Jullie hebben vast deze zomer je agenda al vol staan met inhaalfestivals, inhaalfeesten, inhaalreizen, barbecues, openingen en allerlei andersoortige plezierbijeenkomsten, Archined voegt daar nog een aantal doe- en bezoektips aan toe voor deze zomer :-) Zo tippen we de expositie over Pritzker Prize winnaar Balkrishna Doshi in C-Mine Genk (Belgisch Limburg). Sowieso is C-Mine als locatie het bezoeken waard, maar deze expo is de eerste internationale retrospectieve tentoonstelling met veel origineel werk over deze Indiase architect. In 2018 schreef onze correspondent Rohan Varma een artikel over het werk van Doshi.
Balkrishna Doshi in C-mine / foto Boumediene Belbachir
Doshi: A Life in Architecture – Rohan Varma
On 7 March 2018 came a major announcement in the world of architecture. For the first time in its 39-year long history, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as ’the Nobel Prize for Architecture’ was conferred to an Indian architect. Born in 1927, in Pune, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, simply known as Doshi to most people, was awarded the prize for his lifelong commitment to the practice of architecture as well as to education.
In a career that has spanned more than sixty years, including projects across the board, from single-family houses to townships, and institutions and cultural buildings of national importance, Doshi’s work has been instrumental in shaping the discourse on architecture not just in India, but globally. Through his designs, writings and teachings, as well as his ability to work across income-groups, Doshi’s work has, as mentioned in the jury citation that accompanied the award, “touched lives of every socio-economic class across a broad spectrum of genres since the 1950s”(1).
However, despite his prolific oeuvre, Doshi has remained – at least up till now – a relatively unknown figure outside of his native India. In fact, in the West, many architects would struggle to name more than a couple of his buildings, and most would probably know him best for his close association with two of the 20th century’s most well-known architects: Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. But what do these oversights represent? In a world dominated by jet-setting star-architects, glossy renderings, and PR teams, how can one situate the work of a veteran like Doshi?
Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad / photo Henk van der Veen
De tentoonstelling Balkrishna Doshi – Architecture for the People nog te zien tot en met 6 november, van dinsdag tot en met zondag van 10 tot 18 in het C-Mine energiegebouw > meer info en tickets.
Voor meer doe- en bezoektips, zie onze tag zomertip.
