Pune: The life and work of 90-year-old BV Doshi, the first Indian to win one of the most prestigious awards in architecture, the Pritzker, is being celebrated through a talk organised in the city on Friday. The talk will be delivered by architects mentored by Doshi.
Ajay Kulkarni, an architect based in Aurangabad and one of the four speakers, said, “I worked with Doshi, assisting him on projects like the Sanskar Kendra project and the YASHADA building in Pune, originally known as MIDA.”
Beauty in simplicity
Kulkarni said working with Doshi was a complicated experience. “He is like poetry as his perspective, sense of culture, architecture and sense of serene is beyond description.”
“Understanding Doshi’s architecture takes time,“ Kulkarni said, adding, “He doesn’t use glass much, but simple material. One might think there is nothing flashy in what they are seeing, but just like one is astonished by the beauty of a stone temple, Doshi’s architecture hits you with the beauty of its simplicity.”
What students say
Sharad Mahajan, the other speaker at the programme, and Doshi’s student from 1975-77 said, “I was rusticated for my role in one of the strikes at the institute, but the way Doshi handled everything and explained the situation to us, humbled me. Since then, he has been a mentor and has appreciated every idea that has a new element.”
Rahul Kadam, who will deliver a talk at the programme and a former apprentice of Doshi said,“We used to visit his office ‘Sangat’ and were welcome anytime. In 2001, I and my wife started our own practice. We showcased one of our projects at the A+D Forum programme for which Doshi was the chief guest. We used a China mosaic style in our project which was inspired by his Goofa idea and he appreciated our design.”
Inspiration
Kadam said Doshi’s work focused on the social impact that it created. “In a country like India, Doshi gave his designs a class and environmental synergy even when they’re made with limited resources.”
Priya Gokhale of the WIDE Angle Forum, which is the organiser for the event, said, “We are primarily architects, but we organise programmes that appreciate design in all disciplines,” adding, “We want to connect creative minds through our forum and incentivise the discourse of aesthetics.”
ST Reader Service
Venue: National Film Archives of India (NFAI)
Date: April 13
The event is open to all.
A lucky draw will be held under which books related to design will be awarded to the winner.
