Ar.BALKRISNAVITHALDASDOSHI

LIFE HISTORY Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi was born in

Pune, India in 1927. He did his bachelors from J. J. School of

Art, Bombay in 1950. He worked for four years with Le

Corbusier as senior designer (1951-54) in Paris.

In 1956 he established a private practice in Vastu-Shilpa, Ahmedabad and in 1962

he established the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Environmental Design.

He also founded and designed the School of Architecture and Planning in Ahmedabad. Doshi has worked in partnership as Stein, Doshi & Bhalla since

1977.Doshi worked closely with Louis khan andAnant raje, when Kahn designed the campus of the Indian

Institute of Management.In 1958 he was a fellow at the Graham

Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.Doshi has been a member of the Jury for several

international and national competitions including the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Aga

Khan Award for Architecture. He was presented in 1995,Aga Khan Award for

Architecture, for the Aranya Community Housing in Indore, India.

PHILOSOPHIESAccording to him Architecture of a building is conceived not as a container of specific activities but as a place to be inhabited, as a place to facilitate the course of human environmentDoshi's work has consistently revolved around the interrelationship of indoor and outdoor space, an appropriate and honest approach to materials, proper climatic response and observance of hierarchy and order that has always been present in the best modern architecture.

PHILOSOPHIESIt is this so called ‘filter’ between contemporary and traditional architecture which Doshi has masterfully brought in.The success of any project depends on effective construction, contracting, logistic planning and co-ordination.An essential part of the philosophy is the construction of scale models and of full scale mockups to make decisions jointly with the client about the building.

PRINCIPLES Doshi has categorized 4

principles in traditional architecture which he believes would greatly enrich contemporary practice.

1. Doshi belief in the ‘Mythical Sense’ of space often evident in traditional architecture which is not simply confined to open or closed areas. According to him space can be modified according to the desire of the perceiver and is never static.

PRINCIPLES

2. The structural and formal systems that Doshi has adopted led him to assimilate the 2nd principle of Vaastu-Purusha Mandala to ensure minimum standards of health and hygiene in each project .

Vaastu’ (environment), ‘Purusha’ (energy) and ‘Mandala’ (astrology) are combined in the diagram that has evolved to assist builders in determining proper orientation. North relates to the lord of wealth, south relates to the lord f death , east to the lord of light (the rising sun), and west to the lord of wind. The centre is attributed to the lord of the Cosmos .

PRINCIPLES

3. A more specific principle is to follow ‘flexible rather than rigid approach to the structure’. This is how transformation of space from the mere static container ; to a place where people actually feel a psychic interchange is best achieved. Here Doshi refers to the multiple mixed structural systems, of the type found in Madurai temple and city of Fatehpur Sikri. 4. The idea of flexibility leads him to a principle, of incorporating “symbolism”. He believes that it can only be accommodated by mixture of structural systems. Symbolically charged space must be designed as receptacle for human activity.

Some of his project s are explained here :- Indore low cost

housing , INDORE

Hussian Gufa , Ahemdabad

Sangath Architect office, Ahemdabad

ARANYA LOW-COST HOUSING TOWNSHIP

INDORE , (1983-86)

Location of site

It is located 6 kms. From the centre of Indore on Agra-Bombay highway.Aranya site is flat.Doshi was commissioned by the Indore Development Authority to provide housing for the “Economically weaker sector”.Ar. Decided to integrate some upper-income units to subsidize the lower cost units.The target pollution was 40,000 on a 80 hectare site, incorporating 6,500 plots ranging b/w 35 & 475 sq. mts.Of these 65% were allocated for the very poor, 11% for lower income, 14% for middle income, 9% for high income group.

Houses after completion

Indore

Site Plan

Road Network

The Aranya housing scheme divided as 58% residential use, 23.5% pedestrian & vehicular access roads, 8% open space, 7% shared community.Doshi divided the site with a north-south spine where the main amenities are clustered, feeding 3 zones of housing on each side.The choice of orientation, as well as the use of offsets, also maximizes shade.Houses are clustered in groups of 10.A Septic tank has been provided for every cluster or 20 houses.Water is drawn from 3 local reservoirs to serve the entire project.

Material Used In ConstructionThe outer periphery consist units for H.I.G and most weaker section is inside.Each house provided with an OTTA- an outdoor platform.For economic resources use of shared foundations and party walls been carved out.Brick, stone, and concrete are available locally, but owners are free to use any material they choose for house construction and decoration.The main street runs at the centre of plan in zig-zag pattern.External patios is provided as the spaces for interaction.

Hussian GufaBy B V DoshiAhemadabad

Hussian GufaHusain used to enquire to Doshi what was the most climatologically appropriate building form for withstanding the scorching heat of Ahmedabad

Plan Of Hussian Gufa

Set adjacent to the Cept University, this museum is one of a kind – the spaces are all underground with only the domed roof shells protruding above the ground level.

Section Of Hussian Gufa

Set. From the exterior, the Gufa looks more like a work of art, a sculpture of domed shells finished in dazzling china mosaic, complete with a black serpentine imagery snaking across the surfaces.

>There are cave like walls with

undulations with the domed roof

shapes supported by

inclined irregular shaped

columns, the plan being an interplay of intersecting circles and

ellipses.

Entrance gate design to museum

Path to enter

museum

Interiors Of Hussian Gufa

The space is an inherent appeal to the earthy qualities in man. Light comes in as shafts through a few circular openings in the dome, the diffused light adding to the mystic ambience.

Sangath Architect office ,

AhemdabadBy

B V Doshi

Plan Of Sangath

•SANGATH means “moving together through participation.”•It is an architect  office•Location:   Thaltej Road, Ahmedabad 380054•Client:    Balkrishna Doshi•Period of construction:  1979-1981•Project Engineer:  B.S. Jethwa,   Y. Patel•Site area:   2346 m2•Total Built-up Area:    585 m2•Project Cost:    Rs. 0.6 Million ( 1981 )

Location, Area Used , Project Cost And Plan Of Sangath

Section Of Sangath Office, Ahemadabad

•Design concerns of climate ( temperature or humidity or sunlight).•Extensive use of vaults•Main studio partly bellow the ground (sunken)•Very less use of mechanical instrument•Special materials are used resulting in a low cost building costing it•Lot of vegetation & water bodies•Continuity of Spaces•Use of lot of diffused sunlight•Complete passive design•Grassy steps which Doshi uses as informal Amphitheatre

Elevation Of Sangath

Concept a And Design Of Sangath

•3.5 cm thick  RCC•8 cm ceramic fuses•3.5 cm thick RCC•6 cm thick water proofing•1 cm thick broken China mosaic finish•Ceramics are temperature resistant.•Broken China mosaic is insulative and reflective surface.•Broken China mosaic  gives a very good textures.•Water cascades from fountain into series of Channels•Glass bricks•Diffused light in the drafting studio•Whole area is covered with vegetation•Terracotta pots and sculpture lying in the compound

Material used

Sangath After Completion

Sangath:- Upper View And Side View

He is one of the most legendry Architect of India He has also contributed in many other projects.Eg . National Institute Of Fashion And Technology, Delhi

Indian Institute Of Business Management , Banglore

So with thanks to Teachers and Friends We take your leave

Thank You

Gaurav Kumar

Jugal Varshney