Renowned Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been announced as the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal 2022 by the RIBA, one of the highest architectural honors in the world. By receiving the award, Doshi joins past winners including Sir David Adjaye (2021), Grafton Architects (2020), and Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (2019). Doshi is also the 2018 recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

RIBA President Simon Alford described Doshi as an individual who was “influenced generations of architects through his delightfully purposeful architecture.” The ninety-four-year-old architect has seen over 100 built projects throughout his 70-year career, influencing the direction of architecture in India and adjacent regions through both his practice and teaching.

Born in 1927 in Pune, India, Doshi studied at the J J School of Architecture, Bombay, before working for four years with Le Corbusier as Senior Designer in Paris from 1951 to 1954. Along with a decade-long collaboration with Louis Kahn, Doshi founded his own practice, Vastushilpa, in 1956. He has since become internationally known for his visionary urban planning and social housing projects, as well as his work in education, both in India and as a visiting professor at universities around the world.

His work combines a pioneering modernism with the local vernacular, embodying a deep appreciation for the traditions of India’s architecture, climate, culture, and craft. He has become internationally renowned for projects such as the Atira Guest House (1958), the Indian Institute of Management campus (1977-1992), and the Aranya Low-Cost Housing project (1989).

“I am pleasantly surprised and deeply humbled to receive the Royal Gold Medal from the Queen of England,” said Doshi on hearing the news. “What a great honor! The news of this award brought back memories of my time working with Le Corbusier in 1953 when he had just received the news of getting the Royal Gold Medal.”

“I vividly recollect his excitement to receive this honor from Her Majesty,” Doshi continued. “He said to me metaphorically, ‘I wonder how big and heavy this medal will be.’ Today, six decades later, I feel truly overwhelmed to be bestowed with the same award as my guru, Le Corbusier — honoring my six decades of practice. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my wife, my daughters and most importantly my team and collaborators at Sangath, my studio.”