design philosophy

1. DESIGN
PHILOSOPHIES
OF BV DOSHI
Suchetana Chakravarty ,114ar0025
Theory of design

2. 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.

3. Philosophies
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.
IIM BANGALORE

4. 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 .
South-west orientation for prevailing
breeze.(sangath)

5. 3. Transformation of Energy between the building and
people using the space for functional use. The Energy
takes place between the walls, columns and space of
the building. The natural energy produces through sun
radiations or natural elements, surroundings, species
around it etc.
Doshi followed it in his architecture by providing
openness in buildings through colonnades, pergolas,
porticos, sky lights etc. for e.g.-husain-doshi gufa.

6. • 4. Doshi has persisted a deep belief in
importance of ‘Human Institutions’, just as
Louis-i-Kahn did before him.The name of his
office itself, the Vaastu-Shilpa foundation, is a
ringing affirmation of Doshi’s faith in the
dialogue between people and architecture of
which he speaks and powers of dialogue to
bring about old institutions and create new
ones.
NIFT,new delhi

7. 5. 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.
6. 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.

8. 7. Doshi also advocates
“Amorphous rather than
finite forms” ; used with
multiple structural
systems so that
‘experience with them
may be loose
meandering and
multiple’. For e.g.-
Aranya low cost housing,
Indore.

9. 8. As an eighth and final principle, doshi seeks “Timelessness” in his architecture much as
Louis khan did when describing his quality in historical precedents as' open endedness’.
The references for the Gufa are elemental and primeval. The circle,
mountains, historical precedents as Caves (Karli, Ajanta), Stupas etc.

10. References
• Slideshare
• Balkrishna Doshi: an architecture for India
• Mehta, Jaimini. Balkrishna Doshi: an architecture for India. New Delhi: Architexturez Imprints,
1988.