The defining architect of post-independence India, who worked with the likes of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, has been awarded RIBA’s royal gold medal for his ‘delightfully purposeful’ buildings
The 2022 RIBA royal gold medal, the UK’s highest honour for architecture, has been won by Balkrishna Doshi, India’s most celebrated living architect. The 94-year-old, who worked with Le Corbusier on his designs for the city of Chandigarh, was instrumental in defining the architecture of post-independence India. His designs combined modernist principles with a deep understanding of local vernacular traditions.
Doshi’s 70-year career has seen more than 100 built projects, ranging from low-cost housing to administrative buildings and cultural facilities, each finely tuned to the local context and climate.