NEWSWORTHY
ARCHITECTURE ZA
FESTIVAL 2018
This year, the Architecture ZA
Festival (#AZA18) is inviting all
those
engaged
with
the
built
environment to be part of a call for
participatory action around how
we shape our cities collectively.
As our cities evolve in response
to global urbanisation and climate
change,
new
opportunities
being created
toward
cities, improved
are
compact
resource
con-
sumption, economic and social
dynamism,
market
creation,
human development and climate
change adaptation. Cities need
to be sustainable, adaptive and
diverse
in
resilient
in
order to
the face
be more
of such
new scenarios.
Under
the
theme
‘WeTheCity:
Memory & Resilience’, the #AZA18
programme will focus on issues
2018 PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE LAUREATE
Professor Balkrishna Doshi, of India, has
been selected as the 2018 Pritzker Archi-
tecture Prize Laureate. Doshi is the 45th
Pritzker Prize Laureate and the first to hail
from India.
Architect, urban planner, and educator for
the past 70 years, Doshi has been instru-
mental in shaping the discourse of archi-
tecture throughout India and internationally.
Influenced by masters of 20th-century
architecture, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret,
known as Le Corbusier, and Louis Khan,
Doshi has been able to interpret architecture
and transform it into built works that respect
eastern culture while enhancing the quality
of living in India.
His ethical and personal approach to
architecture has touched lives of every socio-
economic class across a broad spectrum of
genres since the 1950s.
“My works are an extension of my life,
philosophy and dreams trying to create
treasury of the architectural spirit. I owe this
prestigious prize to my guru, Le Corbusier.
His teachings led me to question identity
and compelled me to discover new regionally
adopted contemporary expression for a
sustainable holistic habitat,” comments
Doshi. He continues, “with all my humility
and gratefulness I want to thank the Pritzker
Jury for this deeply touching and rewarding
recognition of my work. This reaffirms my
belief that, ‘life celebrates when lifestyle and
architecture fuse.’”
News Watch
Doshi’s architecture explores the rela-
tionships between fundamental needs of
human life, connectivity to self and culture,
and understanding of social traditions, within
the context of a place and its environment,
and through a response to Modernism.
Childhood recollections, from the rhythms
of the weather to the ringing of temple
bells, inform his designs. He describes
architecture as an extension of the body,
and his ability to attentively address function
while regarding climate, landscape, and
urbanisation is demonstrated through his
choice of materials, overlapping spaces,
and utilisation of natural and harmoni-
sing elements.
The 2018 Jury Citation states, in part:
“Over the years, Balkrishna Doshi has
always created an architecture that is
serious, never flashy or a follower of trends.
With a deep sense of responsibility and a
desire to contribute to his country and its
people through high quality, authentic
architecture, he has created projects for
public administrations and utilities,
educational and cultural institutions, and
residences for private clients, among
others.” The Jury continues, “Doshi is
acutely aware of the context in which his
buildings are located. His solutions take
into account the social, environmental
and economic dimensions, and therefore
his architecture is totally engaged
with sustainability.”
of design and practice concerning
environmental potential, cultural
heritage and human settlement –
with South African architectural,
urban
and
sharing
spectives
cultural
experiences
with
producers
and
per-
cutting-edge
international practices.
Speakers
engage
and delegates will
around different sce-
narios of change as to how we
live, interact, and survive both
as individuals and as part of
a collective, within the urban
environment. The programme will
centre around ‘Resilience’ as the
ability of a system to absorb, or
recover from, certain disturbances
without
losing
its
ability
to
function; and ‘Memory’ as the
phenomena that imbue a place
with meaning.
The programme includes keynote
presentations, parallel sessions,
student design sessions, films, and
professional practice sessions.
#AZA18 will be held at 012Central
in Pretoria from 3-5 May 2018.
www.architectureza.org
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