The document provides biographical information about architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi. It details that he was born in 1927 in Pune, India and received his bachelor's degree from J.J. School of Art in 1950. He then worked for four years with Le Corbusier in Paris. In 1956 he established his own private practice called Vastu-Shilpa in Ahmedabad. Some of his notable works include the Aranya Low-Cost Housing Township in Indore and the National Institute of Fashion Technology campus in New Delhi. Doshi's architecture is influenced by traditional Indian concepts and provides flexible, community-oriented designs.

1. Ar.
BALKRISNA
VITHALDAS
DOSHI

2. LIFE HISTORY
 Balkris h na Vith ald as D os h i was b orn in
P u ne , Ind ia in 1 927.
 H e d id h is b ach e lors from J. J. S ch ool of Art,
Bom b ay in 1 950.
 H e worke d for fou r ye ars with Le C orb u s ie r
as s e nior d e s igne r (1 951 -54) in P aris .
 In 1 956 h e e s tab lis h e d a p rivate p ractice in
Vas tu -S h ilp a, Ah m e d ab ad and in 1 962 h e
e s tab lis h e d th e Vas tu -S h ilp a F ou nd ation for
E nvironm e ntal D e s ign.

3. LIFE HISTORY
 H e als o fou nd e d and d e s igne d th e S ch ool of
Arch ite ctu re and P lanning in Ah m e d ab ad .
D os h i h as worke d in p artne rs h ip as S te in,
D os h i & Bh alla s ince 1 977.
 D os h i worke d clos e ly with Louis khan
and A nant raje, wh e n Kah n d e s igne d th e
cam p u s of th e Ind ian Ins titu te of
M anage m e nt.
 In 1 958 h e was a fe llow at th e Graham
Foundation for A dvanced S tudies in th e
F ine Arts .

4. LIFE HISTORY
 Dos hi h as b e e n a m e m b e r of th e Ju ry for
s e ve ral inte rnational and national
com p e titions inclu d ing th e Indira Gandhi
National C entre for A rts and A ga Khan
A ward for A rchitecture.
 H e was p re s e nte d in 1 995,Aga Kh an Award
for Arch ite ctu re , for th e Aranya C om m u nity
H ou s ing in Ind ore , Ind ia.
 D os h i's arch ite ctu re p rovid e s one of th e m os t
im p ortant models for modern Indian
architecture

5. PHILOSOPHIES
 Accord ing to h im A rchitecture of a b u ild ing is
conce ive d not as a containe r of s p e cific activitie s b u t
as a p lace to b e inh ab ite d , as a p lace to facilitate th e
cou rs e of h u m an e nvironm e nt
 D os h i's work h as cons is te ntly re volve d arou nd th e
inte rre lations h ip of ind oor and ou td oor s p ace , an
ap p rop riate and h one s t ap p roach to m ate rials , p rop e r
clim atic re s p ons e and ob s e rvance of h ie rarch y and
ord e r th at h as always b e e n p re s e nt in th e b e s t
m od e rn arch ite ctu re .

6. PHILOSOPHIES
 It is th is s o calle d ‘filter’ b e twe e n
conte m p orary and trad itional arch ite ctu re
wh ich D os h i h as m as te rfu lly b rou gh t in.
 Th e s u cce s s of any p roj ct d e p e nd s on
e
e ffe ctive cons truction, contracting, logis tic
p lanning and co-ord ination.
 An e s s e ntial p art of th e p h ilos op h y is th e
cons tru ction of s cale m od e ls and of fu ll s cale
m ocku p s to m ake d e cis ions j ointly with th e
clie nt ab ou t th e building.

7. PRINCIPLES
D os h i h as cate gorize d 8 p rincip le s in
trad itional arch ite ctu re wh ich h e b e lie ve s
wou ld gre atly e nrich conte m p orary p ractice .
Ú D os h i b e lie f in th e ‘Mythical S ens e’ of s p ace
ofte n e vid e nt in trad itional arch ite ctu re wh ich
is not s im p ly confine d to op e n or clos e d
are as . Accord ing to h im s p ace can b e
m od ifie d accord ing to th e d e s ire of th e
p e rce ive r and is ne ve r s tatic.

8. PRINCIPLES
2. Th e s tru ctu ral and form al s ys te m s th at D os h i h as
ad op te d le d h im to as s im ilate th e 2nd principle of
Vaas tu-Purus ha Mandala to e ns u re m inim u m
s tand ard s of h e alth and h ygie ne in e ach p roj ct . e
Vaas tu ’ (e nvironm e nt), ‘P u ru s h a’ (e ne rgy) and
‘M and ala’ (as trology) are com b ine d in th e d iagram
th at h as e volve d to as s is t b u ild e rs in d e te rm ining
p rop e r orie ntation. N orth re late s to th e lord of
we alth , s ou th re late s to th e lord f d e ath , e as t to th e
lord of ligh t (th e ris ing s u n), and we s t to th e lord of
wind . Th e ce ntre is attrib u te d to th e lord of th e
C os m os .

9. PRINCIPLES
F ollowing th is ch art h as ge ne rally ind icate d a
s ou th we s t orie ntation , favoring h e p re vailing b re e ze
and als o h as d e fine d th e u s e of ce ntral cou rtyard .
3. Trans formation of E nergy b e twe e n th e b u ild ing and
p e op le u s ing th e s p ace for fu nctional u s e . Th e
E ne rgy take s p lace b e twe e n th e walls , colu m ns and
s p ace of th e b u ild ing. Th e natu ral e ne rgy p rod u ce s
th rou gh s u n rad iations or natu ral e le m e nts ,
s u rrou nd ings , s p e cie s arou nd it e tc.
D os h i followe d it in h is arch ite ctu re b y p rovid ing
op e nne s s in b u ild ings th rou gh colonnad e s , p e rgolas ,
p orticos , s ky ligh ts e tc. for e .g.- IIM , Bangalore .

10. PRINCIPLES
4. D os h i h as p e rs is te d a d e e p b e lie f in
im p ortance of ‘Human Ins titutions ’, j s t as u
Lou is -i-Kah n d id b e fore h im . Th is b e lie f, is
am p lifie d b y h is own d e e p cu ltu ral e xp e rie nce
and p op u lar e volu tion of ne w ins titu tions . Th e
nam e of h is office its e lf, th e Vaas tu-S hilpa
foundation, is a ringing affirm ation of D os h i’s
faith in th e d ialogu e b e twe e n p e op le and
arch ite ctu re of wh ich h e s p e aks and p owe rs
of d ialogu e to b ring ab ou t old ins titu tions and
cre ate ne w one s .

11. PRINCIPLES
5. A m ore s p e cific p rincip le is to follow ‘flexible rather
than rigid approach to the s tructure’. Th is is h ow
trans form ation of s p ace from th e m e re s tatic
containe r ; to a p lace wh e re p e op le actu ally fe e l a
p s ych ic inte rch ange is b e s t ach ie ve d . H e re D os h i
re fe rs to th e m u ltip le m ixe d s tru ctu ral s ys te m s , of th e
typ e fou nd in M ad u rai te m p le and city of F ate h p u r
S ikri.
6. Th e id e a of fle xib ility le ad s h im to a p rincip le , of
incorp orating “s ymbolis m” . H e b e lie ve s th at it can
only b e accom m od ate d b y m ixtu re of s tru ctu ral
s ys te m s . S ym b olically ch arge d s p ace m u s t b e
d e s igne d as re ce p tacle for h u m an activity.

12. PRINCIPLES
7. D os h i als o ad vocate s “A morphous rather
than finite forms ” ; u s e d with m u ltip le
s tru ctu ral s ys te m s s o th at ‘e xp e rie nce with
th e m m ay b e loos e m e and e ring and m u ltip le ’.
F or e .g.- Aranya low cos t h ou s ing, Ind ore .
8. As an e igh th and final p rincip le , d os h i s e e ks
“Timeles s nes s ” in h is arch ite ctu re m u ch as
Lou is kh an d id wh e n d e s crib ing h is qu ality in
h is torical p re ce d e nts as ' op e n e nd e d ne s s ’.

13. ARANYA LOW-COST
HOUSING TOWNSHIP
INDORE , (1983-86)

14. It is locate d 6 km s . F rom th e ce ntre of
Ind ore on Agra-Bom b ay h igh way.
Aranya s ite is flat.
D os h i was com m is s ione d b y th e Ind ore
D e ve lop m e nt Au th ority to p rovid e h ou s ing
for th e “E conom ically we ake r s e ctor”.
Ar. D e cid e d to inte grate s om e u p p e r-
incom e u nits to s u b s id ize th e lowe r cos t
u nits .
Th e targe t p ollu tion was 40,000 on a 80
h e ctare s ite , incorp orating 6,500 p lots
ranging b / 35 & 475 s q. m ts .
w
O f th e s e 65% we re allocate d for th e ve ry
p oor, 1 1 % for lowe r incom e , 1 4% for
m id d le incom e , 9% for h igh incom e grou p .

15. Th e Aranya h ou s ing s ch e m e d ivid e d as
58% re s id e ntial u s e , 23.5% p e d e s trian &
ve h icu lar acce s s road s , 8% op e n s p ace ,
7% s h are d com m u nity.
D os h i d ivid e d th e s ite with a north -s ou th
s p ine wh e re th e m ain am e nitie s are
clu s te re d , fe e d ing 3 zone s of h ou s ing on
e ach s id e .
Th e ch oice of orie ntation, as we ll as th e
u s e of offs e ts , als o m axim ize s s h ad e .
H ou s e s are clu s te re d in grou p s of 1 0.
A S e p tic tank h as b e e n p rovid e d for
e ve ry clu s te r or 20 h ou s e s .
Wate r is d rawn from 3 local re s e rvoirs to
s e rve th e e ntire p roj ct.
e

16. SITE PLAN

17. SITE PLAN

18. Th e ou te r p e rip h e ry cons is t u nits for
H .I.G and m os t we ake r s e ction is ins id e .
E ach h ou s e p rovid e d with an O TTA- an
ou td oor p latform .
F or e conom ic re s ou rce s u s e of s h are d
fou nd ations and p arty walls b e e n carve d
ou t.
Brick, s tone , and concre te are availab le
locally, b u t owne rs are fre e to u s e any
m ate rial th e y ch oos e for h ou s e
cons tru ction and d e coration.
Th e m ain s tre e t ru ns at th e ce ntre of
p lan in zig-zag p atte rn.
E xte rnal p atios is p rovid e d as th e
s p ace s for inte raction.

19. Varie d façad e tre atm e nts with m ate rial control

20. Variou s arrange m e nts d one in p lots .

21. NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY
NEW DELHI , (1997)

22. A C e ntrally locate d s ite of 2.87 acre s
(1 1 ,642 s q. m ts .) in H au z-Kh as was
s e le cte d .
 Th e ins titu te was vis u alize d as an
inte rnational fas h ion ce nte r.
Th e N IF T s ite is s u rrou nd e d b y h ou s ing &
ins titu tional u s e s .
F as h ion D e s ign d e m and s continu ou s
innovation, for th is ch anging e nvironm e nt
h igh ly vis ib le d is p lay and s h ow are as are
e s s e ntial.
D os h i’s conce p t of s u rrou nd ing th e inne r
cou rt with e ach of th e m ain b locks of
com p le x b / 3 & 4 s torie s h igh give s th e
w
fe e ling of trad itional ch owk (cou rtyard ).

23. SITE PLAN

24. GROUND F. PLAN

25. BASEMENT PLAN

26. A s e rie s of h igh and low
p latform s , a varie ty of
galle rie s and are as for form al
and cas u al activitie s and
d ire ct & ind ire ct d is p lay of th e
d e s igns im p lie s a s e rie s of
inte rnal cou rtyard s and
te rrace s at variou s h e igh ts .
A glaze d walkway of re fle ctive glas s looks d own in
to inne r cou rtyard .
An Au d itoriu m in b as e m e nt occu p ie s th e s p ace
d ire ctly b e ne ath th e Am p h ith e atre on grou nd floor.
Th e re s t of b as e m e nt is u s e d for car p arking s p ace s
and m e ch anical facilitie s .

27. Angle d glaze d s u rface s of th e
ad m inis tration b lock.
F ligh t of b rick s te p s le ad to th e cou rtyard
from th e m ain gate .
Th e ad m inis trative b lock locate d in th e
fore grou nd of th e com p le x with lib rary and
e xh ib ition are a.
F irs t cou rtyard - M od ifie d ku nd or s au ce r-
s h ap e d rainwate r s tore .
S e cond cou rtyard - Inform al
Am p h ith e atre .
Both cou rtyard s form th e ce ntral s p ace of
ins titu te & h ave glaze d corrid ors arou nd
th e m th at allow a cle ar vie w of th e
galle rie s , th e clas s room clu s te r, th e ad m .

28. C e ntral wate r ch anne l
le ad ing from ou ts id e in to
h e art of com p le x.
 E ntrance at th e top of th e inne r cou rt.
 Th e ce ntre of th e com p le x cre ate a d ram atic d e s ce nt to a
p ool with re fle ctive angle d glas s m u ltip lying th e e ffe ct.
 Th e re is an u nd u lating p ainte d s te e l p e rgola ab ove th e
inte rnal cou rt as a s ym b olic gate way.

29. HUSAIN – DOSHI GUFA
AHMEDABAD , (1992-95)

30.  Th e G u fa is a collab orative e ffort b / w
B.V D os h i and th e Ind ian artis t M .F
(M aqb u l F id a) h u s ain; b e gan as an Art
G alle ry for th e E xh ib ition of artis ts work.
 It is locate d in th e cam p u s , of th e
C e ntre for e nvironm e nt p lanning &
te ch nology (C E P T) in Ah m e d ab ad .
 S ite Are a- 1 000 s q.m t.
 Bu ilt u p Are a- 280 s q.m t.
 P roj ct cos t- R s .1 .8 m illion
e
 Th is is a com b ination of h igh
te ch nology and trad itional te ch niqu e s
th at als o d e s crib e s th e e s s e ntial
tim e le s s ne s s of te ch nology its e lf.

31.  Th e cons tru ction of th e
G u fa was finally
d e p e nd e nt u p on th e
knowle d ge & s kill of
b u ild e rs wh o h ad to
trans late h igh ly
s op h is ticate d d iagram s
into re ality.
 Th e re fe re nce s for th e
G u fa are e le m e ntal and
p rim e val. Th e circle ,
m ou ntains , h is torical
p re ce d e nts as C ave s
(Karli, Aj anta), S tu p as
e tc.

32. PLAN

33.  Th is s tru ctu re is in
form of s ke le tal s kin &
wire m e s h
s and wich e d on e ach
s id e b y laye rs of
ce m e nt.
 Th e concre te is th e n
cove re d with a
com p acte d laye r of
ve rm icu lite followe d
b y m os aic of p ie ce s of
b roke n ch ina.
 Wh ite tile s re fle cts th e
s u n rays , h e lp s to ke e p
th e inte rior cool.

34.  Th e s tru ctu re is s p e cifically orie nte d to
le t in th e m axim u m am ou nt of h e at &
ligh t to give th e inte rior a gold e n glow.
 To e nh ance th e cave like fe e ling of
galle ry, th e contou rs of th e s ite we re
re taine d , rath e r th an b e ing le ve lle d .
 Th e ge ntly u nd u lating s u rface of th e
e arth can s till b e p e rce ive d b e ne ath th e
th in concre te floor s lab p ou re d ove r it.
 Th e e ntrance is ap p roach e d d own a
fligh t of s te p s in to th e cave like inte rior.
 S om e s h e lls cons is ts ap p e are d s nou ts
with ap e rtu re s (h ole ), u s e d to cap tu re
fre s h air & ligh t.

36.  Th e ce ntral h all is s u p p orte d b y 2 rows
of colu m ns wh ich d ivid e th e inte rior in
to a wid e r ce ntre ais le & 2 s id e ais le .
 Th e colu m ns h ave octagonal s h afts
wid e r at b as e & tap e re d at cap ital.
 Th e rib s , wh ich s p ans from colu m n
line to colu m n line , cre ate th e vau lte d
roof of cave .
 Th e s nou ts s e e m s as s kyligh ts to
th row ligh t ins id e .

37. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
MANAGEMENT
BANGALORE , (1977-85)

38.  S lop ing top ograp h y of th e s ite .
 Bu ilt u p are a 54000 s q. m ts .
 Bu ild ing inclu d e s th e e xte rnal s p ace s
and th e link b e twe e n th e b u ild ings .
 F u nctional and p h ys ical attrib u te s of
th e d e s ign are re late d to th e local
trad itions of p avilion like s p ace s &
cou rtyard s .
 Am p le p rovis ion for p lantation.
 U s e of local m ate rial.
 Th e fore cou rt and e ntrance are at th e
lowe r le ft of p lan. D orm itorie s are
arrange d d iagonally arou nd an
inte rlocking s e rie s of cou rtyard s in
u p p e r p art.

39. PLAN

40. MODEL SHOWING CAMPUS
PLANNING

41.  D e s ign inclu d e d long and u nu s u ally h igh
“th re e s tore ye d ” corrid ors with
innu m e rab le vis tas of focal p oints .
 corrid ors are s om e tim e s s e e m
op e n, s om e tim e s with only p e rgolas
and s om e tim e s p artly cove re d
with s kyligh t.
 Varying d ire ct and ind ire ct s u nligh t
cou p le d with s olid -void com b ination.
 To fu rth e r h e igh te n th e s p atial
e xp e rie nce , th e wid th of th e corrid ors
was m od u late d in m any p lace s to allow
cas u al s itting , inte raction or m oving
forward to one d e s tination or m ore .

42.  C orrid ors of colu m ns b e ne ath concre te p e rgolas
cre ate a rh yth m of ligh t & s h ad ow.
 U s e of varying rh yth m of s olid s and void s i.e . walls
and op e nings .

43. Th e m ain are a- is
a com p le x of
cou rtyard s linke d b y
walkways or inte rnal
s tre e ts , s om e
cove re d & s om e
op e n to s ky, cre ating
vis tas or
F ocal p oints .