Paths Uncharted

Book excerpt: Put together from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of the remarkable journey of 2018 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, Dr. Balkrishna Doshi, unfolding across continents and over more than 80 years. Dr. Balkrishna V. Doshi is foremost among the modern Indian architects. An urban planner and educator for the past 70 years, Dr. Doshi is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects. He has been the first Founder-Director of School of Architecture and School of Planning, Ahmedabad - regarded as the pioneer and fountainhead of modern architectural and planning education in India. Doshi has also held important chairs at American universities and has received several international and national awards and honours. He has also been on the jury for several international and national competitions. Doshi's life - from the time he was born into a modest family in the bylanes of Pune, and his struggles and tenacity to excel in his chosen fields--is a fascinating and inspiring story. Put together, for the first time, from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of this remarkable journey unfolding over more than 80 years and across all the continents. This autobiography captures Doshi's career from his childhood to his studies at the JJ School of Architecture, Bombay and then London, his work at Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris (1951-1954) and collaboration with Louis I Kahn for IIM Ahmedabad. It recounts his meetings with the most remarkable persons in his own and allied fields, and his equally remarkable patrons. In 2018, Doshi was selected as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, internationally known as architecture's highest honour. In 2014 and 2017, the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, and Power Station of Art, Shanghai, had hosted a retrospective exhibition of Doshi's notable works. And, in spring 2019, the Vitra Design Museum, Germany, will present the first European retrospective of Doshi's work, and is likely to travel to other international venues over the next several years. With the continued interest worldwide in his work, this volume brings to the reader invaluable insights into the course of Doshi's illustrious life, the paths it has taken over the years, the experience and the learnings. 182 illustrations