Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi wins prestigious UK medal
London(PTI): Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi will receive the Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world's highest honours for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced.
RIBA said on Thursday that with a 70 year career and over 100 built projects, 94-year-old Doshi has influenced the direction of architecture in India and its adjacent regions through both his practice and his teaching.
Given in recognition of a lifetime's work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Queen Elizebth II and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.
I am pleasantly surprised and deeply humbled to receive the Royal Gold Medal from the Queen of England. What a great honour, said Doshi, on hearing about the big win.
The news of this award brought back memories of my time working with Le Corbusier in 1953 when he had just received the news of getting the Royal Gold Medal. I vividly recollect his excitement to receive this honour from Her Majesty. He said to me metaphorically, I wonder how big and heavy this medal will be', he shared.
Today, six decades later I feel truly overwhelmed to be bestowed with the same award as my guru, Le Corbusier honouring my six decades of practice. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my wife, my daughters and most importantly my team and collaborators at Sangath my studio, he said.
RIBA said his buildings combine pioneering modernism with vernacular, informed by a deep appreciation of the traditions of India's architecture, climate, local culture and craft. His projects include administrative and cultural facilities, housing developments and residential buildings. He has become internationally known for his visionary urban planning and social housing projects, as well as his work in education, both in India and as a visiting professor at universities around the world.
RIBA President Simon Allford said: "It was an honour and a pleasure to chair the committee in selecting Balkrishna Doshi as the 2022 Royal Gold Medallist. He has influenced generations of architects through his delightfully purposeful architecture. Influenced by his time spent in the office of Le Corbusier his work nevertheless is that of an original and independent thinker able to undo, redo and evolve."
"In the twentieth century, when technology facilitated many architects to build independently of local climate and tradition, Balkrishna remained closely connected with his hinterland: it's climate, technologies new and old and crafts."
Balkrishna Doshi's outstanding contribution to the art of architecture, the craft of construction and the practice of urban design establish him as a most deserving recipient of this award and I greatly look forward to him being presented with the medal next year.
Born in 1927 in Pune, to an extended family of furniture makers, Balkrishna Doshi studied at the JJ School of Architecture, Bombay, before working for four years with Le Corbusier as Senior Designer (1951-54) in Paris and four more years in India to supervise projects in Ahmedabad. He worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and they continued to collaborate for over a decade.
He founded his own practice, Vastushilpa in 1956 with two architects. Today Vastushilpa is a multi-disciplinary practice with ?ve partners spanning three generations and has sixty employees. The practice invites dialogue and its philosophy of pro-active participation even applies to their office space which has an open door, inviting passers-by to drop in.
Doshi's key projects in Ahmedabad include Shreyas Comprehensive School Campus (1958-63); Atira Guest House low cost housing (1958); The Institute of Indology (1962) building to house rare documents; Ahmedabad School of Architecture renamed CEPT University in 2002 which focused on creating spaces that promoted collaborative learning; Tagore Hall & Memorial Theatre (1967); a 700-seat Brutalist auditorium.
Premabhai Hall (1976) theatre and auditorium. Besides, he has also designed the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore (1977-1992); Sangath (1981), the studio for his architecture practice, Vastu Shilpa; Kanoria Centre for Arts (1984), an arts and creative hub; and Aranya Low Cost Housing (1989), Indore.
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Odisha woman raped twice in a day, dies after being thrown off four-storey building; 2 held
Paradip (Odisha) (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday.
Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.
"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.
As the victim was waiting at the bus stand, another man hailing from Jharkhand, who was heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help.
He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.
The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning.
The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.
Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.
BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.
"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.
"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.
