Contemporary Architecture

B V Doshi

Salila Vanka
22/03/2020
BV Doshi

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Balakrishna Vithaldas Doshi
• 26 August 1927
• Indian
• Architect, Theorist, Educator, Urbanist
• Studied at JJ School of Architecture, Mumbai
• Worked with Le Corbusier in Paris (1951-54)
• Worked on Corbusier’s projects in Ahmedabad
• Worked with Louis I Kahn on IIM-Ahmedabad
• Established Vastu Shilpa Foundation (for research in environmental
design) in 1955
• Started School of Architecture (CEPT) in 1962

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Urban design and planning

Master Plan for Vidyadharnagar, 1985

Inner City Revitalization - Bhadra Plaza, 2010

CEPT, 1968

Nalanda University, Ongoing

Sawai Gandharva Hall, Pune 2001

Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial , Bhuj, Ongoing

Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association Housing, 1960

Mahindra Affordable Housing, Boisar 2012

Doshi House 1963

55+56 Sumeru 2011

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Institute of Indology, 1957-62
• Located on a 3.7 hectare site on the periphery of
Gujarat University
• Houses a collection of ancient manuscripts
previously stored below ground in Jain temples
• The manuscripts had to be preserved under similar
conditions of temperature and humidity

Design response
• Modernist architecture
• Elements of a Jain apashrya (raised plinth and
overhanging roof to shelter the balcony from the sun)
• Climate-responsive techniques of earth-berming and
ventilation
Institute of Indology
Design Features
• Linear building that stretches across the site
to present a long façade to prevailing breeze
• Building is partially recessed in ground so
that the manuscripts are stored in a half
basement cooled by cross-ventilation,
facilitated by distinctive angled air scoops at
the lower level
• The original moat-like water pools between
building and street replaced with green lawns
and gardens to promote convection cooling
• Second museum phase was added to the
southern edge of the site separated from the
main building by a paved courtyard
Institute of Indology
Institute of Indology
https://architexturez.net/file/dest4192-jpg
Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad - 1992-95
• Adjacent to CEPT
• Collaborative effort between
Doshi and MF Hussain, the
latter being the client
• Art gallery to exhibit Hussain’s
work
• Primeval/historic influences
and modern building
techniques
 Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad - 1992-95
• The Gufa design references primeval elements
such as the cave, the mountain and the
Buddhist stupa
• “The stupa has communal rather than
individual references, and its rounded shapes
suggests eternity and envelopment, focusing
the attention of an entire society on its group
identity and structure. It represents the unity
of the community, as well as the unity of body
and mind that is essential in the spiritual
training of Buddhism.”- p.134, James Steele,
1998
• Steele (1998) suggests that the Revelation
regarding the Gufa, indicates that “the
previously rational balance between Western
and indigenous influence is deliberately
tipped here towards a deeper cultural
exploration.” (144)
 Hussain Doshi Gufa

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mumbai-kanheri-caves-mumbais-best-kept-secret

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janta%20and%20Ellora%20Caves/slides/20451
01_AjantaCaves.html
Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad - 1992-95

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 Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad - 1992-95

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad - 1992-95

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad

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Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
• “The main difference between the Gufa and the stupa, of
course, is that the 25-millimeter thin ferrocement shell that has
been used as the structure of Doshi’s museum, as well as the
sloping columns that support it internally, convert solid into
hollow, extending the reference further to the Buddhist caves
of Ajanta and Ellora.” – 134. James Steele 1998
• Use of computer technology for visualization and
representation
• 25 millimeter handmade shell, with reinforcing bars and mesh
coated with cement; Concrete covered with a compacted layer
of vermiculite followed by a mosaic of pieces of broken china
• The coating, the submerged structure and white tiles help keep
the structure cool
• Gufa floor follows the undulations of the site that can be felt
through the thin concrete floor slab
• Use of porthole windows that let in warm light and minimal
heat
Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore
Campus Area: 100 acres
Built Up area: 54,000 m
Duration of construction: 1977- 1983

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore
Site Plan

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Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore
Plan
• The main grouping of the
Hostel Blocks
campus, which contains
administration offices,
OAT classrooms, study areas and a
library, is arranged along a
Library longitudinal axis
• Student dormitories are
organized in interlocking
squares at an angle to this axis
• Corridors, pergolas, courtyards
and extensive landscaping
form the vocabulary of the
Main Classrooms
semi-open and open spaces
Entrance Offices
IIM-B
Sections

The corridors are designed “to provide innumerable vistas or focal points for generating a
dialogue with oneself. These corridors are sometimes open, sometimes with pergolas and
sometimes topped with a glazed skylight. To further heighten the spatial experience, the
width of the corridors was modulated in many places to allow for casual eating and
interaction to take place.”
- Doshi
Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore
Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore