come and sit near Sangath, enjoying the low mounds, the

water jars overgrown with creepers and the walkways

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BV Doshi Article_260092012

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