Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi is an Indian architect known for drawing from modernist concepts and applying them to the Indian context. Some key principles of his work include providing openness in buildings through architectural elements like colonnades and pergolas, and considering factors like climate, tradition, function, and landscape. One of his notable projects is the Hussain Doshi Gufa, an underground art gallery he co-designed with M.F. Hussain in Ahmedabad. It takes inspiration from Buddhist caves and uses materials like ferrocement to create unique undulating domes and walls. Another major work is the IIM Bangalore campus, which reflects his emphasis on scale, proportion and natural

1. Ar.BALKRISNA VITHALDAS
DOSHI

2. PRINCIPLES
•DOSHI'S WORK HAS CONSISTENTLY REVOLVED AROUND THE
INTERRELATIONSHIP OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SPACE.
•DOSHI FOLLOWED IT IN HIS ARCHITECTURE BY PROVIDING
OPENNESS IN BUILDINGS THROUGH COLONNADES, PERGOLAS,
PORTICOS, SKY LIGHTS ETC.
•THE SUCCESS OF ANY PROJECT DEPENDS ON EFFECTIVE
CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTING, LOGISTIC PLANNING AND
CO-ORDINATION
•DOSHI APPLIES MODERNISTS CONCEPTS TO AN INDIAN
CONTEXT
“Le Corbusier was like a guru to me,” he says. He taught me to
observe and react to climate, to tradition, to function, to
structure, to economy, and to the landscape.
“And because he was my guru, I decided that I could not copy
him.”

3. HUSSAIN DOSHI GUFA
• AN UNDERGROUND ART GALLERY
IN AHMEDABAD, AS A JOINT
COLLABORATION B/W MF HUSSAIN
AND BV DOSHI.
•THE GALLERY REPRESENTS A
UNIQUE JUXTAPOSITION OF
ARCHITECTURE
AND ART.
•THE BUDDHIST CAVES OF AJANTA AND ELLORA
INSPIRED DOSHI TO DESIGN THE INTERIOR
WITH CIRCLES AND ELLIPSES.
•THE CAVE-LIKE UNDERGROUND STRUCTURE
HAS A ROOF MADE OF MULTIPLE
INTERCONNECTED DOMES, COVERED WITH A
MOSAIC OF TILES.
•ON THE INSIDE, IRREGULAR TREE-LIKE
COLUMNS SUPPORT THE DOMES

4. •THE REFERENCES FOR THE GUFA ARE ELEMENTAL AND PRIMEVAL. THE CIRCLE,
MOUNTAINS, HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS AS CAVES (KARLI, AJANTA), STUPAS ETC.

5. •THE INTERIOR IS DIVIDED BY TREE TRUNKS OR
COLUMNS SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND AT
STONEHENGE,U.K.
•ON THE INSIDE, IRREGULAR TREE-LIKE COLUMNS
SUPPORT THE DOMES
• FERRO CEMENT WAS USED TO CREATE THE
UNDULATING WALLS AND DOMES, WHICH ALSO
HELPED IN REDUCING THE TOTAL LOAD OF THE
STRUCTURE.
• WASTE TILES WERE USED ON TOP OF THE
EXTERNAL DOME.

6. •THE CENTRAL HALL IS SUPPORTED BY 2
ROWS OF COLUMNS WHICH DIVIDE THE
INTERIOR IN TO A WIDER CENTRE AISLE & 2
SIDE AISLE
•THE COLUMNS HAVE OCTAGONAL SHAFTS
WIDER AT BASE & TAPERED AT CAPITAL
•SOME SHELL CONSISTS
APPEARED SNOUTS WITH
APERTURES (HOLE), USED TO
CAPTURE FRESH AIR AND
LIGHT.
•THE MOSAIC TILES ON THE
ROOF ARE SIMILAR TO
FOUND ON THE ROOF OF THE
JAIN TEMPLES,GIRNAR.
•THE DOMES ARE INSPIRED
BY THE SHELLS OF TORTOISES
AND BY SOAP BUBBLES.

7. HUSSAIN USED THE
GALLERY'S WALLS AS A
CANVAS, PAINTING ON
THEM WITH BOLD STROKES
AND BRIGHT COLORS.
•LIGHT ARRIVES
THOUGH SNOUTS,
CREATING SPOTS OF
LIGHT ON FLOOR WHICH
MOVE AROUND AS THE
DAY PROGRESSES,
INTENDED TO CREATE A
MYSTIC ATMOSPHERE.
• THE FIGURES WERE
DESIGNED TO RESEMBLE
ANCIENT CAVE
PAINTINGS IN MODERN
ENVIRONMENT.
THE GALLERY SPACE IS BELOW
GROUND LEVEL. A PARTIALLY
HIDDEN STAIRCASE LEADS TO A
CIRCULAR DOOR WHICH OPENS
INTO A CAVE-LIKE SPACE.

8. IIM BANGLORE
“MY LIGHTING IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF CORBUSIER AND LOUIS KHAN.
CONTRAST IIM BANGLORE WITH THAT OF KAHN AT AHMEDABED. IIM B IS
MORE LIKE WALKING THROUGH A GARDEN.”
THE IIM CAMPUS IN BENGALURU REFLECTS THE
SENSE OF SCALE, PROPORTION AND LIGHT THAT’S
TRADEMARK DOSHI.
•Sloping topography of the site.
•Built up area 54000 sq.mts.

9. •IT CONTAINS ELEMENTS THAT SHIFT AND BREAK STRICT AXIALITY AND DRAWS MANY
PRINCIPLES FROM THE MUGHAL CITY OF FATEHPUR SIKRI.
•THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ENTIRE COMPLEX IS MADE SIMPLE AND STANDARDIZED USING
EXPOSED CONCRETE, LATTICES, FRAMES, AND WALL SYSTEM USING ROUGH BLOCKS OF
LOCAL GRAY GRANITE.

10. •BUILDING INCLUDES THE EXTERNAL SPACES
AND THE LINK BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS .
•FUNCTIONAL AND PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
OF THE DESIGN ARE RELATED TO THE LOCAL
TRADITIONS OF PAVILION LIKE SPACES &
COURTYARDS.
• AMPLE PROVISION FOR PLANTATION.
• USE OF LOCAL MATERIAL.
•THE FORE COURT AND ENTRANCE ARE AT
THE LOWER LEFT OF PLAN. DORMITORIES
ARE ARRANGED DIAGONALLY AROUND AN
INTERLOCKING SERIES OF COURTYARDS IN
UPPER PART.
•IIMB’S DESIGN THEREFORE SYMBOLIZES A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE PAST AND A
COMFORTABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENT. THE AIM, SAID B V DOSHI, WAS “TO CREATE
AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE YOU DON’T SEE DIVIDES AND DOORS”.
•THE ‘BUILDING’ INCLUDES EXTERNAL SPACES, AND THE LINKS BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS IN THE
BANGALORE CLIMATE PERMIT ACADEMIC EXCHANGE BEYOND THE CLASSROOMS.
•A GOOD INTEGRATION OF CLIMATICAL FACTORS ,THE ‘SUN PATH DIAGRAMS’, AND PROPER
IMPLEMENTATION OF ‘VASTU SHASHTRA’ WAS ONE OF THE BEST QUALITIES OF B.V.DODHI’S
ARCHITECTURE.
•A PERFECT BLEND OF MODERN AND TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL STYLE.

11. •THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ENTIRE
COMPLEX IS MADE SIMPLE AND
STANDARDIZED USING EXPOSED
CONCRETE, LATTICES, FRAMES, AND
WALL SYSTEM USING ROUGH
BLOCKS OF LOCAL GRAY GRANITE.
•LOCAL CRAFTSMEN WORKED ON
IT WITH LOCAL MATERIAL; IT IS LOW
ON MAINTENANCE; THE BUILDING
IS COOL AND LIGHT IS CONTROLLED.
•THE IIMB CAMPUS WAS ENVISAGED AS A PLACE
TO BE INHABITED, AS A PLACE TO FACILITATE THE
COURSE OF HUMAN INTERACTION.
•THE DESIGN THEREFORE CONSERVES ENERGY –
HUMAN OR MECHANICAL, OPTIMIZES
TECHNOLOGIES, ADOPTS INNOVATIVE WAYS
OF BUILDING AND USES ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS.

12. THE PERGOLAS AND GEOMETRICAL ROOFS LET
IN THE CONTROLLED ‘SUN LIGHT’ CREATING A
DRAMATIC EFFECT AND EVENTUALLY AVOIDING
THE EXCESS HEAT FROM ENTERING IN.
•NATURAL ILLUMINATION IS ACHIEVED DUE TO
PROVISION OF ‘SKY LIGHTS’ AND ALSO SAVES
LOTS OF ELECTRICITY.
•CREATES A DRAMATIC EFFECT BY
HIGHLIGHTING A CERTAIN AREA.
•CORRIDORS OF COLUMNS BENEATH
CONCRETE PERGOLAS CREATE A RHYTHM OF
LIGHT & SHADOW.
•USE OF VARYING RHYTHM OF SOLIDS AND
VOIDS I.E.WALLS AND OPENINGS .