Thursday, March 13, 2008

"While there has been earlier documentation on Doshi's work, it has largely been in the form of books and magazine articles. While this may capture the qualitative values of Doshi's work, it does not adequately capture Doshi's personality or his role and influence on the architectural profession in India. He was the person responsible for bringing Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn to India. In the early years after India gained independence from colonial rule, he is one of a handful of seminal figures who set the tone in exploring architecture's capacity to come to terms with the sense of modernity sought by this nascent nation. He set the benchmark for architectural education through his founding role in the Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology in Ahmedabad. He has not remained confined to the architectural idiom of his early career, and his work has continued to evolve substantively through his constant questioning of fundamentals in architecture. But what is striking about Doshi is the fact that his passion, enthusiasm and desire to learn have remained unabated even today." - Prem Chandavarkar, Chandavarkar & Thacker Architects