![]() ![]() ![]() In those years, the understanding of and respect for plurality, and the recognition of diversity were not as widespread as they are now. Sangath, the building that houses Doshi’s own practice, Vastushilpa Consultants, was nominated during the 86 cycles for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). He had been a disciple of both, and is now their living legacy. BV Doshi had worked with both these masters. The organization of free spaces and exposed concrete (beton brute) renderings that it bore rightfully carried Le Corbusier’s imprint, and the exposed brick infill walls, Louis Kahn’s. And that philosophy I continue.” As the success of CEPT spread worldwide- under the nickname of the “Ahmedabad School”-the building itself, designed by Doshi, was adding to his fame. So why not really continue it? Why create doors? Or why create restrictions? So I always wrote, in the campus, my whole idea was that an educational campus should be without doors. And I think, what is wrong ? We are in a world that is so generous and good. In an interview for the City Lab webzine, Doshi says: “Yes, you can walk in-animals, dogs, everything everything goes inside. The Institute of Indology was designed by BV Doshi in 1962 to house ancient manuscripts, a research centre and eventually, a museum in AhmedabadĪ very moving and symbolic aspect of CEPT is the absence of doors. Doshi and CEPT, in a very interesting way, were pioneers of the societal values that only came into pluralistic and democratic recognition as late as the 21st century. We heard then, to our astonishment, that under the leadership of Doshi, CEPT was already enacting those values as the foundation of its education principles. We were talking about environmental awareness, openness and participation, against the politically charged backdrop of Paris, in May 1968-considered a watershed moment in French politics, which began with a youth-led movement against antiquated rules and capitalist systems. Despite the meagre possibilities of communication, and the vast distance between Ahmedabad and Ankara, we learned about the legendary “Ahmedabad School” during an especially exciting time in the late 1960s. Its motto was the Sanskrit phrase ‘gnanam vignanamsahitam’, which means ‘knowledge with science and spirituality’. In the year 1962, when I was enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture, at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey, the School of Architecture in Ahmedabad was founded by BV Doshi, as part of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), in Ahmedabad. ![]() This note takes the form of Aranya Low Cost Housing. ![]() But it was 20-odd years later, when Doshi was serving as a member of the jury for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, that Özkan finally got to know what lies at the heart of his work. Architect, urban planner and historian Suha Özkan first heard of BV Doshi in the late 1960s, when he was a student of architecture. ![]()
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