PM Modi congratulates Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi for winning prestigious UK medal

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi on being awarded the UK's prestigious

Royal Gold Medal

2022 and said his contributions to the world of architecture are monumental.

Doshi will receive the Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world's highest honours for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced.

"Spoke to the distinguished architect Shri Balkrishna Doshi Ji and congratulated him on being awarded the Royal Gold Medal 2022," Modi tweeted.

"His contributions to the world of architecture are monumental. His works are globally admired for their creativity, uniqueness and diverse nature," the prime minister said.

RIBA said on Thursday that with a 70-year career and over 100 built projects, 94-year-old Doshi has influenced the direction of architecture in India and its adjacent regions through both his practice and his teaching.

Given in recognition of a lifetime's work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by

Queen Elizabeth II

and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.

Born in 1927 in Pune, to an extended family of furniture makers, Doshi studied at the JJ School of Architecture, before working for four years with Le Corbusier as Senior Designer (1951-54) in Paris and four more years in India to supervise projects in Ahmedabad.

He worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and they continued to collaborate for over a decade.